Holiday hacks: Double your days off this year!

• Confused.com experts show how tactically using 22 days annual leave around Bank Holidays can secure Brits 53 days off this year!
• Almost three in five (59%) Brits have thought about utilising ‘bank holiday hacks’ to optimise their annual leave
• Over half (56%) have already booked annual leave for 2025 in advance. Top motivations for early planning include ensuring they can get the time off (53%), avoiding conflicts with colleagues’ leave (49%) and saving money on their trips (35%)
• Confused.com travel insurance expert, Alvaro Iturmendi, shares tips on making the most out of annual leave for holidays

With the first UK Bank Holiday of the year within touching distance, Brits could bag themselves 10 days off, by using just 4 days of annual leave.

But the hacks don’t stop there. Travel insurance experts at Confused.com have uncovered how savvy Brits can plan holidays around their annual leave to almost double their time off.

New research from Confused.com reveals that almost three in five Brits (59%) have considered using ‘bank holiday hacks’ to maximise their annual leave, with a bumper 53 days up for grabs for savvy travellers who plan ahead.

According to the research, more than half of Brits have already booked their 2025 annual leave in advance (56%). But for those who have not yet locked in their well earned days off, there’s still time before the first Bank Holiday of the year at Easter to strategically net those extra days.

Here are the bank holidays for the rest of the year, and the days to book to get the most of your annual leave. Weekends are included:

Travellers book annual leave far in advance of trips
The majority of Brits request their leave 2-3 months before a holiday (47%) and a third (33%) book as far as 7-12 months before.

Workers admit to sneaking in getaways outside of annual leave

The survey revealed that many Brits are willing to bend the rules to squeeze in a holiday. Almost two thirds (65%) of respondents are not offered time to work from abroad, meaning their travel is restricted to annual leave. Despite this, a third (33%) admitted to combatting restrictions by secretly going on holiday outside of their annual leave, without informing their employer. Top reasons for doing so were uncertainty around their company’s work from abroad policy (43%), being denied annual leave (35%) and even knowing they are not entitled to work from abroad (23%). If you’re not entitled to work abroad, it’s not recommended to do so as by breaking your employment contract you could get in trouble with your company and even face losing your job.

Those who are allowed to work abroad (24%) plan to use on average 18 days to do so in 2025. This extends the amount of time they can be away without having to use annual leave.

Confused.com travel insurance expert, Alvaro Iturmendi shares tips on making the most of paid time off for travel: “Planning a holiday ahead has a lot of benefits. With some providers, you can opt for a pay monthly option, which can spread the cost and make it more affordable on a monthly basis.

“But we’re also lucky to have a few bank holidays throughout the year, and this gives us an extra day off, without eating into our annual leave allowance. Planning around the long weekends means you use less annual leave days, saving them for more time off.

“That said, travelling around a bank holiday, especially during the school holidays can be more expensive than off-peak times. So you may want to consider travelling on a quieter day. But, with a ‘free’ day from a bank holiday, you could have more leave to use to be flexible and get the best price.

“The important thing to remember is your travel insurance, even if you’re booking months in advance. Having a travel insurance policy in place will cover you for any unexpected changes between booking and when you jet off - whether it’s somewhere sunny, or here in the UK!”

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Notes to editors