Short commentary article summarizing findings and policy implications of a research paper on threats to access to, and utilisation of, paid holiday leave in Australian employment. Written by Troy Henderson and Jim Stanford, and published by the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute.

Australia has, at various times, been viewed as a “workers’ paradise” and the land of the long-weekend, a place where workers enjoy high wages and people live an easygoing or laid back lifestyle. But the social advances that underpin these stereotypes were the result of a century of concrete political and industrial struggles. The social...

This report highlights the low level of annual leave available to most Australian employees when compared to the amount of leave available to European workers. A survey commissioned by The Australia Institute found that 57 per cent of full-time employees did not take their full holiday leave entitlements in 2002; 42 per cent of those...