This is how to take 16 days’ annual leave and get 34 days off in 2019

Being savvy with your leave could get you extra holiday

Brits struggle to take all their annual leave (Getty/iStock)

Making the most of annual leave is usually low down on the priority list for the UK’s increasingly workaholic population.

Recent research by TravelSupermarket found that more than 1.4 million Brits could lose their remaining annual leave in 2018, forfeiting 8.4 days on average per person.

“It’s worrying to see that so many Brits are still failing to get themselves organised and make the most of their annual leave, but the good news is, it’s not too late to do something about it,” said Emma Grimster, spokesperson at TravelSupermarket. “There is still time to firm up your plans and book a holiday to give yourself a well-earned break before the end of the year, no matter how many days you have left to use up.”

Being savvy about when you book time off is an easy way to boost the consecutive days you can take as holiday. Here’s how to turn 16 days of leave into 34 days of time off.

Easter

For a true “breathe and reboot” experience, booking nine days off over Easter can net you 18 consecutive days of holiday.

Simply book off the following days over April and May: 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 April and 1, 2, and 3 May.

This means you’ll get from Friday 19 April to Monday 6 May off, thanks to all the Bank Holidays and weekends. This swathe of time incorporates the Easter Bank Holidays of Good Friday (19 April) and Easter Monday (22 April) and May’s first Bank Holiday Monday, 6 May.

This three-week stint means the travel possibilities are endless – Australia? New Zealand? Timbuktu? Nothing’s off limits. Or just dominate your life admin and polish off that novel you’ve been working on. The world’s your smorgasbord.

Christmas

Make the season an even jollier prospect by taking seven days of annual leave over the festive period – and snaring 16 days off in the process.

Use the plentiful Bank Holidays – Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day – to score a run of consecutive holiday days, by booking off 23, 24, 27, 30 and 31 December and 2 and 3 January.

Bank holidays

There are also two other bank holidays next year that fall on a Monday, which mean a long weekend somewhere. They're on 27 May and 26 August.

Joey Tyson, travel editor at TravelSupermarket, tells The Independent: "You can use your annual leave to extend a long weekend and fly at a less popular time. That way, you stand a better chance of avoiding the usual bank holiday weekend crowds and price surges on that can affect flights."