Optimise annual leave in 2024: Turn 8 days of holidays into almost seven weeks

Get 34 days holiday for just 8 in annual leave, plus a little planning. Photo / Hiroyuki Nakai, Getty Images

Here’s how to turn 8 days of annual leave into almost 7 weeks of vacation.

Take out the wall planner and your best red biro. After the long winter drought of public holidays, the October Labour Day weekend begins the long lead into summer lockdowns and annual leave. However with a little extra planning, and some strategic leave applications, you can gain 34 days off for just eight days of paid leave in 2024. That’s just under seven working weeks, yours to plan some great escapes.

This includes a bumper 11-day Christmas break and four 4-day long weekends through until July.

Of course the hack relies upon a job with a normal Monday to Friday work week, standard public holidays, and booking your leave before your colleagues cotton on to what’s up for grabs in 2024.

With Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on a Monday this summer, by taking three days over the ‘in-betwixt-mas’ period (December 27, 28 and 29) you can line up an 11-day break. Boxing Day is a bonus and the New Year’s Eve stat day is carried over to Tuesday January 2.

Waitangi Day falls on a Tuesday in 2024, meaning Monday February 5 is crying out to be taken as leave. Similarly, Anzac Day is a Thursday, so April 26 is there to give you one more four-day weekend.

Easter Sunday falls on March 31 in 2024, giving a four-day weekend ending Monday April 1 - no leave needed.

June is the last chance to add to your public holidays, and this year it is bookended by two ‘stat days’.

King’s Birthday weekend gives Monday June 3 as a public holiday.

Matariki, New Zealand’s mercurial midwinter festival, is on June 28.

As the closest Friday to the Tangaroa lunar calendar period, taking a leave day on July 1 stretches out the long weekend into the new month. Then it’s back to the winter wait for October Labour Day to roll around.

Regional public holidays also add to the leave total.

For Aucklanders, Anniversary Day falls on Monday January 29. For Wellingtonians Monday January 22 is a day off. An extra day off can keep those long four-day breaks coming to maximise annual leave.

For Cantabrians, Anniversary celebrations fall on November 17, meaning they can start summer early, taking Monday November 20 off to recover and rest for what is going to be a bumper summer holiday.

How to turn 8 days leave into 34 days and six long breaks

Christmas and New Year’s Holidays: Take 3 days off (December 27, 28, 29) and enjoy 11 days of rest from Saturday, December 23, 2023 to Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Auckland Anniversary Long Weekend: Take 1 day off (January 26) and enjoy 4 days of rest from Friday, January 26, 2024 to Monday, January 29 2024

Waitangi Day: Take 1 day off (February 5) and enjoy 4 days of rest from Saturday, February 3, 2024 to Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Anzac Day: Take 1 day off (April 26) and enjoy 4 days of rest from Thursday, April 25, 2024 to Sunday, April 28, 2024

King’s Birthday Long Weekend: Take 1 day off (May 31) and enjoy 4 days of rest from Friday, May 31 2024 to Monday, June 3, 2024

Matariki Long Weekend: Take 1 day off (July 1) and enjoy 4 days of rest from Friday, June 28, 2024 to Monday, July 1, 2024