Do you want to use your vacation in 2024 as optimally as possible? This way you can turn 32 vacation days into 76 vacation days

Want to make the most of your vacation in 2024? With a little pinch of salt, and subject to your employer's approval, you can spread out 32 days of vacation next year to end up with a minimum of 76 vacation days.

2023 is not over yet, yet many employees are already working on planning their vacation for 2024. Those who do it meticulously and arrive on time can benefit greatly from a regular holiday offer.

To be clear, it's not about getting more vacation days from your employer, but about planning your existing vacation days in a way that you can use them as optimally as possible. Legally, every full-time private sector employee in Belgium who has received sufficient leave rights in the previous year is entitled to 20 days of leave.

However, this is the minimum, and for many employees, this will add a few days. For example, there is seniority leave for those who have been working in the same company for a number of years. Many employees are also entitled to ADV days or 'reduction in hours'. For example, someone who works 40 hours a week instead of the statutory 38 hours is entitled to 12 extra days, or 32 days in total. There are also ten public holidays, such as New Year's, All Saints' Day, or the Assumption of the Lord.

Therefore, the exact number of vacation days depends from one employee to another. But if we take an average of 32 days, and if you combine it wisely with vacations, it can still be improved to at least 76 vacation days.

This is what the plan looks like:

• The first day of the year is a holiday. In 2024, it will fall on a Monday, which means that with four days off, you will immediately have more than a week off, from Saturday, December 30, to Sunday, January 7. This means nine days off and four days off.

• You can use the same process three more times in the spring. The first time is Easter Monday, April 1 (Easter is not legally a holiday because that day always falls on a Sunday: by planning four days off from Tuesday to Friday, you will be home for nine days, from Saturday, March 30 to Sunday April 7.

• May 1, Labor Day, falls on a Wednesday this year, so here it is also enough to use two vacation days in advance and two days afterward to get nine vacation days.

• The same applies to Pentecost Week on Monday, May 20. Pentecost itself, like Easter, is not a public holiday, but the following Monday is.

• Meanwhile, there was also the Feast of the Ascension, on Thursday 9 May. Anyone doing Bridge Day on Friday, May 10, will go home for four days with one day off. With 17 vacation days, you now have 40 vacation days in total.

• Thursday 11 July is not a public holiday for all companies in Flanders. Anyone who gets one can also fill the gap here by taking the day off on Friday, July 12. However, we do not count it in our calculations.

• Belgian National Day, July 21, falls on a Sunday this year. This means that that day can be taken on another day during the week. In some sectors or companies, the day off is set collectively, often the following Monday. Those who are allowed to spend the day freely can, for example, save it for the week of the Assumption of Our Lady on August 15. That day falls on a Thursday this year, so you can use it on Friday, August 16 for an extended weekend. By also taking the previous three days, you have a nine-day free period again.

An employee who only has four weeks of vacation and has used all of his vacation days as described here is worth the effort at this point. Only when there are other vacation days, such as seniority holidays, can these vacation days continue to be used.

• There is a chance of another full week off on Friday, November 1, Halloween. Using four days off at the beginning of the week provides a free period of nine days.

• Anyone who still has vacation days can apply the same system two more times. The first time on Armistice Day, Monday 11 November, and the second time on Christmas Day, which falls on a Wednesday in 2024. In total, you have used 32 of your vacation days to get a total of 76 vacation days.

Of course, this is just a theoretical example. Those with fewer vacation days can, for example, use fewer vacation days during certain periods in order to have a shorter extended weekend. This chart also does not take into account the long vacation planning of most employees during the summer vacation.

If you want to have a longer period of vacation in the spring, it is best to plan your vacation between April 27th and May 20th. Thanks to Labor Day, Ascension Day, and Pentecost, you only need to use 13 vacation days to get 24 vacation days.