THE temperatures have well and truly dropped in Britain which can leave many of us pining for sunnier climes.
If you are ready to start planning a holiday for next year, it’s worth knowing that you can stretch out your annual leave by taking time off work around bank holidays.
Being a little clever about when you book time off is a great way to maximise your holiday allowance, making you feel like you get longer off work without giving up more of your precious holiday days.
If you do it right, in 2025 you could get a massive 53 days of holiday with just 23 days of annual leave.
The benefits of taking longer periods off work means that you can switch off and can even make a big trip away feel more worthwhile.
However, you don’t have to use the time for an expensive getaway, maybe you just want to relax at home, take a staycation or get on top of DIY and other tasks.
If you want to implement the trick, the best move is to start planning now.
Here’s how to fully maximise your annual leave in 2025…
In 2025 Easter Sunday falls relatively late on April 20.
As a result, the Good Friday Bank Holiday is April 18 and the Easter Monday on April 21.
If you take days off around the bank holidays, you will be able to get a 10-day stretch off work, including the weekend with just four days of annual leave.
You have a couple of options for doing this.
Either book off Monday April 14 through to Thursday April 17.
Or book from Tuesday April 22 until Friday April 25.
In both cases, you’ll get a 10-day break, including weekends, while using four days annual leave.
Of course, if you’re looking for one stretch off, this would be an ideal time.
Just book all eight days off work and get 16 days off work, including the weekends.
In May, you have the chance to get another nine-day break with only four days of leave by strategically using either one of two bank holidays.
The first one is the Early May Bank Holiday on Monday, May 5.
Book off May 6, 7, 8 and 9, to get a nine-day stretch off from work, including two weekends.
You also have the option to do the same thing with the Spring Bank Holiday instead, which falls on Monday, May 26.
For a nine-day stretch, ake off Tuesday, May 27, through to Friday, May 30.
You’ll then be out of office from Saturday, May 24 and then back at work on Monday, June 2.
There’s another bank holiday at the end of the summer on Monday, August 25.
~To make the most of this national day off, take four days of annual leave from August 26 until 29.
In total you’ll then have nine days off in a row from Saturday, August 23 until Monday, September 1.
This is a good time to go away if you have children off from school and want to take a trip with them.
At the end of the year, there are two more bank holidays that you can use for a festive break from work.
Next year, Christmas Day falls on they will fall on Thursday, December 25 meaning the Friday, December 26 will be the Boxing Day bank holiday.
These two national days off mean there a couple of options to stretch out your time out of the office.
Book off December 22, 23 and 24, and you’ll get a nice nine-break from work starting from December 20 to Monday, December 29.
Or book off December 29, 30 and 31, as well as January 2. January 1 is another bank holiday so you don’t need to book it off.
This way you’ll have an even longer 11 days off from work, including weekends.
That’s plenty of time to relax and enjoy some festive revelries.
But if you want even more, you can book off all seven working days to give an extra long break of 16 days from December 20 to January 5.
Before splashing out and booking flights and hotels, first you need to make sure you get your time off is agreed by your employer.
Under national rules, most employees who work a five-day week must get at least 28 days’ paid annual leave a year – the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday.
However, there is nothing that says employers need to give these holidays on specific dates.
Usually holiday is granted depending on how many other employees plan to take time off at the same time.
It’s often the case that the first to book holiday at a certain time is granted the leave.
This is another reason why it can be better to plan your holiday in advance and book it off from work well ahead of time.
To avoid wasting money, always get your time off approved before you spend on holidays.
IN the UK, workers are entitled to a minimum of 28 days off work including 8 bank holidays.
But most employers offer more than this to attract talent.
According to the IRS, the average number of holidays is 34 including bank holidays – so 26 days of annual leave.
On average, public sector employees receive 37 days including bank holidays, while private sector staff tend to receive 34 days.
