The Work-Life Balance Report 2024, conducted by HR systems specialist Access People, part of The Access Group, revealed that Spain is leading the way when it comes to work-life balance, while the UK lags behind in 34th place out of 40 countries that took part.

Analysing factors including the number of paid annual leave days, the number of bank holidays, the amount of fully paid maternity and paternity leave days and four-day working week policies, an index score out of 100 was calculated for each country. Countries including Spain, France, Kazakhstan and Iceland all ranked within the top 10 for best work-life balance, while Canada, Mexico, China, USA and the UK sat at the bottom of the list, with Romania ranking as the very worst.

In terms of minimum number of days of annual leave, and number of bank holidays, the UK scored in the middle of the list. Offering just 20 days of statutory annual leave to workers, this is lower than countries that ranked in the top 10, such as France and Norway, which both offer 25 days per year. In particular, the number of bank holidays is low in comparison to other countries that ranked higher up the order. The UK offers eight bank holidays to workers, while many other countries on the list, such as Spain, Lithuania and Iceland, have 14 bank holidays.

The UK currently ranks 34th out of 40 countries globally for work-life balance