NHS Leave Planner: Get More Days Off From Your Annual Leave
Enter your rota and your leave hours. See which shifts to book off for the longest breaks, built around your own pattern and the real bank holiday dates.
Need your entitlement first? Use the Annual Leave Calculator. Work Monday to Friday? The Bank Holiday Leave Planner is a lighter free version.
Short answer
Leave is worth the most when it sits next to days you are already off. On a Monday to Friday week, the best single shift of leave in 2027/28 gives 5 days away and the best four give 11. On a four-on-four-off rota the same four shifts give 15 days. This planner finds those dates for your own rota and leave hours.
Does this match your rota? The next four weeks
S = shift, N = night, - = day off. If this is wrong, change "Day 1 of your pattern falls on".
Your rota, nhs leave year 2027/28
Shifts
262
Hours a week
37.5
Bank holidays on shifts
6
Leave hours
202.5
Best plan found: 57 days away from 27 shifts of leave (202.5 hours), in 6 breaks.
Spreading the same shifts without looking at the calendar typically gets about 42 days away. Choosing the dates gets you 15 more.
The best value break in your plan
Sat 25 Dec 2027 to Mon 3 Jan 2028
10 days away
Book 3 shifts (22.5 hours): Wed 29 Dec to Fri 31 Dec 2027.
3.3 days away for every shift of leave. Covers Christmas Day (substitute day) and Boxing Day (substitute day) and New Year's Day (substitute day).
The other 5 breaks in your plan
Sizes and months are shown. The exact dates unlock with Leave Planner Pro.
- May 2027: 4 shifts · 9 days
- May 2027: 4 shifts · 9 days
- August 2027: 4 shifts · 9 days
- March 2028: 1 shift · 3 days
- March 2028: 11 shifts · 17 days
See all 6 breaks, with dates
The free planner above finds the best value break. Pro picks every break in the year so your 202.5 leave hours buy the most time away, then gives you the plan to use.
- Every break with its dates, the shifts to book and the bank holidays it bridges
- A year calendar of your rota with the leave marked, month by month
- Best break for 1, 2, 3 up to 12 shifts of leave, so you see where extra shifts stop paying off
- Match your days off with a partner or friend on a different rota, and see what it costs in shifts
- Add it all to your calendar (.ics), copy a ready-to-send leave request, or print the plan
Unlock the full planner
£7.99 one-off payment
- Access for 12 months from purchase. It does not renew and there is no subscription.
- Plan as many rotas, years and what-ifs as you like while you have access.
- The free planner stays free whether or not you buy. Your rota stays in this browser.
Just paid? It unlocks on this page within a few seconds. If you checked out as a guest, create an account with the same email to link it.
Already on FrontlinePay Pro? Sign in and it unlocks automatically. See all plans.
How this works, and what it does not know
- It lays your rota over the real calendar and bank holiday dates from gov.uk (England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland; 2026 to 2028, checked October 2026).
- A "break" is every day you are away: the shifts you take as leave, plus the days off and bank holidays either side. The plan is the exact best set of non-overlapping breaks that fits your leave hours, not a rule of thumb.
- Leave hours come from the Agenda for Change tiers (27, 29 or 33 days, plus 8 public holidays, in hours and pro rata) unless you type your own balance.
- A break that starts straight after a night shift counts one day fewer, because you will be sleeping through it.
- It cannot see who else is off, your trust's leave rules, or your rota changing. Your manager approves leave. Treat this as a plan to take to them.
- FrontlinePay is independent and not affiliated with the NHS or any trust.
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How to get more days off from your annual leave
Every day you are away is either a shift you booked as leave or a day you were off anyway: weekends, rostered days off and bank holidays. Leave is worth most when it joins two blocks of days off into one. A single shift of leave between a bank holiday weekend and the next days off can turn into four or five days away. The same shift in the middle of a run of working days gives you one.
On a rolling shift pattern the days off move around the calendar, so there is no list of "good weeks" to copy from a colleague on a different rota. The planner lays your pattern over the real dates, tries every start day and length, and then picks the combination of breaks that gives the most days away without spending more hours than you have.
What the best breaks look like, by number of shifts
These are the single best breaks anywhere in the 2027/28 NHS leave year (1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028), worked out by this planner for two common rotas in England. "Days away" is every day from the first day off to the last, including weekends, rostered days off and bank holidays.
| Shifts of leave | Monday to Friday, 7.5 hour days | Four on, four off, 11.5 hour shifts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 days: Fri 24 Dec to Tue 28 Dec 2027 | 8 days: Mon 27 Dec 2027 to Mon 3 Jan 2028 |
| 2 | 6 days: Thu 23 Dec to Tue 28 Dec 2027 | 12 days: Tue 21 Dec 2027 to Sat 1 Jan 2028 |
| 4 | 11 days: Fri 24 Dec 2027 to Mon 3 Jan 2028 | 15 days: Mon 20 Dec 2027 to Mon 3 Jan 2028 |
| 5 | 12 days: Thu 23 Dec 2027 to Mon 3 Jan 2028 | 20 days: Tue 21 Dec 2027 to Sun 9 Jan 2028 |
The four-on-four-off example assumes a first shift on Monday 5 April 2027; your pattern will fall differently, which is exactly why the dates depend on your rota. Over a whole year, the full plan for the Monday to Friday example, using 202.5 hours and breaks of at least three days, is 87 days away from 27 shifts of leave in 27 breaks. For the four-on-four-off example, using 262.5 hours (leave plus public holiday hours, with bank holiday shifts taken from them), it is 90 days away from 17 shifts in 17 breaks.
Leave in hours, and why long-day rotas lose out on days
On a 7.5 hour day, 27 days of leave is 202.5 hours. On an 11.5 hour long day, the same 202.5 hours is only about 17.6 shifts. Hours-based leave is fair, but it means every long day you book off costs more of your balance, so the days off around it matter even more. The planner counts in the hours of each shift you take, and takes bank holiday shifts out of your balance first if that is how your trust works.
ℹBank holidays on a shift rota
The Handbook gives full-time staff 8 general public holidays, and says staff who work one are entitled to time off in lieu (Section 13). How that is recorded on a rota differs between trusts. The planner offers three settings: bank holidays are days off, bank holiday shifts come out of your leave hours, or you work them. Pick the one your rota coordinator confirms.
What the free planner does, and what Pro adds
| Free | Leave Planner Pro, £7.99 once | |
|---|---|---|
| Your rota and leave hours | Any pattern, nights, your shift length, hours from your service | Same |
| Your plan | Total days away for your hours, and the single best value break with dates | Every break with dates, the shifts to book and the bank holidays each one covers |
| Year calendar | Rota check for the next four weeks | All twelve months with leave, breaks, bank holidays and shifts marked |
| Extra shifts | Not shown | The best break for 1 to 12 shifts, to see where more leave stops paying off |
| A partner or friend | Not shown | Shared days off, and what it costs you in shifts to join their longer breaks |
| Using the plan | Not included | Calendar file, leave request wording, printable plan |
Your rota stays in your browser. We do not receive it. Access lasts 12 months from purchase, does not renew, and covers as many rotas and what-ifs as you want to try.
How we calculate: method, assumptions and sources
- Calendar: your pattern is laid over every date in the period you choose, with official bank holiday dates from gov.uk (2026 to 2028, checked October 2026).
- A break: a run of consecutive rostered shifts taken as leave, plus every free day touching either end. The plan is the exact best set of breaks that do not overlap and fit within your hours, found by dynamic programming over the calendar and your hours in half-hour steps.
- Leave hours: Agenda for Change Handbook Section 13, Table 6 (27, 29 or 33 days plus 8 public holidays), pro rata to contracted hours against a 37.5 hour week (36 in NHS Scotland), the same engine as our Annual Leave Calculator. Typing your own balance overrides it.
- Nights: a break starting straight after a night shift counts one fewer usable day.
- Not modelled: other people's leave, trust approval rules, time off in lieu balances, carry-over, buy and sell leave, and rota changes. Your manager and trust policy decide what you can book.
FrontlinePay is independent and not affiliated with the NHS or any trust. See our editorial policy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the most days off from my annual leave? +
Does this work for long days and night shifts? +
How many hours of annual leave do I have? +
Do bank holidays come out of my leave hours? +
Is the planner free? +
Does it book my leave? +
Which bank holiday dates does it use? +
Related guides and tools
Annual Leave Calculator
Entitlement, accrual and what is left.
Annual Leave Tracker
Log the leave you book.
Bank Holiday Leave Planner
Bridge days for Monday to Friday staff.
NHS Annual Leave Entitlement Explained
The tiers, part-time and your leave year.
NHS Bank Holiday Pay Explained
Enhanced rates and time off in lieu.
Rota Take-Home Calculator
What your pattern really pays.