Maximise your leave in 2011!

I have seen a couple of articles like this one before published.  You have twenty-over days of leave to take next year and your are in need of a good rest in blocks.  When do you apply if you need to forecast it early?  Let us work in a scenario that you want at least a four-day break each time, supposing you work on a five-day work-week.

New Year's Day (1 January) already falls on a Saturday.  If where you work grants the following Monday as an off-in-lieu for New Year's Day, you can try applying for leave on 4 January, Tuesday (1 day applied).  Lunar New Year falls on 3 and 4 February (Thu and Fri).  That represents a block of four days off on its own!

March sees no break and we will have to wait for 22 April for Good Friday.  You will have to take leave on 21 or 25 to get your four days' rest.  May Day or Labour Day falls on a Sunday and you should get 2 May (Monday) off.  Apply for leave on 29 April (Friday) or e May (Tuesday) to get your four-day break!  (2 days applied)

This is a must: Vesak Day (17 May) falls on a Tuesday.  Take leave on the previous day and take a rest!  (3 days applied)  Enjoy these breaks as the next few months spell doom and gloom - no holidays!  This is time to get some serious work done as you cannot leave the office.

The next holidays are National Day and Hari Raya Puasa (30 August) on Tuesdays.  Again, get Mondays on leave (5 days applied).  There is no public holiday in September and we will have to wait until late October to get some respite.  Deepavali (26 October) is on a Wednesday and I reckon it is a well-deserved time to take two days' leave here, either before (on 24 and 25) or after (on 27 and 28) to get a long five-day break (7 days applied).  Or if you are badly in need of a break to coach your children in their final year examinations just around the corner that time, take all four days' leave and you have a good eight days' time (9 days applied)!

Hari Raya Haji (6 November) falls on a Sunday and the following Monday is a public holiday.  Thus, take leave on 4 (Friday) or 8 November to get your rest (10 days applied).  Finally, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday and you can be adventurous to take a trip during the year end - take leave on 26 to 30 Dec (Monday to Friday) and you can sail into 2012 recharged (15 days applied)!

There, and you have a few days' leave left, in case you have any ad-hoc or urgent events along the year to attend to!