annual leave

annual leave (uncountable)

1. (workplace) Amount of time expressed as the number of days per year that an employee is entitled to be away from work.
   • 2019 December 17, Helen Knapman, “How to DOUBLE your annual leave in 2020 – and you’ll only need to book off 26 days holiday”, in The Sun‎^[1]:

     If you're already thinking ahead to next year's holidays you can double your break and get a whopping 52 days off using just 26 days of annual leave.

2. (workplace) The use of such days to be away from work; on holiday or vacation.
   • 2014 December 4, Tom McTague, Simon Lambert, “Millions of workers to get extra holiday pay after landmark ruling forces firms to take into account regular overtime shifts”, in The Daily Mail‎^[2]:

     The European Working Time Directive, brought into UK law in 1998, says workers should receive their 'normal' pay when they go on annual leave.

   • 2019 August 10, Mary-Ann Russon, “Are you able to switch off when on holiday?”, in BBC News‎^[3]:

     Recruitment firm Glassdoor has similarly alarming statistics: 23% of employees who took annual leave in 2018 regularly checked their emails, while 15% continued working throughout their holiday because of fear of falling behind and the consequences of not hitting their targets.

• (use of days): break, leave; see also Thesaurus:vacation