An overseas holiday normally means using the annual leave allocated to you by your employer. It sounds simple, right? Perhaps, but there’s probably more to it than you think. Here’s a quick guide to how to make the most of your annual leave , so you can enjoy the best the world has to offer.

Make sure you know what you’re entitled to

First things first: how many days can you take off? Does this include, or exclude, public holidays? Are you allowed to take them all at once? What’s the policy about carrying over leave from the previous year? The more you know about where you stand, the easier it is to make plans.

Don’t use it all at once

Unless there’s really no other option, it’s usually best not use up all of your leave in one trip. There’ll undoubtedly be other, smaller trips you’ll want to make in the year – festivals, weddings, long weekend breaks etc. Sometimes it’s nice to reserve a day or two just for staying in bed and watching movies all afternoon!

Think carefully about when to use it

Booking your leave can be a surprisingly tactical process, and there’s a lot to consider. If you going away with children, you’ll probably be confined to the school holidays, but if not, it might be fun to flee the office at an unconventional time of year – not least because you’ll get cheaper prices and better availability.

Is there the option for unpaid leave?

Don’t assume that your annual leave is set in stone. Particularly if you’re planning a big trip, speak to your manager about the possibility of negotiating a few more days. Chances are you’d be willing to take a bit of unpaid leave, so they might not mind at all.

Don’t feel guilty!

You’d be surprised how many Australians don’t take their full annual leave. Of course there’s a wide range of reasons for this, but quite often it boils down to employees thinking that taking time off causes hassle. Don’t forget: you have the right to that leave, and once you return from your trip refreshed and revitalised, your colleagues will feel the benefits too!

Don’t forget to get your annual travel insurance before using your holiday leave for your holiday.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 7:46 am and is filed under Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.