How to optimise your leave days in 2025

Back at work and already thinking about when to take leave in 2025? We've got you covered!

By optimising your annual leave, you can enjoy up to 47 days off by combining weekends and public holidays.

Here are the public holiday days:

• 21 March: Friday - human rights day
• 18 April: Friday - Good Friday
• 21 April: Monday - Family Day
• 27 April: Sunday - Freedom Day
• 28 April: Monday - Freedom Day
• 1 May: Thursday - Worker's Day
• 16 June: Monday - Youth Day 
• 9 August: Saturday - National Women's Day
• 24 September: Wednesday - Heritage Day
• 16 December: Tuesday - Day of Reconciliation
• 25 December: Thursday - Christmas Day - long weekend
• 26 December: Friday - Day of Goodwill - long weekend

Here's how to make those public holidays work for you:

Human Rights Day – get four days off 

Public holiday: Friday, 21 March (Human Rights Day)

Leave needed: 1 day (Monday, 24 March)

Break: 21 March (Friday) to 24 March (Monday)

Total days off: four days

Easter - get 11 days off

Public holidays:

Friday, 18 April (Good Friday)

Monday, 21 April (Family Day)

Leave needed: four days (Tuesday, 22 April to Friday, 25 April)

Break: 18 April (Friday) to 27 April (Sunday)

Total days off: 11 days

Youth Day – get 6 days off

Public holiday: Monday, 16 June (Youth Day)

Leave needed: 3 days (Thursday, 12 June, Friday, 13 June, and Tuesday, 17 June)

Break: 12 June (Thursday) to 17 June (Tuesday)

Total days off: 6 days

Heritage Day – 8 days off

Public holiday: Wednesday, 24 September (Heritage Day)

Leave needed: 5 days (Wednesday, 17 September to Tuesday, 23 September)

Break: 17 September (Wednesday) to 24 September (Wednesday)

Total days off: 8 days

End of year: 

Public holidays:

Thursday, 25 December (Christmas Day)

Friday, 26 December (Day of Goodwill)

Leave needed: 7 days (Monday, 15 December to Wednesday, 24 December)

Break: 13 December (Saturday) to 29 December (Monday)

Total days off: 16 days

You're welcome!