do you struggle to use your annual leave?

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Aruziia@reddit

Nah and I get off 35 days a year plus flex and bank holidays. I take off 4 weeks for the whole of Feb as I hate the month and go somewhere warm and feel refreshed and love coming back when spring is just about to arrive. The other 15 days I’ll add a few days annual leave to a weekend for longer DIY projects / travel about the Uk/ Europe so yearly I about 5 chunks of 5 days off to do whatever ( and never appointments as I use flexi for that).

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Blah0013@reddit

I get 28 days of leave (plus BH on top) and usually end up taking a month or so off at the end of the year because I havent used it and just use my TOIL for lond weekends. I always carry 5 days from the year before too. If I didnt have 6 dogs I'd probably go away more and would definitely have more money for an actual holiday but thats a choice I made and am happy with.

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Our holiday reset in April and I had used it all by October.

I quit my job and took the hit out of the last paycheck for all the holiday I owed.

roxieh@reddit

Yeah I am always desperate for more leave. Fuck work. I hate that I have to do it. My job is a pretty good job and I still hate that I have to do it. Give me as much time away from it as possible.

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will2089@reddit

My new job is the easiest/chillest job I’ve ever had and I still bought the maximum amount of holidays.

There’s a woman on my team who was telling me she only took 10 days A/L last year and was super careful to ensure she took them in ‘quiet’ periods. I can’t imagine not using 19 days of leave

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roxieh@reddit

People who work for free thinking there's something impressive in that. Honestly I feel a bit sad for her, just makes me think she doesn't know how to enjoy her actual life.

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will2089@reddit

I do feel for her in a way, she’s clearly tied her self esteem into her work when you talk to her.

That being said, all the pressure to work late, complete more tasks and get stuff done is all pressure that she’s put on herself as our manager doesn’t really give a toss.

She told me she’s looking for another job because she doesn’t feel recognised enough and our manager’s manager told her to take a step back and breathe.

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Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

I think it's sad tbh. I own a business and even I would rather be doing something "day off" like as opposed to working pretty much every day. And I don't even mind what I do

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SneezlesForNeezles@reddit

As someone who did this in her early to mid twenties, it is sad. I had no life outside of parents, pub and work. The little leave I used willingly was for online stuff. I'd go into the university just to use their Internet.

I mean that I have a certain amount of work to do/projects to deliver and it's more than can be fitted into c. 42 weeks of work (52 weeks in a year, minus my seven weeks of leave, minus 2 weeks for Christmas closure, minus another week to account for the other bank holidays). So I usually take 30 of my 35 days of leave, roll 5 to the next leave year, take 30, roll 5 and on and on and on.

It's compounded by being 100% determined that the people I line manage get to take all their leave, and also knowing that their work has to be handled whilst they are away from work. Between the three of us in my small team we've got 92 days of annual leave to fit into the annual leave year.

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pisseddrunks@reddit

Fair play, you sound like a decent manager and this makes a lot of sense. Appreciate the response 👍

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MichaelsJudoJourney@reddit

Notoriously been bad at using it incase I “need it”, and I personally felt like I was wasting it to be sat doing nothing

Truth be told it wasn’t until I joined a Judo club and started attending courses, gradings, competitions etc to find something i thought was a good use of it. You might find similar with your interests

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VictoryAppropriate68@reddit

Honestly never had this problem and do not understand why others do. Do you seriously enjoy your job and working that much? Is there literally nothing in the world you would rather be doing than being at work? My work could give me 250 days holiday and i would use every bloody second of it

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Beneficial_Ear9631@reddit

Nope. Last year I accidentally used up so much leave that I had to work between Xmas and New year. It was lovely and peaceful and I didn't mind it at all.

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AnySeaweed90@reddit

Literally never have had this problem and don’t understand people who do. You’re literally paid to have a break.

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Usual-Journalist-292@reddit

I have no trouble using all of mine, I get 25 minus three I have to save for Christmas plus bank holidays. 22 days I can actually book and I've used over half of it already.

I usually try to space it out and have a week off every 2-3 months, plus a couple of days here and there when I'm just mentally checked out and need some time for myself.

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AlertWorldliness2238@reddit

No struggle whatsoever. Too little would be my problem! My child is long grown up and I tend to use the majority of my leave without my husband.

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x42bn6@reddit

I have serious issues using mine. I don't travel any more due to health issues which only compounds it.

I can take 20 days over a calendar year. Friday will be my first day off this year. Won't be able to take an actual week off until August.

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Papachoc@reddit

I get 5 weeks paid holiday and i take a week off every 2-3 months. I have been on holiday once in 8 years so most of my time is spent relaxing for a week.

I work long ass hours and do a lot of overtime so i use the time to recharge and get stuff that needs doing done. People who dont do this are insane

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srogijogi@reddit

Yeah, I struggle with my annual leave. I don't have enough of it (35days). I'm preparing mentally myself to ask if I can get more of unpaid one.

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MiddleAgedDread123@reddit

DesignFar6251@reddit

I think he just loves being at work and doesn't have much going on outside of work to be honest. Probably has big plans at the start of the year when he buys the extra days, but then just rather works instead. I've known him cancel holiday days and come in, when nobody asked or expected him to.

Several_Cat7155@reddit

Does that end up the same as taking unpaid leave? I just haven't worked anywhere that offered this but they did let people take unpaid time off

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Acidphire21@reddit

sort of but instead of taking that hit in one pay cycle its spread, but also not unpaid leave i can have that too with an agreement from my manager

What on Earth are you doing? You owe yourself better.

No I never have ANY left over.

While I appreciate that it would make you upset since these days off aren't really a choice, I have worked in a field where annual leave from October - January 1st was mostly blocked off. We would get Christmas Day and New Year's Day off, but all other days were regular working days and I had to work standard hours from 9 AM - 6 PM ffs. Yes, also on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Eve. You could sometimes get a day off under special circumstances (like, I had a funeral once and had to jump through hoops to get time off for that), but I was never able to take time off between Christmas and New Year, and working on Boxing Day and New Year's Eve was mandatory.

No. I don't have kids and always manage to take my annual leave.

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Flapparachi@reddit

I have a lot of leave due to length of service, and I struggle to use it up - I’m the only person that does my job so the work piles up if I’m not there. I’m in a pattern now and I take a few short breaks during the year and basically have the whole of December off. This is the quietest time, and it seems to work well for me/company. I also love Christmas, so getting fat for nearly 4 weeks and enjoying the festivities suits me.

Last year I only lost 1 day.

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Joshouken@reddit

No, I get 30 days plus bank holidays and occasional time-off-in-lieu if I end up working weekends.

I only work 3 days a week, so I don't really need them!

Plus, I work weekends, and fucking hate having weekends off. There's nothing to do, everywhere is rammed, there's kids ruining everything, I'd rather be at work away from it all!

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buginarugsnug@reddit

Never. if I don’t have any more holiday plans I just book a few Mondays in to have a long weekend and relax.

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Jerico_Hill@reddit

I cannot imagine the mindset. I would never, could never struggle to use my annual leave. Do people not have lives outside of work? That's just sad.

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MonsieurGump@reddit

When I worked in a factory and on building sites it was easy.

Same when I worked in a pub and as a tour guide.

Now I work in an office and “Leave” is a fucking joke. It just means the work builds up in your emails until you get back.

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ConsciouslyIncomplet@reddit

Nope - just make very clear in your emails that anything sent to you whilst you are away, is going to be automatically deleted. Make clear that anything important, will need to be resent after your return.

Have been doing this for a few years now, you set up an email rule in outlook to auto delete. It’s lovely to come back to nothing and there have never been any negatives.

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I’ve never seen anything like this in around 20 years of working, either from colleagues or people I’ve received and received OOO back from, it’s an insane thing to recommend

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DoctorRaulDuke@reddit

I've done this for years. For the first time this year I have been fucked by new outlook/teams features, everyone has clicked schedule send and I got 400 new emails in my inbox 10am the day I got back to work....

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RabbitRabbit77@reddit

This is my issue too. I get 30 days a year and although I enjoy my time off - even if I’ve stayed at home, going back to the office means two weeks of frantically trying to catch up on emails, meeting notes and messages. I only really relax over Christmas when everyone else is off too.

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SneezlesForNeezles@reddit

You're doing it wrong. I set my out of office, come in the next week and if shit wasn't done in my absence, it's gonna take me four days of 'catching up' to get into anything else.

Have you done? No, nobody covered the stuff, talk to me later.

Nope. I never have enough annual leave.

The legal minimum holiday entitlement for full time employee (5 days per week) is 5.6 weeks which eauates to 28 days. Bank holidays can be rolled up into those 28, so it could be 20 + 8 bank holidays except you don't get bank the bank holidays off. The days at Christmas can then be mandated (assuming that's 25th, 26th December and 1st January so theyre actually honouring those bank holidays).

No. I do have young kids now, so double no, but even before kids, no. I get 30 days, plus bank hols, plus my birthday. We've never really gone on holidays but I've always used my annual leave just to take random time off. Why would you not? Have a lie in read a book, have a week-long Skyrim session... So many things I could be doing other than being at work pointlessly hoarding time off.

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Baphomethea@reddit

Holiday refreshes January and by the end of January I have all my holidays pre booked for the year and I add like 6-7 days unpaid leave because 24 holiday is just not enough.

So no, I can't relate. I always look forward for my upcoming holidays.

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Sm0keytrip0d@reddit

In my last job (retail) I struggled to get my time off because the crap management kept denying my holiday requests then moaned I wasn't taking my holiday.

In my current job I haven't been here long enough to feel the need to book holiday, but seeing others actually get theirs gives me hope.

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omerbrussels@reddit

I think one factor is also not having enough economic strength to have a good holiday or time off. So instead of chilling at home some might prefer going work.

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Designer-Computer188@reddit

So based upon the people I know who say this - they are the company brown nosers and they like to say it coz they're sooo dedicated and needed and shit. These same people are also the biggest shirkers and nobody can actually tell you what they do.

It must be hard work pretending to be busy all the time.

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AskHead9859@reddit

I understand where you’re coming from.

The OP is not saying they have too much leave. They worded their post poorly. I had to read it a few times to understand that they wished they had more annual leave allowance and therefore not enough time off.

I'm bad cause I want to save it to actually do something, then I don't plan anything and end up having to use it all before it runs out.

lacr0bat@reddit

Some people live one-dimensional lives and are quite content with that.

I’ve only got 3 days left

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Sunbreak_@reddit

We struggle to use the days up regularly. The past few yesrs, about 3 months before my refresh (year end) I add up and basically book off a day a week working backwards. That way I get to use all that wouldn't carry over and have a much more enjoyable winter.

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OrganicPoet1823@reddit

Don’t have children, I get 35 days of leave and still
Don’t have enough haha

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Key_Plum_99a@reddit

I used to have a similar issue, and then I started booking proper weeks off. I also don’t have young children, so I avoid school holidays and book a week in late June, September and March for 15 days off, we have the same as you 3 days at Christmas, and I keep the rest for random days off just in case, booking 1 in August, another in November so I don’t end the year with all three, and the last one whenever. Book yourself three weeks off spread out through the year and you won’t struggle to use it up. You deserve a break!

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Southern-Orchid-1786@reddit

Presumably 21 days plus bank holidays to get at least 28 days minimum required for a full time worker

We get 35 days including stats and can buy up to 10 days or sell up to 5. Never struggled to use 40 days until this year due to being a few people down in the team, so lost a week.

Didn't buy any this year, and have tacked 4 days onto bank holiday weekends

Struggle to use annual leave? How? Mine is typically booked in 12 months in advance so I get the days I want.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

I used to forget I had it until January then need to take loads of time off by March.

Now with children this isn't an issue....

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Particular_Meeting57@reddit

I wish I had more, why wouldn’t you want to stay at home and get paid?

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HankHippopopolous@reddit

I’ve had this problem some years where we haven’t taken enough actual holidays or done enough things to use all my leave with activities.

In those years when it’s nearing the end of time to use I’ll take a week to do nothing and chill out, or I’ll drop down to doing 3 or 4 days a week for a while until the days are used.

I’ve never not found a way to use my days and enjoy them.

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CatsCoffeeCurls@reddit

I used to have this problem until I realised it's money left on the table if I don't use it, so I wait for those annual leave cheat sheets that come out every year for maximising leave using the fewest days possible and follow those.

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GooseyDuckDuck@reddit

WTF, I get 30 days, then 5 floating bank holidays, 3 fixed bank holidays (Christmas and New Year), and can buy up to 10 additional days - not once have I had an issue in not taking them.

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BrewtallyCozy@reddit

I struggle to balance them. So I always worry I’m using them too quickly/not spread enough.

This year I have to travel to hospital appointments (too far for flexi) and move possibly twice. So now I’m worried I don’t have enough 😅

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Spottyjamie@reddit

Yes, i get 31 to play with, accrue 8 days off TOIL a year on average so i often find myself using random days off as i can only carry over 5

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I get 35 days + bank holidays. I use it all

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Active_Definition_57@reddit

I'm a Civil Servant and we used to be able to carry over a whole year's worth of leave from one year to the next. Now we can only carry over a maximum of 10 days. I was one of many people who sold some leave back to get this down.

I struggle to not use my paid time off. I bartend so I never get a weekend off unless I use holiday well in advance.

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No-Daikon3645@reddit

I worked in a school for 30 years, so not then, but moving into a job where I got to choose my holidays, absolutely. It has taken around 3 years to get my head round it.

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TheAireon@reddit

I don't tend to use them all. I don't end up with much spending money and having a week off means I end up spending money I shouldn't.

I could sit at home and play games or watch films but that ends up being very depressing, I'd rather work.

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horfus@reddit

You must love your job if you find being at home depressing.

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NoChoiceForSugar@reddit

Different types of people. For me, I'd rather be productive. I hate sitting around doing nothing

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space_coyote_86@reddit

Sort of.... I use them too carefully at the start of the year, then I end up with too many at the end of the year. It just means that I have a few days off at home in December.

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FornyHucker22@reddit

not using days off that you don’t even get paid? wtf…

my job used to pay them so I was happy not using all but now I’ll just book days off to sit at home quite happily if I have to

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Glittering-Wall2557@reddit

I don’t tend to struggle to use mine though I do tend to end up having a chunk to take after Christmas and before April - I don’t mind though as it’s an excuse just to take a break and I’d probably take it anyway. I get 33 days after 10 years’ service in the NHS.

I really struggle to understand how people don’t think to take time off throughout the year. I keep an eye on what my staff have taken and prod them to book some time off if they’ve got loads left, to make sure they use it.

EndPsychological2541@reddit

I get 33 days, I 'buy' an additional 5 and get bank holidays (although I do have to work one for extra pay).

I also take 3 weeks off a year as parental leave.

No idea why anyone wouldn't take time off that they're owed and are going to get paid for.

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Rubberfootman@reddit

Before I had a wife and children, yes. I like my job and a don’t particularly like going on holiday. I used to get told off about it until I threatened to take 40 Friday afternoons off in a row.

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Westsidepipeway@reddit

Nope, always use my annual leave up

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Elliotlewish@reddit

Yep, so much so that my boss has to make me take it.

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KebabMonster001@reddit

I tend to use mine for long weekends…………
Friday and Monday off.

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