OH! Magazine - Australian Version December 2018 | Page 36

( OH YEAH! )
HOLIDAY HACKS
InsureandGo explains how you can make the most of the 2019 public holidays.
ustralia celebrates around 10
public
holidays
each
year,
depending on the day of the week they
fall on. By being savvy and planning your
holidays strategically, you can use these
days off work to make time for extended
getaways.
A
The world’s leading online travel insurer,
InsureandGo has analysed next year’s
public holidays and developed annual
leave hacks that will help you make room
for at least two domestic holidays and
three international holidays, with only 17
days of annual leave all up.
With the Labour Day and Queen’s Birthday
public holidays each falling on a Monday,
you can turn those long weekends into
four-day interstate holidays by simply
taking the Friday off – often the least
busy day of the week. Lucky residents in
Victoria, the ACT, South Australia,
Western Australia, Tasmania and the
Northern Territory can do this more often,
as they have additional public holidays on
a Monday or Friday.
ACT residents enjoy a public holiday on
Monday 27 May (Reconciliation Day).
With two public holidays in around two
weeks and three weekends around those
days, ACT workers can enjoy a 17-day
holiday (Saturday 25 May to Monday 10
June inclusive) with just nine days of
annual leave. That’s almost double the
amount of time off for half the annual
leave.
The mid-week public holiday hack
InsureandGo has analysed our public
holidays in 2019 to reveal how you can
maximise each one for a longer break The 10-day Australia Day hack The 18-day April-May holiday hack
Want to extend your January holidays with
minimal annual leave? Next year, the
Australia Day public holiday falls on
Monday 28 January in all states. With
January usually the quietest working
month, it can be a good time to extend
that long weekend to a longer break and
head overseas. Aussies can enjoy a 10-
day holiday by combining the public
holiday with two weekends and five days
of annual leave from, say, Friday 25
January to Friday 1 February inclusive.
Why not head to Fiji, Hawaii or Bali? Residents in Queensland and the
Northern Territory wanting to extend their
10-day Easter holiday can combine their
Monday May 6 public holiday with the
Easter holiday hack, to give them an
extended holiday from Friday 19 April to
Monday May 6. Eighteen days off to travel
abroad, with just eight days of annual
leave off work.
OH! MAGAZINE ( DECEMBER 2018 )
The 17-day May-June holiday hack
The 10-day Easter holiday hack
Next year, the Easter long weekend will
be from Friday 19 April to Monday 22
April in all states. Anzac Day follows two
days after, on Thursday 25 April. With two
public holidays occurring in one week,
this is an opportunity to extend your
holiday to 10 days – from Friday 19 April
to Sunday 28 April inclusive – just by
taking three days of annual leave. School
holidays take place during this period in
all States. Chances are, many people will
be making the most of it and going on a
family holiday. Time for another overseas
trip?
Jonathan Etkind, spokesperson at
InsureandGo, says, ‘Aussies have a strong
love affair with travel and like to take
advantage of every opportunity possible
to relax and explore new destinations. By
thinking ahead and planning when to take
annual leave, it can be the difference
between a few days off here and there,
and taking a longer holiday with minimal
time off work.’
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The four-day weekend hack
When public holidays fall mid-week, why
not take annual leave on the days before
or after, combine it with the weekend,
and take a mini getaway? For instance,
Victorians can take Monday 4 November
off work – right before Melbourne Cup
Day – to enjoy a four-day weekend.
Brisbane residents could take two days of
annual leave before or after Ekka Day on
14 August to enjoy a five-day holiday. For
those that have more annual leave to
spare, why not take all four days off to
have a nine-day break in total.
The 2019 Christmas holiday hack
Aussies can create a 17-day holiday –
from Friday 20 December to Monday 6
January by taking just seven days of
annual leave. With Christmas Day falling
on a Wednesday next year, why not take
Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th – and
perhaps even on Friday the 20th – off
work, when it’s very likely to be quiet at
work. This holiday also takes advantage of
Boxing Day falling on a Thursday and
New Year’s Day the following Wednesday.
To learn more visit insureandgo.com.au