How to Maximise Annual Leave 2026 NZ

Four weeks annual leave just doesn’t sound enough, especially if you’re planning a two week break over Christmas and New Year. It only leaves you a fortnight to take a decent holiday at another time in the year.

Our tips below show you how to maximise your annual leave by taking advantage of public holidays and weekends. With these annual leave hacks for 2026, you can really expand your breaks and give yourself more time to recharge properly and do your best work.

Annual leave and New Zealand public holidays

The standard offering for businesses in New Zealand is 20 days annual leave. But four weeks can feel like it disappears way too quickly. To extend the feeling of being on holidays, align the time you take off with weekends and public holidays. By strategically approaching your standard 20 days of annual leave, you’ll unlock more time off. What’s more, by cleverly positioning your annual leave dates adjacent to New Zealand public holidays, you’ll double – possibly triple – your time off without resorting to having to take unpaid leave.

Follow the plan below and turn your full 20 days of allowance for 2026 into about 53 days off across six meaningful breaks. (That total includes weekends and public-holiday days. We’ve kept annual-leave usage to exactly 20 days for 2026.)

Here are the best dates to book time off in 2026.

Christmas 2025 and New Year’s 2026 – book seven days to get 16 in a row

Christmas Day 2025 falls on Thursday 25 December and Boxing Day on Friday 26 December. New Year’s Day 2026 is on Thursday 1 January, with the Day After New Year’s Day on Friday 2 January.

Book Monday 22, Tuesday 23, and Wednesday 24 December 2025, plus Monday 29, Tuesday 30, and Wednesday 31 December 2025 as annual leave. You can also add Monday 5 January 2026 to stretch the break even further.

Your 16-day break: Friday 19 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026 (7 days of annual leave).

Waitangi Day 2026 – take one day off for a four-day weekend

Waitangi Day falls on Friday 6 February 2026. Take Monday 9 February as annual leave for a long weekend.

Your four-day break: Friday 6 to Monday 9 February (1 day of annual leave).

Easter 2026 – take four days off for a 10-day break

Good Friday is 3 April 2026 and Easter Monday is 6 April 2026. Book Tuesday 7 to Friday 10 April as annual leave.

Your 10-day break: Friday 3 to Sunday 12 April (4 days of annual leave).

ANZAC Day 2026 – already a three-day weekend (no leave needed)

ANZAC Day falls on Saturday 25 April 2026 and is Mondayised to Monday 27 April 2026, giving you a natural three-day weekend.

King’s Birthday 2026 – take four days off for a nine-day break

King’s Birthday falls on Monday 1 June 2026. Book Tuesday 2 to Friday 5 June as annual leave.

Your nine-day break: Saturday 30 May to Sunday 7 June (4 days of annual leave).

Matariki 2026 – take one day off for a four-day weekend

Matariki falls on Friday 10 July 2026. Add Monday 13 July as annual leave for a long winter weekend.

Your four-day break: Friday 10 to Monday 13 July (1 day of annual leave).

Labour Day 2026 – take four days off for a nine-day break

Labour Day is Monday 26 October 2026. Book Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 October as annual leave.

Your nine-day break: Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November (4 days of annual leave).

Christmas 2026 and New Year’s 2027 – take six days off for a 14-day break

Christmas Day is Friday 25 December 2026, and Boxing Day is Saturday 26 December 2026, observed on Monday 28 December 2026. New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027, and the Day After New Year’s Day is Saturday 2 January 2027, observed on Monday 4 January 2027.

Book Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December 2026 and Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 January 2027 as annual leave.

Your 14-day break: Friday 25 December 2026 to Thursday 7 January 2027 (6 days of annual leave).

(If you prefer a longer break, booking Friday 8 January 2027 as well turns this into 15 days off with 7 leave days, but the core 2026 plan keeps your annual-leave total to 20.)

Public Holiday	Book leave on these days	Leave days used	Total days off
Christmas 2025 & New Year’s 2026	22–24 Dec, 29–31 Dec 2025 + 5 Jan 2026	7	16
Waitangi Day (Fri 6 Feb	Sun 9 Feb	1	4
Easter (Fri 3 Apr & Mon 6 Apr)	Tue 7 – Fri 10 Apr	4	10
King’s Birthday (Mon 1 Jun)	Tue 2 – Fri 5 Jun	4	9
Matariki (Fri 10 Jul)	Sun 13 Jul	1	4
Labour Day (Mon 26 Oct)	Tue 27 – Fri 30 Oct	4	9
Christmas 2026 & New Year’s 2027	29–31 Dec 2026 + 5–7 Jan 2027	6	14

Many organisations now also offer additional leave options as further benefits for employees. For example, wellness days are now a common leave type offered over and beyond your standard 20 days, as is additional leave when working with an organisation for an extended number of years, or the ability to purchase more leave. If you have access to these different leave benefits, you can deploy at will to further extend your time off.

Why take annual leave?

If you’ve been saving your annual leave, it’s important to remember that taking regular, consistent breaks throughout the year helps manage your overall stress levels. Not doing so can lead to burnout.

The World Health Organisation recognises burnout as an ‘occupational phenomenon’. Burnout syndrome, it states, is the result of chronic workplace stress unsuccessfully managed. Symptoms include:

Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
Mental distance from work
More negative feelings or cynicism regarding one’s job
Decreased professional efficacy

You can read more tips on how to avoid burnout here.

With the above annual leave plan in place, you’ll enjoy some decent breaks. It sometimes takes a couple of days to relax into a holiday. And so, with these substantial breaks you can really recharge.