Many workers will plan ahead with their annual leave days, but this seems to be a new level of organisation altogether.
If you plan it right, there is a way to get 39 days off in the remainder of 2024, getting more than a few extra days off this year with this simple hack.
It's all a matter of being strategic with it, with maximising your annual leave allowance being the goal of more or less every worker in the UK.
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The key is to aim for the bank holidays, the days around them can get you 39 days of leave until the end of the year, and you can use that time to do anything you please.
Whether it be going overseas for a big holiday, relaxing at a spa, spending time with family, friends or your partner, the possibilities are endless when you have no work to worry about.
You'll also have to submit requests quickly, and it goes without saying, that this is assuming that you get bank holidays off work, so if that is you, this is what you should do.
May
Kicking off with the Early May Bank Holiday on Monday 6 May, if you book the right days here, you could get nine days off by taking just four days off work.
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All you need to do is book these dates off:
- Tuesday, May 7
- Wednesday, May 8
- Thursday, May 9
- Friday, May 10
End of May into early June
The following Bank Holiday is the Spring Bank Holiday on Monday 27 May, and to take advantage of the following week, you simply need to book these days off to get another nine-day break into June.
- Tuesday, May 28
- Wednesday, May 29
- Thursday, May 30
- Friday, May 31
August into September
This year, the summer Bank Holiday falls on Monday 26 August, and you can get another nine-day block off work to soak up the last bit of sun the UK has to offer, or to hop overseas while its still hot and sunny.
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These are the dates to request off:
- Tuesday, August 27
- Wednesday, August 28
- Thursday, August 29
- Friday, August 30
December
The big one - there are two Bank Holidays in December, Wednesday 25 December and Thursday 26 December, also known as Christmas and Boxing Day.
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Believe it or not, there's another chance to get nine days off here by booking just three dates off work (if you're early enough).
- Monday, December 23
- Tuesday, December 24
- Friday, December 27
But you can take it one step further and get 12 days off work, if you eat into 2025's annual leave allowance and book these days off:
- Friday, December 27
- Monday, December 30
- Tuesday, December 31
- Thursday, January 2
- Friday, January 3
Do I have rights to time off?
Your boss will have to approve these requests for you to benefit from the hack, but most employees will be able to pull this off if everything is approved, with average five-day week workers receiving 28 days of annual leave a year.
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Unfortunately, employers aren't obligated to grant requests for certain dates, with getting days off work being highly dependent on whether your colleagues have also booked time off at the same time.
Being early is everything, basically.
As a final tip, make sure that you get that time off before booking anything - it's best not to learn from experience there.
Joshua Nair