With some preparation you can triple your days off in 2024! Here’s how you can maximise your annual leave this year and more than double your paid time off.
We look at how to achieve the maximum possible downtime by taking advantage of public holidays and weekends. With these annual leave hacks for 2024, you’ll have more time to recharge and be ready to perform at your best when at work.
Annual leave and public holidays
Four weeks of paid annual leave is the standard offering for businesses in NZ, but it can feel like it disappears quickly. To extend the feeling of being on holidays, align the time your take off with weekends and public holidays. By strategically approaching your standard 20 days of annual leave, you’ll unlock more time off. What’s more, by cleverly positioning your annual leave dates adjacent to public holidays, you’ll double your time off without resorting to having to take unpaid leave.
Here are some of the best dates to book time off in 2024.
Maximise your annual leave 2024
Christmas 2023 and New Year’s 2024 – book three days and get 11
Waitangi Day 2024 – book one days and get four
In 2024, Waitangi Day falls on Tuesday, 6 February.
Book one day of annual leave: Take an extra day of annual leave on Monday 5 February.
Your four-day break: For the cost of one day of annual leave, you’ll get an extra-long weekend from 3-6 February.
Easter 2024 – book four days and get ten
Book four days annual leave: Take annual leave from 2-5 April.
Your 10-day break: You’ll enjoy a 10-day break from Friday, 29 March through to Sunday, 7 April.
Anzac Day 2024 – book four days and get nine
ANZAC Day takes place on 25 April, which in 2024 will fall on a Thursday.
Book four days annual leave: Book annual leave from 22-24 April as well as on Friday, 26 April.
Your nine-day break: This gives you a nine-day holiday from 20-28 April.
Kings’s Birthday 2024 – book one day and get four
In 2024 the King’s Birthday public holiday falls on Monday 3 June.
Get a four or nine-day break: You can go about this in two ways, depending on how much annual leave you have at this point. Take annual leave out for the four days after the Monday to get nine total days, or just take Friday 31 May to give yourself a four-day weekend.
Matariki 2024 – book one day and get four
Matariki falls on Friday 28 June for a three-day weekend.
Book one day of annual leave: Book annual leave on 1 July.
Your four-day break: This gives you a total of four days off from 28 June to 1 July.
Labour Day 2024 – book one day and get four
Labour Day falls on Monday 28 October and provides a long weekend before the holiday period.
Book one day of annual leave: Book annual leave on 25 October.
Your four-day break: This will give you an extra-long weekend from 25 October to 28 October.
Christmas 2024 and New Year’s 2025 – book three days and get ten
Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday in 2024 with the Boxing Day public holiday following on Thursday, 26 December. The New Year’s Day public holiday falls on Wednesday, 1 January 2025 with the Day after New Year’s Day on Thursday, 2 January 2025.
Book six days annual leave: Take two days’ annual leave from 23-24 December, one on 27 December, 30-31 December and then 3 January.
Your 16-day break: This will bring your total days off to a massive 16, letting you enjoy an extended break over the summer, from Saturday, 21 December through your return to work on Sunday, 5 January.
