Also in the news...
Cutting Administrative Burdens When Trading Abroad
From customs declarations to inventory tracking across borders, the paperwork and compliance requirements can quickly become overwhelming for growing companies.
Temporary agreement between the Swiss Confederation (Switzerland) and the UK on services mobility
Temporary agreement documents and the exchanges of notes extending the agreement.
Decision. UK-Central America committee documents
Decisions, documents and meeting minutes from UK-Central America countries committees.
Business Secretary calls for Investment, Innovation, and Regional Prosperity
Business Secretary Peter Kyle spoke at the Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham on 21 October 2025
Overseas Business Risk for Myanmar (Burma)
Information on key security and political risks which UK businesses may face when operating in Myanmar.
Holiday Hack: More Than Double Your Holiday Leave in 2017
Most employees in the UK are entitled to around 28 days of paid leave annually, but with some strategic planning you can more than double your leave in 2017!
By carefully planning your leave, around bank holidays and weekends, in the upcoming year you can maximise your time off without having to use all your official leave days. Here’s how according to Instant Offices:
December 2016 – January 2017
Take a 16-day holiday by booking 7 days off (24 Dec – 8 Jan) OR
Take a 23-day holiday by booking 12 days off (17 Dec – 8 Jan)
April
Take a 16-day holiday by booking 8 days off (8 – 23 April)
April/May
Take a 9-day holiday by booking 4 days off (29 April – 7 May)
May/June
Take a 9-day holiday by booking 4 days off (27 May – 4 June)
August
Take a 16-day holiday by booking 9 days off (19 Aug – 3 Sept)
December 2017 – January 2018
Take a 16-day holiday by booking 7 days off (23 Dec – 7 Jan) OR
Take a 23-day holiday by booking 12 days off (16 Dec – 7 Jan)
Benefits of Mid-Year Breaks
Working Smarter, Not harder
When you’re overworked or overwhelmed it’s easy to fall into the habit of ‘always working’ rather than working smart. It’s vital to be able to switch off from work for a while, not only to relax your mind, but to reset your attention span and renew your focus.
Avoid Burnout
Feeling inefficient, exhausted, anxious, disengaged, cynical and even excessively critical of yourself at work are all signs of burnout. Before reaching this extreme point in your career, it’s essential to take preventative measures, and one of the best ways to do this is by taking strategic andregular breaks.
Reset Your Work/Life Balance
Setting clear boundaries so that work stress doesn’t spill over into everyday life can be difficult, but it’s imperative to push the off button and take a step back to focus on the things that really matter – travel, spending time with loved ones, improving yourself, helping others and…lots of napping!
Increase Your Value at Work
Some companies place value in the ‘first to come in, last to leave’ style of working from their employees but, in truth, this culture only leads to burnout and reduced productivity over time. Rather than being the person who spends themost timeat work, focus on being the person who brings the most value to each task by being sharp, thoughtful and enthusiastic.