How bridge days work: one leave day, four days off
A bridge day is a workday between a public holiday and a weekend. The arithmetic behind it, with real 2026 and 2027 examples from seven countries.
Denne siden er skrevet på engelsk.
Oppdatert 15 October 2026
The rule
A day is free if it is a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday. Every other day costs one leave day when you take it off. A bridge day is a single workday that sits between two free days. Take it and the two free blocks become one longer break.
Ledigt measures every break the same way: days off in a row, divided by the leave days you spend. A break of four days that costs one leave day scores 4.0. A break of nine days that costs four leave days scores 2.25.
A worked example: Ascension Day
Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, 39 days after Easter Sunday. In 2026 Easter Sunday is 5 April, so Ascension Day is Thursday 14 May. In Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and France it is a public holiday. Take Friday 15 May off and you are away from Thursday to Sunday: four days for one leave day.
In 2027 Easter Sunday is 28 March and Ascension Day is Thursday 6 May. The same bridge gives 6 to 9 May. The date moves, the pattern does not.
Short bridges score best, long breaks rest longest
One-day bridges around a Thursday or Tuesday holiday give the highest ratio. Longer breaks cost more leave days per day off. In Sweden in 2027, spending four leave days (3, 4, 5 and 7 May) around Labour Day weekend and Ascension Day gives nine days off, 1 to 9 May. That is 2.25 days per leave day instead of 4.0, but you get the longest rest.
Pick the ratio if you want to stretch a small leave balance across the year. Pick the longest break if you want one real holiday. Ledigt shows both and builds a combined plan for the number of leave days you choose.
What does not count
A public holiday that falls on a weekend gives no extra day off. German Unity Day is fixed on 3 October and lands on a Saturday in 2026, so it adds nothing that year. Ledigt follows the Nager.Date feed and treats only days it marks as Public as free. Bank days, school days and optional days are ignored.