Discover how to strategically use bank holidays in 2025 to maximize your time off work and enjoy longer breaks throughout the year
London: If you’re smart about it, you can really stretch your time off in 2025. The trick is to plan around the bank holidays scattered throughout the year. By doing this, you could potentially double your days off using just your regular leave.
Imagine snagging up to 58 days off work! That’s almost two full months, assuming you don’t work weekends. But you’ll want to act fast—your coworkers might have the same idea and start booking those days off too.
In January, you might be a bit late for the holiday plans, but keep this in mind for next Christmas. Just by taking two days off, you can enjoy a five-day break after the holiday season.
Then in April, the Easter weekend gives you a chance for a shorter workweek. If you’re quick with your holiday requests, you could stretch it to 16 days off by using just eight of your leave days.
May is another great month with two bank holidays. They’re at opposite ends, but you can use them to create long weekends that turn into full weeks off, maximizing your time away from work.
Come August, you’ll have a nice long weekend to cap off the summer. If you still have some leave left, you could turn four days into a nine-day vacation—perfect for a last-minute getaway.
After the summer, it’s a long wait until December. Most folks will need to get their requests in early for the festive season. But if you plan it right, you could take off from December 19 and enjoy 13 days of blissful freedom for just six days of leave.
