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# Taking Holiday and Time Off When Self-Employed
You don't get paid holiday. If the tools are down, the money stops. But if you work 52 weeks a year you'll burn out or your family will leave. This guide covers how to plan time off so it doesn't wreck your finances, and why you need to stop feeling guilty about it.
Rule of thumb: build your day rate around 46 working weeks, not 52. The other 6 weeks are yours. Earn them, save for them, take them.
The Maths Nobody Does
Most subbies set their day rate based on what other people charge or what contractors offer. Very few work backwards from what they actually need.
Here's the calculation:
- Work out your annual target income (what you want to take home after tax)
- Add your tax and NI (roughly 30% on top)
- Add your business costs (van, tools, insurance, phone, materials)
- Divide by the number of days you'll actually work
Example: A plasterer wants to take home £35,000 after tax.
- Tax and NI: roughly £10,500
- Business costs: roughly £8,000
- Total needed: £53,500
- Working 46 weeks x 5 days = 230 days
- Day rate needed: £232.60
If that same plasterer prices on 52 weeks (260 days), the day rate comes out at £205.77. That's fine until they take a fortnight off and realise they've lost £2,900 they budgeted as income.
Work on 46 weeks. Price accordingly. Then the holiday is already paid for.
What Still Goes Out When You're Off
Your costs don't take a holiday.
Monthly outgoings that don't care whether you're working:
- Van payment or finance: £200-£400
- Van insurance: £80-£150
- Public liability insurance: £20-£50
- Tool finance: £50-£150
- Phone contract: £30-£60
- Fuel card (if still paying): varies
- Mortgage or rent: whatever it is
- Council tax, utilities, food: whatever they are
Add those up. That's your minimum monthly cost whether you're on a job or on a beach. You need that covered before you switch off.
Tip for new starters: write down every fixed monthly cost you have, business and personal. Multiply by the number of months you want off per year. That's your holiday fund target. Open a separate account and save into it monthly.
When to Take Time Off
Construction has natural quiet periods. Use them.
August. Half the industry shuts down, especially house building. Contractors wind down, sites go on skeleton crews. Taking two weeks in August means you're not missing much work. Taking two weeks in the middle of a kitchen fit means you're losing a client.
Christmas to New Year. Most sites close. Some run through but most don't. Plan for it.
School half-terms. If you've got kids, this is when it matters. These weeks are usually quieter anyway, especially February and October.
Avoid: pulling out of a job midway through, cancelling on a contractor who's relying on you, or taking time off during your busiest season just because flights are cheap. Cheap flights don't pay your mortgage.
The Guilt Trap
Every week off feels like money lost. But every week you work exhausted is a week where you make mistakes, underquote, or have an accident.
Construction is physical. Your body is your tool. A knackered chippy makes bad cuts. A tired roofer takes risks. A burnt-out sparky misses a connection.
The lads who work 52 weeks a year for 10 years straight don't end up rich. They end up divorced, injured, or both. Time off isn't a luxury. It's maintenance.
Nobody on site would skip servicing their van for a year because they "couldn't afford the downtime." But they'll skip looking after themselves for years on end.
Tip for new starters: book your time off at the start of the year. Tell your contractors early. Most good contractors respect it. The ones who won't let you take a week off in August aren't contractors worth keeping.
Building a Holiday Fund
The simplest system:
- Decide how many weeks off you want per year. Be realistic. 4-6 weeks is reasonable.
- Work out your weekly cost of living (fixed costs plus what you'll spend on holiday).
- Divide the total by the number of weeks you'll work.
- Save that amount every working week into a separate account.
Example: 5 weeks off. Weekly costs: £600. Total needed: £3,000. Working 47 weeks. Save £64 per week. That's a tenner a day tucked away.
If you can't manage that, start smaller. Even £30 a week gives you £1,500 a year. That covers a week's costs plus a cheap holiday.
What About Bank Holidays?
There are 8 bank holidays in England and Wales (9 in Scotland, 10 in Northern Ireland). Employed people get these paid. You don't.
If you work them, fine. Charge accordingly. Some contractors pay a premium on bank holidays, some don't.
If you don't work them, that's 8 days of lost income. At £250 a day, that's £2,000. Factor it into your day rate.
Telling Clients and Contractors
Give as much notice as possible. Two weeks minimum, ideally a month or more.
- Let your main contractors know your holiday dates at the start of each year.
- Before you go, finish the job you're on or find a clean break point.
- Leave a clear handover if someone else is covering.
- Put an auto-reply on your phone or email if you use one for business.
- Don't answer work calls on holiday unless it's a genuine emergency. A contractor wanting to know when you're back is not an emergency.
A Word on Weekends
If you're working every Saturday and most Sundays, you're not self-employed. You're a hostage to your business.
Two days off a week is not laziness. It's how you sustain a career for 30 years instead of burning through one in 10.
If the only way your business works is by never taking a day off, the problem isn't the day off. It's the rate, the costs, or the efficiency.
Sources
- HSE, "Work-related stress, anxiety and depression in construction," 2024
- ONS, "Self-employment in the UK construction industry," 2024
- HMRC, "Employment status guidance," 2025
- Mind, "Stress in the workplace," 2024
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