As 2021 draws to a close the UK faces a fresh coronavirus threat thanks to the Omicron variant.

But with Covid booster jabs rolling out across the country it is hoped we will see a return to pre-pandemic travel and an end to restrictions in the New Year.

Many of us will be planning holidays and gatherings with friends and family who we haven’t seen as much as we’d have liked since the start of the pandemic.

With careful strategic planning and clever use of bank holidays, workers will be able to bag 54 days of holiday in 2022 by taking just 22 days of annual leave.

Christmas and Easter will offer the best opportunites to maximise your time off but if used correctly, a normal bank holiday allows you to book a block of nine days off by using just four days of your annual leave. 

There is also the four-day weekend to celebrate the Queen's platinum Jubilee.

The plan will only work if you work a standard Monday to Friday week and get bank holidays off.

So if you tend to work weekends and/or bank holidays, this plan isn't be for you but if you don't, then there are plently of extended breaks to be taken advantage of.

How to maximise your annual leave in 2022

TikTok user @ruthkudzai explains how you can take adantage of Bank Holidays to maximise your time off work in the year ahead. 

@ruthkudzai

2022 annual leave hack ##worklife ##balance ##annualleave ##ruthkudzai ##fyp

♬ original sound - Ruth Kudzai

Full list of Bank Holidays in 2022

Every year, England and Wales get eight bank holidays with Scotland having nine and Northern Ireland celebrating 10.

Next year, this is set to change with the marking of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne next year with a 'blockbuster' Bank Holiday weekend.

The celebrations will be held across four days from Thursday, June 2 2022 and will culminate in a final show at Windsor Castle in May.

January

January 3- New Year's Holiday ( substitute for January 1 which is a weekend in 2022)

January 4 - New Year's Holiday ( substitute for January 2 - Scotland only)

March 

March 17 - St Patrick's Day ( Northern Ireland only)

April

April 15 - Good Friday

April 18 - Easter Monday

May

May 2 - May Day

June

June 2 - Late May Bank Holiday

June 3 - Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

July 

June 12 - Battle of the Boyne ( Northern Ireland only)

August 

August 1 - August Bank Holiday (Scotland only)

August 29 - August Bank Holiday ( England and Wales only)

December

December 25 - Christmas Day

December 26 - Boxing Day