How to maximise annual leave in 2027

By Bec Milligan.

There’s nothing better than taking some well-deserved time off work. But what’s even sweeter is using the public holidays to your advantage and maximising your annual leave. 

Not sure how to do that? Read on for 2027 annual leave hacks that’ll score you 76 days off while only using 31 days of annual leave! 

How to maximise your annual leave for 2027?

January

If you take four days of annual leave in January 2027, you can get ten days off:

January 1 - public holiday (New Year’s Day)
January 2 and January 3 - weekend
January 4 - public holiday (Day after New Year’s Day substitute)
January 5 to January 8 - annual leave
January 9 and January 10 - weekend

February

With just four days of annual leave in February 2027, you can get nine days off:

February 6 and February 7 - weekend
February 8 - public holiday (Waitangi Day substitute)
February 9 to February 12 - annual leave
February 13 and February 14 - weekend

March/April

If you take four days of annual leave in late March and early April 2027, thanks to Easter, you’ll get ten days off: 

March 26 - public holiday (Good Friday)
March 27 and March 28 - weekend
March 29 - public holiday (Easter Monday)
March 30 to April 2 - annual leave
April 3 and April 4 - weekend

April/May

If you take four days of annual leave in April 2027, you’ll score nine days off: 

April 24 and April 25 - weekend
April 26 - public holiday (ANZAC Day substitute)
April 27 to April 30 - annual leave
May 1 and May 2 - weekend

June

If you take four days of annual leave in early June 2027, you can get nine days off: 

June 5 and June 6 - weekend
June 7 - public holiday (King’s Birthday)
June 8 to June 11 - annual leave
June 12 and June 13 - weekend

And if you take another four days of annual leave in late June 2027, you can get another nine days off: 

June 19 and June 20 - weekend
June 21 to June 24 - annual leave
June 25 - public holiday (Matariki)
June 26 and June 27 - weekend

October

You can take four days of annual leave in October 2027 and get nine days off: 

October 23 and October 24 - weekend
October 25 - public holiday (Labour Day)
October 26 to October 29 - annual leave
October 30 and October 31 - weekend

December (and January 2028)

This is the best hack! Take just three days of annual leave in December 2027 to receive ELEVEN days off: 

December 25 and December 26 - weekend
December 27 - public holiday (Christmas Day substitute)
December 28 - public holiday (Boxing Day substitute)
December 29 to December 31 - annual leave
January 1 and January 2 - weekend
January 3 - public holiday (New Year’s Day substitute)
January 4 - public holiday (Day after New Year’s Day substitute)

Recommended For You