The deal breaker that half of UK workers would quit over — and it’s not pay

Whether it’s a European city break, a trip to chase the Northern Lights or a London staycation, we all need a darn good break.

And it turns out Brits value their down time so much, that 41% would quit their job outright if their boss denied a holiday request.

This is according to Hilton’s 2026 Travel Trends Report, which found 46% of UK workers would even take a pay cut in exchange for unlimited annual leave.

In fact, 39% have already taken unpaid leave at some point during their career in order to travel.

We care more about our time off than any other country, too. A healthy 46% of Brits have at least one trip booked for the next 12 months – significantly more than all 14 other countries surveyed.

Jim Moore, employee relations expert at HR consultants Hamilton Nash tells Metro that it’s little surprise we prize holiday so highly, given that it’s a chance to unwind and avoid burnout.

‘It’s also important for keeping workers fresh and motivation, because tired and over-stressed employees can’t perform at their best, which is bad for them and for the business,’ he explains.

‘More than that, it’s a statutory right under the Working Time Regulations 1998.’

We’re too reachable — even on holiday

Despite valuing annual leave highly, ‘presenteeism’ (where it’s frowned upon for workers to be truly offline) can impact how workers enjoy their holidays.

‘In those environments, workers believe being responsive out of hours or even on holiday is important for their career development,’ Jim says. ‘Surveys consistently show over half of UK workers check their inboxes while on holiday. 

‘It’s especially difficult in multinational organisations when colleagues in other time zones may reach out during our home time.’

While some EU countries already have local laws ensuring workers can stop responding to calls, emails and messages without suffering any detriment, according to Jim, no such law yet exists in the UK or even across the EU as a whole.

How to set boundaries with work

It’s not just about holidays. Your evenings and weekends should be a time to truly leave the world of work.

So Jim shared a simple but effective tip to set hard boundaries to ensure you are truly offline.

‘Set expectations,’ he explains. ‘Respond to end-of-day inquiries by letting people know you’ll get back to them in the morning and, unless you’re on-call, ignoring emails and messages that come in out of hours. 

‘If you’ve built up a reputation as someone who responds out of hours and suddenly stops, colleagues may see that as a loss of motivation or decline in performance, rather than just taking the break you’re entitled to. 

‘Otherwise, you have to wean people off depending upon you being available.’

If you’ve already given the impression you’re reachable, then start gradually changing your responses to out-of-hours emails.

‘A simple reply acknowledging receipt and committing to look at it first thing in the morning starts to send the right signal,’ he adds. ‘Over time, you can retrain colleagues to only expect engagement during working hours.’

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