Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

Original poster

Job with lots of annual leave

145 replies

Perfectjobdreaming · 30/08/2025 17:29

I love travelling so looking for a job with good annual leave, possibility to purchase annual leave or work from overseas. Am I dreaming

I am an Accountant; previous job which I am leaving allows you to purchase 10 days annual leave and potentially do unpaid leave

Perhaps working for a school?

OP posts:
Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 10:08

ChiefCakeTestertoMaryBerry · 31/08/2025 10:05

I work for a county council and they offer 25 days AL plus bank holidays which I think increases after several years’ continuous service. We also have the option to purchase up to two weeks’ extra AL twice a year. Working abroad however is not allowed.

That sounds ok

OP posts:
HighLadyofTheNightCourt · 31/08/2025 10:21

I would usually suggest a university but they’re all going through a tricky time at the moment! They probably wouldn’t let you work abroad but the annual leave packages are typically good. When I worked in professional services I got 30 days plus Christmas and bank holidays.
As an academic I get 37 days plus Christmas and bank holidays. We can also buy extra leave if agreed by your manager.

School contracts are not always term time and if they are it does mean you’re very restricted as to when you can go on holiday.

Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 10:24

Maddy70 · 31/08/2025 10:04

Nursing ... The NHS gives amazing holidays if you stay there long enough
Schools (don't pay well and jobs hard to come by)
MP for Clacton :)

Thanks; this may work if you are young but I don’t want to have to wait 5 years for the annual leave to be good.

OP posts:
Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 10:24

HighLadyofTheNightCourt · 31/08/2025 10:21

I would usually suggest a university but they’re all going through a tricky time at the moment! They probably wouldn’t let you work abroad but the annual leave packages are typically good. When I worked in professional services I got 30 days plus Christmas and bank holidays.
As an academic I get 37 days plus Christmas and bank holidays. We can also buy extra leave if agreed by your manager.

School contracts are not always term time and if they are it does mean you’re very restricted as to when you can go on holiday.

Thanks; I have been thinking the same, some universities are really struggling

OP posts:
CatherineCawoodsbestie · 31/08/2025 10:30

Yup. LA . Mine gives up to 34 days after 10 years, plus you can buy more and flexi. I sometimes WFH from half six and then come into the office later. I go to the gym during the working day using flexi, finish early and pretty much always take the 2 days a month flexi. It is all very relaxed and we are trusted to manage it ourselves.

Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 10:47

CatherineCawoodsbestie · 31/08/2025 10:30

Yup. LA . Mine gives up to 34 days after 10 years, plus you can buy more and flexi. I sometimes WFH from half six and then come into the office later. I go to the gym during the working day using flexi, finish early and pretty much always take the 2 days a month flexi. It is all very relaxed and we are trusted to manage it ourselves.

This sounds ideal; just what I am looking for. Will focus on LA jobs.

Feeling hopeful ❤️

OP posts:
Negroany · 31/08/2025 10:51

Banks give good annual leave, and usually have flexible purchase options.

Civil service - I got thirty days, plus BH, plus could buy five, and carry five over. And we could work abroad up to four weeks and take up to 3m unpaid leave in certain circumstances.

Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 10:58

Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 10:47

This sounds ideal; just what I am looking for. Will focus on LA jobs.

Feeling hopeful ❤️

Show quote history

Ahh, read it too quickly. 10 years is a long time to wait; I would be retired by then. Is there a possibility to buy from the begging and flexi?

I am looking for work life balance and peace of mind. Happy to compromise on salary

OP posts:
Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 11:06

Negroany · 31/08/2025 10:51

Banks give good annual leave, and usually have flexible purchase options.

Civil service - I got thirty days, plus BH, plus could buy five, and carry five over. And we could work abroad up to four weeks and take up to 3m unpaid leave in certain circumstances.

Thanks. Will check civil service jobs. I feel like a change of scenery/moving out of private sector.

OP posts:
Pinkissmart · 31/08/2025 11:08

Kary26 · 30/08/2025 17:30

Business manager in a school.

Would those really be term time?

Kary26 · 31/08/2025 11:14

Pinkissmart · 31/08/2025 11:08

Would those really be term time?

Show quote history

I have seen them, more often in primary.

SnowdaySewday · 31/08/2025 11:32

Could you work part time or compressed hours? You’d have more flexibility to tag annual leave days into non-working days to get enough time to get away. You might be able to negotiate a package with a local authority if you have a skill set they are short of.

A school is probably the worst place to choose, as you may well have no more annual leave days than anywhere else, plus be restricted to taking them in the school holidays when everywhere is more busy and more expensive.

Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 11:37

SnowdaySewday · 31/08/2025 11:32

Could you work part time or compressed hours? You’d have more flexibility to tag annual leave days into non-working days to get enough time to get away. You might be able to negotiate a package with a local authority if you have a skill set they are short of.

A school is probably the worst place to choose, as you may well have no more annual leave days than anywhere else, plus be restricted to taking them in the school holidays when everywhere is more busy and more expensive.

Thank you. This could be an option going part time or doing compressed hours. Not a lot part time jobs out there though

I will discard schools,

OP posts:
Crazymadchickenlady · 31/08/2025 11:41

I‘m in professional services at a uni and get 37 days plus bank holidays. They are making redundancies at the moment though and hardly taking on any new staff.

singthing · 31/08/2025 11:45

Are you in love with the idea of working from abroad, like the instagram stories show - just a laptop and a couple of hours easy work from a cosy beachside shack, before you spend the rest of the day buying fresh fruit from friendly roadside vendors and pottering about on your moped in picturesque locations till sundown?

Because the reality is very much not that. It's an endless round of trying to find stable, usable connectivity, having to work an actual, you know, job and funding it all. Those idyllic holiday hotspots soon wear off after a while too, when the practical realities kick in. And then the question of tax residency/liability and (potentially) self employment issues kick in if you are abroad enough. The other option is to work in a typical work environment in your chosen location, but then you may as well just do that here and take holidays as holidays, rather than trying to fudge the two together. Or just move abroad properly for a stint.

confusedlots · 31/08/2025 12:01

I take it you don’t have children? If you did, you’d be entitled to unpaid parental leave, I’ve just taken 3 weeks unpaid in the summer along with 2 weeks annual leave.

I’m sure a lot of workplaces offer unpaid leave if you ask?

confusedlots · 31/08/2025 12:05

Oh I’ve just seen that you do have children. Unpaid parental leave is a statutory entitlement so your employer can’t refuse it.

GCAcademic · 31/08/2025 12:15

Universities allow you to purchase additional annual leave and take unpaid leave. In fact, they're actively encouraging it in the current financial climate (though the downside of that is the job insecurity at the moment).

Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 12:26

singthing · 31/08/2025 11:45

Are you in love with the idea of working from abroad, like the instagram stories show - just a laptop and a couple of hours easy work from a cosy beachside shack, before you spend the rest of the day buying fresh fruit from friendly roadside vendors and pottering about on your moped in picturesque locations till sundown?

Because the reality is very much not that. It's an endless round of trying to find stable, usable connectivity, having to work an actual, you know, job and funding it all. Those idyllic holiday hotspots soon wear off after a while too, when the practical realities kick in. And then the question of tax residency/liability and (potentially) self employment issues kick in if you are abroad enough. The other option is to work in a typical work environment in your chosen location, but then you may as well just do that here and take holidays as holidays, rather than trying to fudge the two together. Or just move abroad properly for a stint.

Not in love with the idea; would like to have the option of a few days if possible as both DH and I have family overseas in two different continents; however I would rather take the whole as annual leave or unpaid leave if given the choice,

OP posts:
Dippythedino · 31/08/2025 14:30

The other way is to go for long term temp contracts with the summer off to allow for travelling.

Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 14:38

confusedlots · 31/08/2025 12:05

Oh I’ve just seen that you do have children. Unpaid parental leave is a statutory entitlement so your employer can’t refuse it.

It was refused to a colleague; they can say it can cause disruption to the business; lots of politics and unfair treatment. It is history now as I am leaving, hopefully other companies will be better

OP posts:
Original poster
Perfectjobdreaming · 31/08/2025 14:39

How easy/difficult is to get jobs in the civil service and local authorities? How complicated is the process? Is there lots of bureaucracy?

OP posts:
OP posts:
QuiteEasy · 31/08/2025 18:45

CatherineCawoodsbestie · 31/08/2025 10:30

Yup. LA . Mine gives up to 34 days after 10 years, plus you can buy more and flexi. I sometimes WFH from half six and then come into the office later. I go to the gym during the working day using flexi, finish early and pretty much always take the 2 days a month flexi. It is all very relaxed and we are trusted to manage it ourselves.

As I said above…i wish!

I've already advised OP to check with the LA she is applying to as they must vary massively.

Also so many councils have no money. We are going through our third restructure (read redundancy/redeployment) since 2020.