About those who don't take annual leave between Christmas and NY

[Abitboring]

Some people in office jobs have nothing to do between Christmas and NY. I don't mean all, but some as businesses are closed etc.

Is it clever have no annual leave left but be effectively off work during those days?

Or is it deceitful to use up all annual leave during the rest of the year and then have nothing left for those days but be kind of off anyway?

Agreed, but hence I said ‘unless a business mandates’. My comment was in response to the OP’s specific scenario, sorry if I was unclear.

I.e. discounting any business-led mandates or requirements, and professions like teaching which weren’t part of the question, it is your right to request to have those days off between Christmas and NY as opposed to another random three day period at another point of the year.

Overall, my point was there should be zero judgement if you do!

Not just accountants. In a previous role for the parent company of a well known energy supplier, I was responsible for ensuring the company’s corporate insurance programmes were successfully renewed for the 1st Jan. I would often be needed to work right up until COP 31st Dec to make sure the renewals got over the line.

If we didn’t have our liability insurance in place (motor third party and employer’s liability especially as they are statutory requirements in the UK and some other countries we operated in) our staff would have had to down tools immediately come the 1st. Not an option, particularly for our service engineers at such a busy time of year.

I used to work for a agency that supplied workers to the construction industry which completey closes from Christmas to New Year, we had to take that time from our annual leave entitlement