How to turn 26 days of annual leave into 62 days of holiday

Planning is key

If you get your strategy right, you could bag yourself a beautiful 62 days off work in 2022 by booking just 26 days of annual leave. This is largely down to two factors. Firstly, the extra bank holiday this year to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and secondly, the fact that some of this year's bank holidays land on weekends. The Queen's Platinum Jubilee will be celebrated in June, with a four-day weekend planned. To make the extra-four day weekend possible, the May Bank Holiday Weekend will be moved to Thursday, June 2, while Friday, June 3, will be turned into a bank holiday. So get a pen and paper out and take notes - because here's a month-by-month run down on how to get those magical 62 days off. We'll start with January, when booking off Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 will get you nine days off in a row, thanks to New Year's Day falling on a Saturday. This means the following Monday will be a bank holiday, allowing everyone to feel the benefit. Obviously February and March don't have any bank holidays but then we reach April and that means one thing: Easter. Taking eight days off in April could allow you to get 16 days off work by booking four days off before Good Friday on April 15 and four days off after Easter Monday on April 18. In May, you'll need to book four days off following the May Day Bank Holiday in order to get nine days off in a row. Then you can really cash in by booking off May 30 to June 1 before having the four-day bank holiday weekend to enjoy from June 2 to June 5. This will give you nine days off for the price of just three days annual leave. [caption id="attachment_308970" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Plan well and you could have a lot of time off for holidays in 2022 (credit: iStock)[/caption] July is bank holiday-free but taking Tuesday to Friday off following the Monday August 29 bank holiday offers another opportunity for nine days off for just four. After this, there isn't another bank holiday until December - but you can really finish 2022 off in relaxing style with plenty of time off. Just like this year, due to Christmas Day falling on a weekend there is an extra bank holiday to make the most of in December 2022. December 25 falls on a Sunday, meaning Boxing Day falls on a bank holiday, which in turn also makes December 27 a bank holiday. New Years Day 2023 will also fall on a weekend so - you've guessed it - January 2 2023 then becomes a bank holiday. Therefore by booking December 28 to 30 off you can get a luxurious 10 days off in a row, for just three days annual leave. Of course, this will not be a strategy that works if you are someone who often is required to work on weekends or you are self-employed - but for everyone else, you can really cash in this year. Get those holiday requests in! Related links:

• UK should get four more bank holidays a year, says TUC
• Pubs set to stay open until 1am under Queen’s Platinum Jubilee plans
• We’re getting an extra bank holiday for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022