Exact dates to book off in 2025 to get 54 days holiday including Easter this weekend using just 24 days of annual leave

THERE’S no greater feeling that putting on your out of office and logging off for a well deserved break.

And with our tips, you can make your precious annual leave stretch even further this Easter, and beyond.

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Planning your time of around bank holidays can help you maximise your time away from the office without exhausting your annual leave.

And with Easter coming up, who doesn’t want some extra time to lounge around and eat chocolate?

If you are strategic enough, you could take off 52 days in four breaks using just 24 days of annual leave (with one day borrowed from your 2026 entitlement).

While these hacks won’t magically conjure up extra days of annual leave, they’ll give you longer breaks from your desk for the rest of the year.

This can prove vital for switching off and improving your well-being as well as your work/life balance.

Here’s how to maximise your holiday for the rest of 2025:

Easter and May bank holidays

The way Easter has fallen this year means it is possible to take 18 straight days off work, using just nine days of leave.

This is because the end of April and beginning of May will see three bank holidays fall in quick succession.

Good Friday falls on April 18, Easter Monday is on April 21, and the Early May bank holiday is May 5.

So by using nine days of annual leave, you can book off the entire period, turning on your out of office on April 17 and not logging back in until May 6.

So the only question left is, how will you spend your 18 days away from work?

Early May bank holiday

This year’s early May bank holiday falls on Monday M

If you book off the following week, you can get longer off from work with your leave.

Taking off Tuesday May 6 to Friday May 9 will give you a nine-day break, with just four days of annual leave used.

Spring bank holiday

This year the spring bank holiday falls on Monday May 26.

By booking off the following week, you can maximise your annual leave.

Taking off Tuesday May 27 to Friday May 30 givea you a nine-day break, using just four days of annual leave.

Summer bank holiday

This year’s summer bank holiday falls on Monday August 25.

Booking off the following week means you can maximise your annual leave.

Taking off Tuesday August 26 to Friday August 29 gives you a nine-day break, using just four days of annual leave.

Christmas 2025

Over Christmas there is a string of bank holidays with Christmas and Boxing Day followed by New Year’s Day six days later.

If you’re smart (and use a day of your 2026 leave) you can nab yourself 16 days away from the office, using just seven days of leave.

To take full advantage of the bank holidays you’ll need to book off Monday December 22, Tuesday December 23, and Wednesday December 24 as well as the days between Christmas and New Year, and Friday January 2.

This means you could put on your out of office on Friday December 19 and not turn it off until Monday January 5.

Will there be an extra bank holidays in 2025?

Extra bank holidays will frequently be granted to mark major national events or periods of celebration.

In recent years these have included Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

However, Brits have not been granted any extra days of holiday in 2025.

There had been a groundswell of support for a four-day bank holiday blowout to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

But, the Government has decided not to grant the request.

The soaring cost of granting extra bank holidays appears to be a decisive factor.

When Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee delivered a four-day celebration in 2022, it reportedly carried a staggering £2.4billion economic impact.

What are my rights to days off?

Employees do not have a legal right to time off on bank holidays.

So, whether you get the days off depends on your contract or company policy.

Some business’ will give bank holidays off as standard with annual leave then assigned on top of this.

Others will set out that annual leave allocations do not bank holidays as standard, in which case you will need to book them off if you don’t wish to work.

Other employers may require employees to work bank holidays but grant a lieu day or other benefit in return.

Before splashing out and booking flights and hotels, first you need to make sure you get your time off is agreed by your employer.

It’s often the case that the first to book holiday at a certain time is granted the leave.

This is another reason why it can be better to plan your holiday in advance and book it off from work well ahead of time.

To avoid wasting money, always get your time off approved before you spend on holidays.