作者：王銀泉
國務院常務會議通過的《職工帶薪年休假條例》已從2008年1月1日起施行，隨之而來的話題就是職工如何才能享受帶薪年休假。與此同時，「帶薪休假」也成為了一個熱點話題。那麼，「帶薪休假」在英語中該如何表達呢？我們不妨首先看一下美聯社的一篇最新新聞報導：
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.
從上述新聞報導我們可以看出，「帶薪休假」在英語中叫做paid leave，而休帶薪假則是take paid leave。無薪假期則是unpaid leave。Leave 事實上是英語中「休假」的最常用表達，比如說病假就是sick leave，婦女休產假叫做maternal leave，而這些年西方國家已開始流行妻子生產之後丈夫也可以休假，這種假期就叫做paternal leave.夫妻雙方因為生孩子而休假就叫做parental leave。
「帶薪休假」在英語中還可以表達為paid vacation, 如美國某網站對於paid vacation就有以下的解釋：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）
「帶薪休假」在英語中的另一說法是paid holiday，其實這一表達與paid vacation沒多少差異，只是一個為英國英語，而另一個為美國英語，因為美國英語中表示假期時更傾向於使用vacation，而英國英語則說holiday。如英國某網站對英國的帶薪休假規定做了介紹，其中的一段文字說：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）該網站同時也有如下文字：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).這就再次說明，paid leave是「帶薪休假」最常用的表達。
「帶薪休假」在英語中的其他說法還有paid time off ，這裡的time off實際上被當作一個合成名詞，就是「休假」的意思。英國某網站（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. 美國杜克大學人力資源部門在網站上介紹其帶薪休假制度時候也使用了paid time off這一表達並且還說明其首字母縮寫為PTO，該網站（http://www.hr.duke.edu/pto/）介紹如下：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.美國另一著名高校卡內基•梅隆大學也在其校園網站上介紹了其教職員工帶薪休假的規定：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，美聯社在2008年1月報導稱，日本一家營銷公司規定，員工失戀後可享受帶薪假期。而且隨著年齡的增長，這種「療傷假」會增多（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.）
由此可見，paid time off是英語中用來表示「帶薪休假」時很常用的表達，也許是因為這一表達具有簡明扼要的優點，又非常口語化，因此被廣泛接受。
上面介紹了「帶薪休假」在英語中的幾種表達法，那麼，我國開始實行的「帶薪年休假」在英語中又怎麼說呢？根據GOOGLE檢索，其對應英語表達有paid annual leave和annual paid leave兩種，如英國某網站（http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029788）提供的說法是： 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).英國另一網站（http://www.out-law.com/page-7001）在介紹英國帶薪年休假增加到每年24天時的說法是：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.歐盟某網站介紹關於帶薪年休假制度的時候則分別使用了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）
日本某網站則是如此介紹「帶薪年休假」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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王銀泉，南京農業大學外國語學院英語教授，碩士生導師，大學外語部主任。2007年4月由江蘇省省委常委集體討論入選為江蘇省"333高層次人才培養工程"首批中青年科學技術帶頭人。南京農業大學133人才培養工程英語學科學術帶頭人。南京農業大學大學英語教學改革總主持人。1996年獲國家留學基金首批資助。1997年10月至1998年10月留學加拿大渥太華大學並進修研究生核心課程。曾訪問英美。迄今為止已在《外語教學與研究》和《中國翻譯》等核心刊物上發表論文40餘篇，其中CSSCI來源期刊文章13篇（依據2006年度CSSCI來源期刊）。主編教材1部，教輔圖書1部，參編詞典1部，在編專著2部。 |