When did everybody start taking ‘leave’?

It’s the same thing isn’t it? Annual leave/holidays?

I retired from a bank 6 and a half years ago. You had been taking “annual leave” long before that. I still said holiday, we still used the phrase “holiday list” not “annual leave” list.

I think it made the bosses feel important talking about leave.

I took annual leave; I am a retired local government worker and it was always called just that. I could take 1 day or a week or two so sometimes I was away on holiday, sometimes it was a day off. In addition I could take flexi- time , which was additional time I had accrued over and above 37 hours per week; when I had 8 hours credit I could take a day off. It's been called annual leave for 40plus years, not new at all.

I remember that my DF used to refer to 'leave' when he was in the Civil Service. He was there from after the war until the mid-70s.

Just wondering. What is annual leave ?

Def the same thing poppyred- it just seems to be used by more businesses nowadays. Maybe you had leave Lois because it was a government post as are the forces.

Both DH and I have leave at work, always have done. I have various forms of leave in the NHS, DH has annual leave in the private sector. Holidays are what we sometimes go on when we have leave, or we may simply be using it for childcare.

I think 'holidays' refers to the annual fortnight in the summer when people went away with their family, usually the only holiday they had apart from bank holidays.
Now that people have more holiday entitlement it is referred to as 'leave', as in away from the workplace.
My theory anyway.

I always took annual ‘leave’ when I was working and that’s 15 odd yrs ago. Holidays was when I was actually going on a holiday.

I always had annual leave from NHS but I'd not use the phrase, 'I'm on leave, ' if speaking to anyone I'd tell them I was 'on holiday'.

I agree Tanith having a holiday is very different to being "on leave".

I used to work for the Civil Service and time off was always referred to as 'leave'. It was thought of as an absence from work and you might during this time 'go on holiday'.

eazybee I think you are right. I am an army brat so, for me, it was always leave.

I think, now at least, when most people have more official time off work than in previous times 'holidays' refers to when you actually go away on holiday, as in 'where are you going for your holidays?' Time off taken for any other purpose is 'leave', 'I have got a day's leave to get some decorating done.'

I started taking annual leave in 1971 when I started working. It was rarely a ‘holiday’ , mainly ‘ a day or two off’ .

Oh what I wouldn't give for 2 weeks "leave" . a holiday would be even better.....

and just incase DH should happen upon this thread.... 2 torrentially, wet days in Cheshire does not a holiday make!

My father used to take leave so we could all go on holiday

Same here Jane10 always called annual leave in NHS and Social Care.

As others have said I would book leave from work so I could go on holiday. Leave is time off work. You wouldn’t say “maternity holiday” or “sick holiday” would you?

So when organisations are working out summer/C****** absence rosters are they holiday rosters or leave rosters? Teachers/schoolchildren are currently on summer holidays, not leave.
Is there perhaps a regional variation here?

Holiday planners!

Alima

"Leave" takes in all kinds of absence from work - we can have sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, study leave, etc. I wouldn't call any of these holidays. I took my statutory annual leave to go on my holidays.

I've always called it 'annual leave' since I started work as that was what we applied for.
gillybob I hope you'll be able to retirenone day then every day will be a holiday (or not).

I think it was always so in the public sector and has now spread to the private.

Gilly you are obliged to give your staff 28 days holiday a year so should give yourself the same. There is a reason why we need it.