2020 hasn't exactly been the most successful year as far as travelling goes. Rather than spending our days lounging oceanside on a distant Greek island with a cocktail in hand, we've instead become extremely well acquainted with the four walls around us. While much of this realisation doesn't spark joy, there is a silver lining. Less travel ultimately means more annual leave accrued to be used in 2021 – which is a significant win for us all.
Although international travel doesn't seem to be on the cards just yet, we can't blame you for wanting to jump ahead and start planning a string of domestic getaways for the new year. Before you set anything in stone, there's an annual leave hack that you should definitely know about – making it incredibly easy to double your annual leave in 2021. You can instantly turn your standard 20 days of annual leave into 48, thanks to a genius hack by Instant Offices; simply by being strategic about when you take your leave.
A notoriously work-driven country, an OECD study uncovered that the average Australian works 10 per cent longer annually than employees in the UK (1,538 hours), and 20 per cent more than employees in Germany (1,386 hours) – placing us among the top 20 hardest-working countries in the world. Given our lack of work-life balance – cemented by the fact that around 13% of workers in cities like Sydney and Melbourne work more than 48 hours a week – any opportunity to double our annual leave in 2021 is one we're definitely going to take.
If you're looking to mark these dates in your calendar, we've done the hard work for you, highlighting exactly which dates will help you maximise your leave.
- Friday 25 December 2020 – Sunday 3 January 2021: Book 3 days of leave and get 10 days off
- Saturday 23 January – Sunday 31 January: Book 4 days of leave and get 9 days off
- Friday 2 April – Sunday 11 April: Book 4 days of leave and get 10 days off
- Saturday 24 April – Sunday 2 May: Book 4 days of leave and get 9 days off
- Saturday 25 December 2021 – Sunday 2 January 2022: Book 3 days of leave and get 9 days off
If this public service announcement has inspired you to book your next trip in Australia, let our guide to the 14 most magical places in Tasmania inspire your next holiday.
Image: Pinterest
