作者：王银泉  

 

国务院常务会议通过的《职工带薪年休假条例》已从2008年1月1日起施行，随之而来的话题就是职工如何才能享受带薪年休假。与此同时，“带薪休假”也成为了一个热点话题。那么，“带薪休假”在英语中该如何表达呢？我们不妨首先看一下美联社的一篇最新新闻报道：

N.J. may OK paid leave for family care

By TOM HESTER Jr., Associated Press Writer

Apr.7, 2008, Monday

New Jersey may be poised to become the third state to require companies to offer six weeks of paid leave to workers wishing to care for a new child or sick relative.

The Assembly approved the Democratic plan last month and Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine supports it, but the measure is opposed by Republicans and business groups. The Senate was to consider it Monday and it is expected to pass.

Under the plan, which is backed heavily by organized labor, parents could take paid leave anytime in the first year after a child's birth or adoption.

Workers would be allowed to take paid leave to care for a sick relative receiving inpatient care in a medical care facility or under continuing supervision from a health care provider. A health provider could also certify a sick relative needs help at home.

The program would be paid for through a payroll deduction that legislative officials estimate would cost workers $33 per year. Workers who take leave would get two-thirds of their salary, up to $524 per week, with an estimated average weekly benefit of $415.

Opponents liken the payroll deduction to a tax, and they fear it will increase if the program doesn't earn enough money to meet its needs.

If it passes, New Jersey would adopt similar policies to those in California and Washington state. Federal law allows some workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

California allows workers to take up to six weeks paid leave under a 2004 law. Most who have taken leave in the state have done so to care for a newborn, and more women have taken it than men.

Washington state has approved allowing workers to take five weeks paid leave starting in October 2009, but the program could start late because lawmakers haven't decided how to pay for it.

Jim Leonard of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce said the proposed law would impair economic stimulus and hurt employers during tough economic times. Phillip Kirschner, of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, had similar concerns.

"Senators should pursue policies that help businesses, not hit workers with a payroll tax increase and employers with mandates that make it harder to do business," Kirschner said.

Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, the bill's leading backer, recalled how his daughter spent 75 days in intensive care after she was born four months premature.

"My boss understood and allowed me to take off the time I needed," said Sweeney, a Democrat. "But I can't imagine having to choose between spending time with my daughter, who was clinging to life, and going to work to put food on the table for my wife and then-four-year-old son."

The state estimates 38,000 workers annually wouldtake paid leave. New Jersey has 4.1 million workers.

从上述新闻报道我们可以看出，“带薪休假”在英语中叫做paid leave，而休带薪假则是take paid leave。无薪假期则是unpaid leave。Leave 事实上是英语中“休假”的最常用表达，比如说病假就是sick leave，妇女休产假叫做maternal leave，而这些年西方国家已开始流行妻子生产之后丈夫也可以休假，这种假期就叫做paternal leave.夫妻双方因为生孩子而休假就叫做parental leave。

“带薪休假”在英语中还可以表达为paid vacation, 如美国某网站对于paid vacation就有以下的解释：Paid vacation time is a voluntary benefit that organizations offer to employees. There are no federal regulations requiring employers to provide vacation days, but it has become common business practice to do so. Employees accrue hours of paid vacation time at a certain rate for each day worked. Different employers use different formulas to calculate vacation time. So, an employee with 15 days of paid vacation time at one company may or may not enjoy the same number of paid vacation days after changing jobs. Generally speaking, the amount of paid vacation time depends on the length of service and the level in the organization. Usually companies have some scale that decides how many paid vacation days an employee will receive. Four or five weeks of vacation is not unlikely for an employee who remains with a company for more than 15 years, although that's typically the upper limit for vacation benefits in the United States. （http://www.salary.com/benefits/layouthtmls/bnfl_display_nocat_Ser27_Par65.html）

“带薪休假”在英语中的另一说法是paid holiday，其实这一表达与paid vacation没多少差异，只是一个为英国英语，而另一个为美国英语，因为美国英语中表示假期时更倾向于使用vacation，而英国英语则说holiday。如英国某网站对英国的带薪休假规定做了介绍，其中的一段文字说：There is a minimum right to paid holiday, but your employer may offer more than this. The main things you should know about holiday rights are as follows:…（http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029788）该网站同时也有如下文字：You do not have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays. If paid leave is given on a bank or public holiday, this can count towards your minimum holiday entitlement. There are eight permanent bank and public holidays in Great Britain (ten in Northern Ireland).这就再次说明，paid leave是“带薪休假”最常用的表达。

“带薪休假”在英语中的其他说法还有paid time off ，这里的time off实际上被当作一个合成名词，就是“休假”的意思。英国某网站（http://www.dfes.gov.uk/tfst/）就有如下的文字：Employees aged 16 or 17, who are not in full-time secondary or further education and who have not achieved a certain standard in their education/training, will be entitled to reasonable paid time off during normal working hours to study or train for a qualification which will help them towards achieving that standard, and improve their future employment prospects. 美国杜克大学人力资源部门在网站上介绍其带薪休假制度时候也使用了paid time off这一表达并且还说明其首字母缩写为PTO，该网站（http://www.hr.duke.edu/pto/）介绍如下：Duke University Health System (DUHS) provides paid time off for eligible employees for the purpose of rest, relaxation, illness, holidays, personal, and family needs. The Paid Time Off (PTO) program puts vacation, sick leave, holiday, and funeral leave into one program. This gives employees more flexibility in scheduling time off to meet family needs and balance work and personal life. The design of the PTO program is also intended to assist employees and DUHS in managing staffing needs in order to meet the operational needs of DUHS.美国另一著名高校卡内基•梅隆大学也在其校园网站上介绍了其教职员工带薪休假的规定：Carnegie Mellon University Paid Time Off Policy

The Paid Time Off Policy provides regular, full-time staff members with an entitlement of days away from work with pay. Paid Time Off (PTO) days may be used for vacation, personal time, illness or time off to care for dependents. PTO must be scheduled in advance and approved by your supervisor, except in cases of illness or emergency. The PTO Policy does not cover scheduled university holidays, floating holidays, time off for jury duty or bereavement leave. Questions about PTO earned and used should be referred to your supervisor. （http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/PTO.html）

又如，美联社在2008年1月报道称，日本一家营销公司规定，员工失恋后可享受带薪假期。而且随着年龄的增长，这种“疗伤假”会增多（Lovelorn staff at a Japanese marketing company can take paid time off after a bad break-up with a partner, and more "heartache leave" on offer when they get older.）

由此可见，paid time off是英语中用来表示“带薪休假”时很常用的表达，也许是因为这一表达具有简明扼要的优点，又非常口语化，因此被广泛接受。

上面介绍了“带薪休假”在英语中的几种表达法，那么，我国开始实行的“带薪年休假”在英语中又怎么说呢？根据GOOGLE检索，其对应英语表达有paid annual leave和annual paid leave两种，如英国某网站（http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029788）提供的说法是： From 1 October 2007 all workers have a statutory right to at least 4.8 weeks paid annual leave (that's 24 days paid holiday if you work five days a week).英国另一网站（http://www.out-law.com/page-7001）在介绍英国带薪年休假增加到每年24天时的说法是：The Government introduced the right to 20 days' paid annual leave in 1998. It proposes to phase in the additional leave starting with an increase from 20 to 24 days (pro rata for part time workers) from 1st October 2007.欧盟某网站介绍关于带薪年休假制度的时候则分别使用了paid annual leave和annual paid leave：On 28 December 2004, Law 3,302/2004 was published in the Government Gazette. Entitled 'Regulation of employees’ annual leave and other provisions', it amended Compulsory Law 539/1945 and introduced new regulations on the way that paid annual leave is granted and calculated. On 1 March 2005 the Ministry of Employment and Social Protection issued Explanatory Circular No. 3392/1-3-2005 clarifying issues pertaining to the regulation of employees’annual paid leave. （http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2005/04/inbrief/gr0504103n.htm）

日本某网站则是如此介绍“带薪年休假”的："Annual paid leave" means workers can take any days off they like, except fixed holidays, while being paid wages for regular work days. （http://www.ysp1-unet.ocn.ne.jp/gaisen/E_webpage/5.holidays_and_annual_paid_leave.htm）

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About the author:

王银泉，南京农业大学外国语学院英语教授，硕士生导师，大学外语部主任。2007年4月由江苏省省委常委集体讨论入选为江苏省"333高层次人才培养工程"首批中青年科学技术带头人。南京农业大学133人才培养工程英语学科学术带头人。南京农业大学大学英语教学改革总主持人。1996年获国家留学基金首批资助。1997年10月至1998年10月留学加拿大渥太华大学并进修研究生核心课程。曾访问英美。迄今为止已在《外语教学与研究》和《中国翻译》等核心刊物上发表论文40余篇，其中CSSCI来源期刊文章13篇（依据2006年度CSSCI来源期刊）。主编教材1部，教辅图书1部，参编词典1部，在编专著2部。