Annual leave. Some of us savour it – calculate how many days we have, book each and every one of them, and make the most of the time to recharge. But according to our data from around the world, the average amount of unused leave is five days. One whole work week! So why do so many people not use all their leave? What days are the most popular to book off? And how many of us actually take a full week off work at a time?
Every year for the past five years, our experts have pulled together data from over 250,000 Timetastic users to give you unprecedented insight into how we’re really using annual leave…
Annual leave in a nutshell
Did you know that:
- The average annual leave allowance has stayed around 22-23 days since 2019.
- A full workweek (or 5 days) was the average amount of unused holidays in the UK in 2024.
- Just over 50% of people in the UK took off a full week off in the past 12 months, compared with 33% in the US.
- The most requested day off in 2024 was 27 December.
- On average, women in the UK took 74 days of maternity leave in 2024, one day less than in 2023.
Key trends in leave allowance and use
Over the last five years, businesses have maintained generous leave policies. The average annual leave allowance stays steady at just over 23 days (excluding bank holidays).
As for the number of unused holiday days per employee? That has plummeted by 71% since 2019, showing workers are using their well-deserved time off.
Unused leave figures over the years per employee:
- 2019: 18.5 days
- 2020: 17.8 days
- 2021: 16 days
- 2022: 13.4 days
- 2023: 8.8 days
- 2024: 5.3 days
What does this mean? The data’s looking pretty positive! Individuals are valuing their time away from work and understanding how much they gain personally and professionally from taking breaks. It seems businesses are also encouraging staff to use leave more than previously. Five days is still a full week staff could use to rest up or take a trip, but it’s great that we’re seeing progress. Don’t forget, annual leave helps keep everyone is on top of their game!
There's a sharper decline following 2022 than the previous years. This is likely an after effect following on from the pandemic and people’s shift to focus on their health and wellbeing.

Expert tip
“Tracking trends in leave usage gives you a look into your team’s wellbeing. If your employees are leaving a high number of holidays unused, it could be a sign they feel overworked or unsure about requesting time off. If left unchecked, this can lead to burnout and a drop in morale.” Oliver Higenbottam, Timetastic Managing Director
How you can use this data
- Remind your employees to take leave. Use tools like Timetastic’s Burnout Board to track who’s maybe forgetting their leave.
- Set the right example and take leave yourself. Create a work culture where time off is used and appreciated from top to bottom.
- Monitor unused leave and consider flexibility. Can you roll over days into the next year or offer mid-year breaks?
- Create a simple annual leave policy. A clear annual leave policy makes it easier for everyone to follow the process. Don’t have one? Don’t worry! We’ve got a free template you can use!
Which days do most people book off work for their annual leave?
You’ve probably guessed this one. Yes, the festive season is always a clear winner for people booking time off. December dominated the top dates for annual leave in 2024 (and has done for the past five years).
Top dates for annual leave:
- 2024: 27 December, 23 December, 30 December
- 2023: 27 December, 22 December, 18 December
- 2022: 28 December, 23 December, 19 December
- 2021: 29 December, 24 December, 20 December
- 2020: 29 December, 24 December, 21 December
Bit of a pattern there, right? It just confirms that a lot of us love to spend quality with friends and family throughout the holidays. Whether that’s taking a trip to see family or having a few days to recover from the excitement and chaos.

What days of the week do people book off work for their annual leave?
Again, no major surprises with the days people take off most. Mondays and Fridays are the most commonly requested leave days. Taking advantage of a long weekend to recharge or go on holiday is always going to be popular.
Tips for managing peak leave periods
- Plan early: Look at the calendar and how the holidays fall. You can allocate team resources and prepare in advance.
- Limit disruptions: Make sure your teams are balanced. Use a leave tracking software to smoothen out your process.
- Stay up to date. Always know who’s off when. Our Wallchart makes viewing and planning hassle-free.
- Set up notifications. Help everyone out with notifications and reminders with the Timetastic mobile app or via email.
Which countries take the most annual leave at a time?
Taking a few days off for a long weekend here and there is great. But many people find that it’s difficult to fully switch off from work and recharge without having at least one whole week off.
We wanted to find out just how common it is for people to take a week or more off work at a time, and to see which countries do this most often. So, we picked out the data from countries with over 800 Timetastic users, namely the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, the UAE, and around Europe to allow for some deeper digging.
What did we find?
- Germans are still taking off the longest single period from work. In the last year, 69% have taken one week or more off at once, compared with 70% in 2023.
- Dropping slightly, only 59% of people in Ireland and the UAE have taken at least one week off over the past year.
- The Netherlands and Spain followed closely, with over 58% of people taking one week or more off.
- Of the Europeans, over 50% of people took off one full week or more in 2024.
- The US and Canada fall well below average, with only 30% and 6%, respectively, having one full week of leave in 2024.

Why is this? What influences the number of days of leave we take off at a time?
It’s difficult to say exactly, but one thing we do know is that the countries where people take more leave at a time (such as Germany and the Netherlands) have some of the highest minimum paid holiday allowances worldwide. In contrast, the number of days paid leave entitlement in countries such as the US and Canada is much lower (or even non-existent)!
- As you can see from the graph below, the country where workers are least likely to take a week or more off work is the US, as less than a third of people say they’ve done this in the past year. US workers also have a minimum of zero days of paid holiday allowance.
- In contrast, over two-thirds of German workers have taken a week or more annual leave at a time over the last year, with Germany having a generous 30 day minimum paid holiday allowance per year.

What are the statistics for maternity and parental leave?
How about maternity and paternity leave? How much time do families take off in the UK?
Maternity leave statistics
Our data for maternity leave shows:
- On average, new mothers in 2024 took between 10 and 11 weeks off (74 days) at a time. This is just one day less than the 75 days in 2023.
- In the US, new mothers took on average six to seven weeks off (46 days) in 2024 compared with 43 days in 2023.
As you can see from the table, mothers in the US have no statutory entitlement to maternity leave. This could explain why the booking lengths are around half that of the UK.

Paternity leave statistics
And how about paternity leave? It’s probably not much of a surprise that new fathers often take less paternity leave than new mothers take as maternity. But what are the actual differences?
Our data for paternity leave found that:
- In the UK, new fathers took on average 8.2 days of leave in 2024. This has halved since 2023, when fathers booked 16.5 days.
- The US is slightly surprising in this area. New fathers took on average 11.9 days in 2024, going against the usual trend of people in the UK having more time off and more generous policies.
These numbers, lower than those for maternity leave, reflect the fact that statutory parental leave in the UK is one or two weeks, while the US has no legal requirements.
Adoption leave statistics
We don’t have much leave classified as adoption leave in our data set. Here are the key figures:
- Fewer than 0.05% of users have taken adoption leave.
- Those who do take adoption leave take an average of just 62 days.
This is despite the fact you have the same leave allowance in the UK for adoption as you do for maternity and paternity.
But can we explain these figures?
Well, it’s likely because far fewer adoptions take place than births.
In 2023, there were 2,960 adoptions (a 2% decrease from 2022) compared to 591,072 live births in the UK.
There are around 205 live births for every adoption in the UK. If you add adoptions and births together, adoptions make up less than 0.5% of the total number. This helps explain why there are so few requests for adoption leave.
How you can support new parents
- Provide clear guidelines on how to access and submit family-related leave policies.
- Promote flexible working arrangements to allow for caregiving responsibilities.
Bereavement and compassionate leave statistics
Over 10% of our users (26,102) have taken compassionate leave or bereavement leave in the last 12 months, increasing from 7% in 2023.
In the UK, there is no statutory entitlement to compassionate leave except in the specific circumstances of the death of a child.
Some of the key statistics for compassionate leave:
- 10.4% of users have taken compassionate leave in the past 12 months.
- 40% more users took compassionate leave in 2024 compared to 2023.
- The average length of leave is 1.6 days, the same as 2023.

The benefits of annual leave for businesses
When your employees are rested and happy, they are more motivated and productive. It’s in everyone’s best interest to take a good, long break. Especially when they’re entitled to it!
Top benefits of annual leave:
- Improved mental and physical health: promoting a good work/life balance is crucial for wellbeing.
- Increased productivity: employees taking breaks helps fuel creativity, and they return to work revitalised.
- Reduced turnover: happy employees are less likely to leave which reduces the financial implications of hiring.

How can you encourage staff to take their annual leave?
If staff take their annual leave, you can see the benefits for your business, but how can you encourage it?
- Set clear leave policies. Make sure everyone has access to your policies and can understand and submit leave requests.
- Talk about leave. It’s sometimes as simple as asking someone what leave they’ve booked or when they’re taking it!
- Set an example. Take leave yourself and inform people when you’ll be away.
- Make booking leave easy. Set up a system or use a leave management platform to help.
Conclusion of the annual leave statistics
It’s pretty clear from our 2024 State of Annual Leave analysis that more flexible statutory leave allowances mean people take more time (not much of a surprise!). However, not everyone uses their whole allowance, and that’s for a whole host of reasons.
Overall, there has been very little change in the trends of annual leave allowance. So, it’s not getting worse, but there’s definitely room for improvement.