The schools are open again and we've no more bank holidays until Christmas - which means now is the perfect time to get planning for next year's break.
And the better news is if you get in quick, you can beat your colleagues to those all important dates in 2020 that let you double your time away for the same holiday allowance.
By our calculations - and taking maximum advantage of weekends and bank holidays - you should be able to secure 32 days off using just 15 days of annual leave.
This is how it all works out.
The first step is Easter.
In 2020, Easter Sunday is on on April 12, meaning April 10 is Good Friday and April 13 is Easter Monday.
Which means if you book off the 6th to 9th and the 14th to 17th you'll get 16 days off work in a row using just 8 days of leave.
But there's an even bigger opportunity around Christmas.
Next year, Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on a Friday and Saturday - and that means December 28 becomes a bank holiday.
And the better news is January 1 2021 also falls on a Friday - creating an automatic long weekend.
So, if you manage to bag December 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th, then add the 29th, 30th, and 31st you can get an incredible 16 days for the price of 7.
Of course, this plan only works if you work a standard working week and get bank holidays off (see your legal rights on this, here ), not something everyone can say, but those who fall into that situation can cash in big time.
Here are those dates again broken out:
Easter 2020
- Book off: April 6-9 and April 14-17
- Bank holidays: April 10 and April 13
- Your holiday: April 4-19 (16 days)
Christmas 2020
- Book off: December 21-24 and December 29-31
- Bank holidays: December 25, December 28, January 1
- Your holiday: December 19-January 3 (16 days)
