2017 has slipped through our fingers and you may be wondering where your annual leave went and wishing you had been a bit smarter with your breaks abroad now that winter is upon us and we are lacking in vitamin D. Here are our top tips as to how to get the most of your days off in 2018 and some job sectors which offer good packages when it comes to taking time off.
Do you research
One of the best ways to stretch out your annual leave allowance is to book your breaks around bank holidays. That means you can get more days off in a row and use fewer of your designated holiday day stash.
This list of the 2018 bank holidays should help inspire your annual leave dates. Also, check in with friends and family, if you have loved ones who have education jobs then you might find you need to book peak times off to spend with them as they are tied to the school holidays.
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Jan | Mon | New Year’s Day |
| 30-Mar | Fri | Good Friday |
| 02-Apr | Mon | Easter Monday |
| 07-May | Mon | May Day |
| 28-May | Mon | Late May Bank Holiday |
| 27-Aug | Mon | August Bank Holiday |
| 25-Dec | Tue | Christmas Day |
| 26-Dec | Wed | Boxing Day |
Book early
There is nothing more frustrating than having your annual leave turned down by your employer and those all-important bank holidays are always a popular time for people to take off. Not only do they allow people to maximise their leave, but they often fall in the school holidays meaning those with kids are hot on their heels to book time off. So, plan your year and even if you aren’t sure when you want to jet off pencil it in with your boss, they are never going to be disappointed when you cancel a day off.
Christmas and New Year
It may feel a little early to book time off for Christmas 2018 but the way in which the national holiday falls next year can work wonders for your annual leave, so it is well worth a thought. If you book three days off to be out of the office from 23rd December to 1st January, you can triple your time off. There is also a chance to get 16 days off by taking just seven holiday days, if you start your holiday on 22nd December and don’t return until 7th January.
Buy more days
If you’re feeling a little under the weather and have used up all your annual leave for 2017 then why not ask your employer if you can buy some more annual leave? A lot of big firms will allow this and will happily allocate a monitory value to a day’s work which can be deducted from your salary.
Whatever your plan for the rest if 2017 and 2018 remember life is short and if you don’t feel you have made the most of your annual leave this year – make it a goal for the next so that your work life balance is just that, balanced.