Not matter how many days of annual leave you have at work, it never feels like enough…
However, there’s a clever trick that lets you double the amount of annual leave you can take – turning 27 days into whopping 50.
The secret to making it work is to plan around bank holidays in order to maximise your time off, a trick especially useful for parents during those tricky school holidays.
There will be eight public bank holidays next year and the average worker who does a five-day week gets at least 28 days’ paid annual leave a year.
By booking days off on either side of bank holidays, you’ll get a longer stretch of time off, giving you more chance to plan a much-needed getaway.
There’s a clever hack that will allow you to double the amount of annual leave you take and turn just 21 days into 49
Bank holiday dates 2024
Monday, January 1: New Year’s Day
Friday, March 29: Good Friday
Monday, April 1: Easter Monday
Monday, May 6: Early May bank holiday
Monday, May 27: Spring bank holiday
Monday, August 26: Summer bank holiday
Wednesday, December 25: Christmas Day
Thursday, December 26: Boxing Day
Which Easter dates should I book off?
First, you will need to book off four days of holiday around Easter, to get two weeks off in a row.
In 2024, Good Friday will be on March 29th and Easter Monday will be on April 1st.
You should book off Monday March 25th, Tuesday 26th, Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th.
Also book off April 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th – this will give you a whopping two weeks off for Easter, while only using eight days of leave.
If you don’t want to use eight days at once, you could just book off the four March dates and you would still get ten days off.
You would leave work on Friday 22nd March and wouldn’t return to the office until Tuesday April 2nd.
Which May dates should I book off?
To make the most of May’s bank holidays, you should book off May 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th.
This will give you nine days off including weekends, leaving work on Friday 3rd and not coming back until Monday 13th.
Alternatively, you could book off May 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st following the bank holiday on May 27th.
This will also give you nine consecutive days off.
Which August dates should I book off?
You can enjoy a week off in summer, which is enough time to jet off on holiday.
Simply book off the days following the summer bank holiday which are August 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th.
If you want even more time off, you can book the previous week off as well to get two weeks of relaxation time.
Which Christmas dates should I book off?
To maximise your time off in the festive period, you should use any remaining balance you have to book off December 23rd, 24th, 27th, 30th and 31st.
You should also try to book January 2nd and 3rd 2025 if you can.
This allows you sixteen days break to kick back and enjoy Christmas with your family.
You will leave the office on Friday December 20th and won’t be back to work until January 6th 2025.
Full list of the best dates to book off
- March 25th, March 26th, March 27th, March 28th
- April 2nd, April 3rd, April 4th, April 5th
- May 7th, May 8th, May 9th, May 10th OR May 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st
- August 27th, August 28th, August 29th, August 30th
- December 23rd, December 24th, December 27th, December 30th, December 31st
- January 2nd, January 3rd
If you choose just one round of the May dates, this totals 23 dates to book and in return you get a massive 46 days off work.
If you want to book both rounds of May dates, that will use up 27 days of leave and get you 50 days off.
Most Brits get at least 28 days annual leave per year so you should even have some left over.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk