The New Year often brings ambitious hopes of landing work promotions and dream roles, but it’s important to remember we also need a break.
There’s more to life than working ourselves into the ground, and by that we mean people-watching with a fresh coffee in a bustling town square, relaxing on a sandy beach, or taking in fresh air and stunning views on a bracing mountain hike.
But instead of packing your schedule with travel plans willy-nilly, this handy hack lets you maximise your annual leave for 2026.
In fact, if you have the statutory 28 days of leave in the UK, playing your cards right could land you with double the actual holiday time.
‘Group annual leave around bank holidays and seasonal events like Easter and Christmas, as this will make holidays feel longer,’ Jo Forey, operations manager at Away Resorts, says. ‘More time off is more time for us to do what we love, with those we love.’
A quick PSA: this will only work for those who do typical Monday to Friday shifts and get bank holidays off. If that applies to you though, get booking now and get ready for a bumper year ahead.
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The 2026 annual leave dates to book to maximise your time off
April
It may only be January, but fast forward to Good Friday, which lands on April 3, and Easter Monday, which lands on April 6, and there’s a good opportunity to extend some time off.
Taking annual leave from March 30 to April 2, and again from April 7 to April 10, means you only use eight holiday days to get 16 days off.
Annual leave days used: 8
Days off work: 16
May
May is a corker of a month for bank holidays – you’ve got one at the start and one at the end. Taking off four days on the week of the Early May bank holiday (May 5 to 8) and then the Spring bank holiday (May 26 to 29) will give you more than half the month out of the office.
If you take the full nine days each week, you’ll get 18 off in total.
Annual leave days used: 9
Days off work: 18
August/September
The bank holiday falls on August 31 in 2026, so if you take some holiday at the start of September, you’ll have a nice break.
Booking off September 1 to 4 will give you nine consecutive days off thanks to the two weekends either side. Result
Annual leave days used: 4
Days off work: 9
December
It might seem crazy to think about next Christmas but Christmas Day falls on a Friday in 2026, which means Boxing Day is on the move.
The government confirmed it will shift the public holiday to December 28 as a ‘substitute day’ this year, since December 26 lands on a Saturday.
So, if you take December 21 to 24 and then December 29 to 31 after, you’ll get a nice long fortnight off to celebrate with your loved ones.
Annual leave days used: 7
Days off work: 14
Overall, you’ll have used 28 days of leave to get a collective 57 days off. That’s plenty of time for a sunshine break, or four.
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