AS the January blues kick in, many of us might be looking to book holidays to look forward to.
If you need a break but don’t want to usee too much leave, we have a cheeky hack for you that will get you even more time off at Easter.
1
Workers have seven bank holidays in England and Wales this year, but the next closest ones are coming up in March and April.
For those of you with a typical job working from nine to five and who are lucky enough not to have to work bank holidays, you can get more bang for your buck.
Our trick can help you make your holiday stretch to 10 days and only use four days of annual leave by booking specific exact dates.
If you’re not sure if you get bank holidays off it’s worth asking your boss just to be sure.
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Easter falls on March 29, which is Good Friday, and April 1, which is Easter Monday, this year.
That means there are four extra days you might want to book as holiday to get even more time off.
These four dates off which will give you a whopping 10-day break:
- Monday, March 25
- Tuesday, March 26
- Wednesday, March 27
- Thursday, March 28
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Alternatively, you can book the following dates:
- Tuesday, April 2
- Wednesday, April 3
- Thursday, April 4
- Friday, April 5
Either way, you’ll get a 10-day run of time off for four days.
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.
With a further five bank holidays lined up for the rest of 2024, there are plenty of opportunities to boost your annual leave.
Here’s the full list of bank holidays coming up this year for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:
England and Wales
- March 29, 2024 – Good Friday
- April 1, 2024 – Easter Monday
- May 6, 2024 – Early May bank holiday
- May 27, 2024 – Spring bank holiday
- August 26, 2024 – Summer bank holiday
- December 25, 2024 – Christmas Day
- December 26, 2024 – Boxing Day
Scotland
- March 29, 2024 – Good Friday
- May 6, 2024 – Early May bank holiday
- May 27, 2024 – Spring bank holiday
- August 5, 2024 – Summer bank holiday
- December 2, 2024 – St Andrew’s Day
- December 25, 2024 – Christmas Day
- December 26, 2024 – Boxing Day
Northern Ireland
- March 18, 2024 – St Patrick’s Day
- March 29, 2024 – Good Friday
- April 1, 2024 – Easter Monday
- May 6, 2024 – Early May bank holiday
- May 27, 2024 – Spring bank holiday
- July 12, 2024 – Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day)
- August 26, 2024 – Summer bank holiday
- December 25, 2024 – Christmas Day
- December 26, 2024 – Boxing Day
If you want to know how you can extend all of these and get a 49-day holiday with just 21 days of annual leave – we’ve put together a handy explainer.
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.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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