UK Bank holidays 2023: Maximise annual leave and turn long weekends into holiday weeks by savvy booking

It’s the start of a new year and people are already looking forward to booking their breaks according to this year’s bank holidays. Many people enjoy an average of 30 days annual leave, which may not seem like much, but if you plan well with the bank holidays, you can turn long weekends into a full week’s holiday or even longer while using the minimum holiday allowance.

The government has recently updated the list of bank holidays people will be getting in 2023, including an extra holiday for the King’s coronation in the spring. And the new year seems to be getting off to a great start as New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, meaning a substitute day will be on Monday, January 2, creating a long weekend for many people.

And by taking advantage of the Easter break and other bank holidays this year,  full-time workers could secure more than 30 days of holiday using just 15 days annual leave. This is how you can put your holiday allowance to full use to boost  time away from your desk and spend more quality time with your loved ones.

Maximise  annual leave 2023 - England and Wales bank holidays

April 

Good Friday (April 7) and Easter Monday (April 10) will both be observed as bank holidays in 2023. If you want to make the most of it, you can actually be off for 10 days, from Sunday, April 7 to Wednesday, April 14 - while just using four days of annual leave (April 11, 12, 13 and 14).

May

Early May bank holiday falls on May 1, so the first four days off following May will get you nine days off work. This includes Tuesday (May 2), Wednesday, (May 3), Thursday (May 4), and Friday (May 5). You will then get to continue your long weekend until Monday, May 8 as the bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles III takes place.

Another long weekend awaits you at the end of May too, with May 29 being the Spring bank holiday.

August 

The next bank holiday on the calendar is the Summer bank holiday on Monday, August 28 and you could get nine days of holiday time, at the expense of four days of annual leave from Tuesday, August 29 to Friday, September 1.

December

For the first time in two years, Christmas and Boxing Day won’t fall on a weekend, as they fall on Monday, December 25 and Tuesday, December 26 respectively. But if you’re able to book the days off from December 27, 28 and 29, you will have 10 days off, taking into account the weekend before Christmas, Saturday, December 23 and Christmas Eve on December 24 up until New Year’s Day on January 1.

Maximise annual leave 2023 - Scotland bank holidays 

Apart from the bank holidays Scotland enjoys alongside England and Wales, Scotland has a slightly different date for its August bank holiday, which falls on Monday, August 7. It also benefits from a bank holiday on Thursday, November 30 for St Andrew’s Day.

To make full use of the bank holidays on top of your annual leave, take four days and bag a full nine days off to enjoy the warmer weather by booking off Tuesday (August 8), Wednesday (August 9), Thursday (August 10), and Friday (September 11).

Maximise  annual leave 2023 - Northern Ireland bank holidays 

Just like Scotland, Northern Ireland also has an additional bank holiday on its calendar, with St Patrick’s Day landing on a Friday, March 17 this year. So booking four days off will also result in nine days off. This includes Monday (March 13), Tuesday (March 14), Wednesday (March 15) and Thursday (March 16).

Booking Thursday, July 13 and Friday, July 14 will enable you to have a relaxing five-day break, including the weekend, as there will be another bank holiday on Wednesday, July 12 to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne, commonly known as Orangemen’s Day.