If, like us, you've already started thinking ahead to next year's holidays now that autumn is here, you may want to submit those annual leave requests now! Not only will you have something to look forward to over the next few months, but with some savvy planning you'll be able to make the most of your annual holiday allowance, too.
By planning your holiday strategically around bank holidays and weekends you can almost double the amount of time you're out of the office with the same amount of annual leave, and the hack can start as early as this Christmas.
You could almost double your holiday allowance for 2018
This year you can get ten days off work from 23 December to 2 January using just three days of holiday, because Christmas Day falls on a Monday. However if you've missed out, there are a number of opportunities to stretch your annual leave in 2018, including the chance to enjoy an extensive 16 day Easter break from 24 March to 8 April using just eight days of holiday. That's due to the Easter bank holidays which fall on Good Friday (30 March) and Easter Monday (2 April).
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Or for just 14 days of annual leave you could enjoy 24 days off work from 5 to 28 May, taking advantage of the two bank holidays that fall within the month – on 7 and 28 May. The August bank holiday is also a great time to take advantage of some time off and have a nine-day break from 25 August to 9 September by using just four days of annual leave. Last but not least, you could take a relaxing 16 day Christmas break between Christmas Eve and 6 January by using up just seven days of your holiday. Time to submit your holiday requests before everyone else does!
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