Do you have your birthday off work?

153 replies

Wildhairdonotcare · 26/01/2026 15:41

Sorry a very boring AIBU but I am just curious as I have never experienced companies giving you the day off work for your birthday but my DP thinks its standard as thats what he is used to.

My DP gets a day of annual leave for his birthday every year, if it falls on a weekend he gets the following Monday off, I have never known anyone else who gets this so I am just curious as to whether its as common as he thinks or as uncommon as I think.

So do you have your birthday off work?

If voting YABU - you also get the day off
YANBU - you don't get the day off

OP posts:

brunettemic · 27/01/2026 22:03

I never work it as I take leave but I do think it’s a nice little thing to offer staff. I’d 100% bring it in if I ran a business.

Lovetheants · 27/01/2026 22:17

MrsAvocet · 27/01/2026 02:13

I have never worked anywhere that gives birthdays off and don't really understand the supposed benefit. I mean it's not really an "extra" day's leave is it, not if everyone gets it and it's every year? It's not like getting additional leave after you've reached a long service milestone or a genuine extra day off given as a one off for some special occasion or achievement. It just sounds like a gimmick to make the employer look more caring or something.
Say you get 30 days AL but your employer says it is "29 plus your birthday" they're not giving you anything different are they? If that "extra" day can be taken flexibly then surely it is just an AL day, nothing to do with the birthday, and if it's enforced on your actual birthday then it in fact reduces employee choice? Not everyone is bothered about their birthday and wants the day off. Particularly when our DC were young and DH and I were using the majority of our leave to cover school holidays between us I would have been mightily pissed off if either of us had been effectively forced to waste a day of leave on a random school day. I'd much rather have flexibility. Those who want their birthday off can just book AL and those that don't, don't. I don't see automatically getting your birthday off as a perk.
Same with other fixed leave, like companies that shut down between Christmas and New Year. You might not need to book those days off but they are leave and that will almost certainly be reflected in the number of days you can take off at other times and/or your pay. It's generally something employers do if it works for them as it's often not cost effective to reopen offices or restart production lines for the few days that aren't Bank Holidays, especially given a lot of staff would want to book AL anyway - a bit like a modern version of the old Wakes Weeks in Northern towns. It isn't a bad thing and lots of people do like that time off, but I don't think many companies do it for altruistic reasons, but rather because it makes business sense.

My company introduced birthday leave just after covid. This is addition to our annual leave entitlement but is required to be used on the day, or Monday/Friday if birthday falls on a weekend. I think it's a lovely gesture.

MasterBeth · 27/01/2026 22:19

TeenYearsAreBrutal · 26/01/2026 16:02

We get this - Big 4

City, United, Arsenal or Liverpool?

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7