Updated September 2026: this post used to describe a leave-timing trick that backfired on me in 2019. I have rewritten it as a practical guide to planning leave in an IT job so that you actually get the break, including why that trick is a bad idea.
In 2019 I planned a week off for my daughter's birthday. I had heard the usual advice in IT circles: take leave from Tuesday to the following Monday, work from home or call in sick on the Monday before, and nobody will assign you anything new before you go. It backfired. I spent that Monday working on a request that arrived precisely because I was reachable.
Here is what I would do instead.
Why do people come back from leave to a pile of work?
Because work does not pause when you do. Requests that would have come to you are held for your return, or they go to a colleague who hands them straight back. Mondays after leave are heavy because a week of other people's decisions lands on you at once.
Tricks with sick days do not fix that. They only move the pile, and they cost you credibility if a manager notices the pattern. A planned handover fixes it.
When should you tell your manager?
As early as your team's leave policy allows, and in writing. Two to four weeks is normal for a week off. Early notice lets your manager keep you off new opportunities that will peak while you are away, which is the single biggest thing that protects a holiday. Confirm the dates again one week before.
What should a handover note include?
- Every open item, its status and the next step, in one table or list.
- Who covers each item, agreed with that person beforehand, not assigned by email the night you leave.
- Where the files are, with links, and any access your cover will need.
- Known deadlines that fall during your leave and what "done" looks like for each.
- Whether you can be contacted, and how. "Emergencies only, by phone" is a clear rule. "I'll check mail occasionally" is an invitation.
Send it to your manager and your cover together, so nobody can say later they did not know.
Which days should you take off?
Taking Monday to Friday plus the weekends either side is fine if the handover is good. If your team runs a weekly status meeting, it can help to return the day before it, so that your first day back is spent catching up rather than presenting. What does not help is disappearing on a sick day before leave. It leaves no time for a handover and it looks like exactly what it is.
How do you keep the first day back manageable?
Block the first two hours of your calendar before you leave. Use them to read the handover update from your cover and triage your inbox, oldest items first. Reply to nothing until you know what changed. Then have a ten-minute call with your manager to agree priorities, rather than letting the loudest email decide your week.
The lesson from my 2019 week was not about which day to call in sick. The work that ruined my break arrived because I had left no clear owner for it. A good handover protects your leave far better than any trick with dates.