JANUARY is prime time to get your annual leave requests in so we explain how you can maximise your holiday and get 49 days off.
There are eight Bank Holidays this year, giving millions a well-deserved break.
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For those of you with a typical 9-to-5 job, then you can make your holiday stretch further and only use 21 days of annual leave by booking these exact dates.
Most workers who work five days a week are legally entitled to 28 days’ paid leave a year.
That’s equivalent to 5.6 working weeks of holiday.
Before you book any of these dates off, check that you get all your Bank Holidays off by your employer – otherwise, the trick won’t work.
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End of March and early April
Easter falls on March 29 (Good Friday) and April 1 (Easter Monday) this year.
That means you’ll want to book off these four dates off which will give you a whopping ten-day break:
- Monday, March 25
- Tuesday, March 26
- Wednesday, March 27
- Thursday, March 28
Or you can book the following dates:
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- Tuesday, April 2
- Wednesday, April 3
- Thursday, April 4
- Friday, April 5
Either way, you’ll get a ten-day run of time off for four days.
May
You should book these dates around the Early May Bank Holiday on May 6 to get nine days off to relax – by only taking four days of leave.
- Tuesday, May 7
- Wednesday, May 8
- Thursday, May 9
- Friday, May 10
End of May and early June
The next Bank Holiday is Spring Bank Holiday on Monday, May 27.
Book off these four dates and you’ll get nine consecutive days off running into June:
- Tuesday, May 28
- Wednesday, May 29
- Thursday, May 30
- Friday, May 31
End of August
The summer Bank Holiday lands on Monday, August 26 this year.
You’ll get a nine-day stint by only booking these four dates off:
- Tuesday, August 27
- Wednesday, August 28
- Thursday, August 29
- Friday, August 30
December
There are two Bank Holidays in December – Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day) and Thursday, December 26 (Boxing Day).
You can enjoy nine days off by booking just these three days off on leave:
- Monday, December 23
- Tuesday, December 24
- Friday, December 27
Or, you can get 12 days off work, including the weekend, by booking off the following days:
- Friday, December 27
- Monday, December 30
- Tuesday, December 31
- Thursday, January 2
- Friday, January 3
What are my rights to time off?
You will need to, of course, make sure your boss agrees to holiday requests to make the most of this holiday hack.
As we said, most employees who work a five-day week must get the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday.
But there is no obligation for employers to grant requests for specific dates.
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Getting the dates off often depends on how many other employees plan to take time off at the same time– so getting in early to make a request can make a difference.
And make sure you get time off approved before you pay for plans, that you may not be able to do.
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
