Maximise Your 2026 Leave: How To Get Up to 63 Days Off Work With Just 28 Days’ Leave

13/01/2026

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Maximise Your 2026 Leave How To Get Up to 63 Days Off Work With Just 28 Days’ Leave (2)

This year, stretch your annual leave further with a little leave planning magic!

In this article on how to maximise your leave in 2026, we show you how to ‘stack’ your annual leave by booking strategic dates to wrap your time off around existing public holidays and weekends, turning days into weeks. Clever, right?

Public holidays for England and Wales in 2026

This technique relies on public holidays, which helpfully always fall on a Monday or Friday, booking annual leave around it to get more consecutive days off so that you feel like you’re getting a long holiday without draining your leave allowance. Note: some employers include bank holidays within the 28 days that all UK workers are entitled to, and public holidays vary across the four nations of the UK.

Calendars at the ready? Let’s mark some dates.

England and Wales have eight public holidays in 2026 (giving 63 days off with just 28 days’ leave):

● New Year’s Day: Thursday 1 January
● Good Friday: Friday 3 April
● Easter Monday: Monday 6 April
● Early May bank holiday: Monday 4 May
● Spring bank holiday: Monday 25 May
● Summer bank holiday: Monday 31 August
● Christmas Day: Friday 25 December
● Boxing Day: Monday 28 December (substitute day)

Scotland has nine (60 days off with 27 days’ annual leave):

● New Year’s Day – Thursday 1 January
● Friday 2 January
● Good Friday – Friday 3 April
● Early May Bank Holiday – Monday 4 May
● Spring Bank Holiday – Monday 25 May
● Summer Bank Holiday – Monday 3 August
● St Andrew’s Day – Monday 30 November
● Christmas Day – Friday 25 December
● Boxing Day – Monday 28 December (substitute day)

Northern Ireland has ten (65 days off by requesting 29 days of annual leave):

● New Year’s Day – Thursday 1 January
● St Patrick’s Day – Tuesday 17 March
● Good Friday – Friday 3 April
● Easter Monday – Monday 6 April
● Early May Bank Holiday – Monday 4 May
● Spring Bank Holiday – Monday 25 May
● Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) – Monday 13 July
● Summer Bank Holiday – Monday 31 August
● Christmas Day – Friday 25 December
● Boxing Day – Monday 28 December

Ireland has ten (giving you a huge 77 days off work by requesting 33 days of annual leave):

● New Year’s Day – Thursday 1 January
● St Brigid’s Day – Monday 2 February
● Saint Patrick’s Day – Tuesday 17 March
● Easter Monday – Monday 6 April
● May Day – Monday 4 May
● June Bank Holiday – Monday 1 June
● August Bank Holiday– Monday 3 August
● October Bank Holiday – Monday 26 October
● Christmas Day – Friday 25 December
● Saint Stephen’s Day – Monday 28 December (substitute day)

Dates to book off

The big holidays to build your leave stacking around are Christmas, Easter and the spring/summer bank hols. Taking England and Wales as an example, here’s how to stack your leave for the longest breaks from work:

● January 2026: Book 1 day off (Friday 2nd) after the New Year bank holiday for 4 consecutive days off (Thurs 1 Jan – Sun 4 Jan).
● March & April 2026: Book two sets of 4 days off (Monday 30 March to Thursday 2 April, then Tuesday 7 April to Friday 10 April) for 16 consecutive days from Saturday 28 March to Sunday 12 April.
● May 2026: Book 4 days off (Tues 5 to Friday 8 May) for 9 consecutive days (Sat 2 to Sunday 10 May), then another 4 days (Tues 26 to Friday 29 May) for another 9-day break (Sat 23 to Sunday 31 May).
● August & September 2026: Book 4 days off (Tues 1 to Friday 4 September) for 9 consecutive days (Sat 29 August to Sun 6 September).
● December 2026: Book 4 days off (Monday 21 to Thurs 24 December) for 10 consecutive days (Sat 19 December Monday 28 December). Then take your final 3 days’ annual leave on 29, 30 and 31 December to turn that 10 days into 16. (Scottish workers will also get Monday 4 January off, a 17-day extravaganza!)

Key takeaways

We all have the same 28 days a year… Well, not quite. With our help, you can double your ‘leave’ in 2026, for double the sun (in theory) and double the fun (guaranteed)! Of course, knowing the dates isn’t enough – you’ve got to get there first if you want to take full advantage of this clever trick. If you’re not already using a staff holiday planner, this is the perfect time to get one in place. So make sure you get in quick before the requests start piling up.

Whether you go the whole hog and stack all your 2026 leave to get maximum benefit, or just use it to get one longer break in the diary and keep the rest flexible, is up to you. But with 30 extra days on the table, a bit of forward-planning could make 2026 the year you finally nail that work–life balance and get the down time you need.