UK workers can extend Christmas break with a few days' annual leave

Many UK workers can stretch their Christmas break in 2025 into a longer holiday by booking a small number of annual leave days around the two bank holidays. Christmas Day falls on Thursday, December 25, 2025, and Boxing Day is on Friday, December 26, creating an opportunity to combine weekends and statutory holidays without using much leave.

For employees who do not work weekends or bank holidays, booking Monday December 22, Tuesday December 23 and Wednesday December 24 would mean being off from Saturday December 20 through Sunday December 28, a run of nine consecutive days while using three days of annual leave. Adding Monday December 29, Tuesday December 30 and Wednesday December 31 increases that stretch to 12 consecutive days. Including Thursday January 1, 2026, New Year’s Day, would extend the break to 13 consecutive days.

These calculations assume a standard Monday-to-Friday working pattern with bank holidays observed as leave days. Not all jobs grant automatic time off for bank holidays, and employer policies vary on how annual leave is scheduled and approved. It is therefore essential for workers to check employment contracts and company rules before making bookings.