How to utilise bank holidays in 2025 to maximise your leave
This was something I did in 2023, and 2024, and I am back for how we can get more time with family and friends, by utilising the bank holidays and our annual leave
Most people get 28 days per day, which to be honest is not much and definitely does not aid work-life balance, provide enough time to cover school holidays, or really time for us to do the things we love, but by using your bank holidays and annual leave effectively, you can double the time out of the office and on leave.
This year however, a big thanks to the team at Leave Dates who have put this together, so I didn't have to
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The below image looks at the 2025 calendar for England and Wales (Scotland and Ireland folk, I will provide a link at the bottom for you)
Let’s use the above and break it down by month:
January 2025: Book 2 days off (Thurs 2nd & Fri 3rd) after the New Year bank holiday for 5 consecutive days off (Weds Jan 1st – Sun Jan 5th). Remember: it may not be too late to book off 30th and 31st December 2024 to bump this up to 9 consecutive days off, or, if you’ve got enough leave left, add on 23rd, 24th & 27th December 2024 for a huge 16 days!
April 2025: Book two sets of 4 days’ off (Mon 14th to Thurs 17th April, then Tues 22nd to Fri 25th April) for 16 consecutive days from Sat 12th to Sun 27th April.
May 2025: Book 4 days off (Tues 6th to Fri 9th May) for 9 consecutive days (Sat 3rd to Sun 11th May), then another 4 days (Tues 27th to Fri 30th May) for a further 9-day run (Sat 24th May to Sun 1st June).
August 2025: Book 4 days off (Tues 26th to Fri 29th August) for 9 consecutive days (Sat 23rd to Sun 31st August)
December 2025: Book 6 days off (22nd to 24th, then 29th to 31st December) for 13 consecutive days (Sat 20th December 2025 to Thurs 1st Jan 2026). Top tip: if you also book off Friday 2nd January 2026, using some of your 2026 leave, you can bump this up to 16 consecutive days!
Folk in Scotland and Ireland, you can find your breakdown here and once again a big shout out to Phil Norton and the team at Leave Dates for pulling this together
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