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, Knapman, Helen, “How to DOUBLE your annual leave in 2020 – and you’ll only need to book off 26 days holiday”, in The Sun‎:

     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, McTague, Tom; Lambert, Simon, “Millions of workers to get extra holiday pay after landmark ruling forces firms to take into account regular overtime shifts”, in The Daily Mail‎:

     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, Russon, Mary-Ann, “Are you able to switch off when on holiday?”, in BBC News‎:

     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