Research from company registration provider Tide suggests UK small business owners take only 15 full days off every year, with no emails or business calls.
Published as part of Tide’s extensive Business Benchmark Index 2026, the research reveals that the average UK founder gets approximately half the 28-day statutory minimum holiday entitlement employees receive, with over half (56 per cent) taking 10 days or fewer, and 1 in 6 (17 per cent) taking none at all. A figure that equates to 969,000 business owners taking no full days off each year.
Tide surveyed 500 UK small business owners on how many days they take off, where they are fully on holiday defined as no calls, no emails and no business admin). The breakdown reveals a clear split between a minority who successfully manage to protect their rest and a majority who do not.
The number of business owners taking no full days off in a year increases to 21 per cent for sole traders, with 1 in 5 feeling unable to fully switch off without a team to hand anything over to. This number decreases to 7 per cent of owners with 50-99 employees, while the research reveals that owners aged between 25-34-years-old take the lowest amount of annual leave, taking an average of just 12 days off each year.
For many founders, the holiday gap is often a reflection of genuine dedication and passion for something they’ve built from scratch. Running a business is personal in a way that employment rarely is, and stepping away, even briefly, can feel like a risk not worth taking.
This is echoed in the start and finish times of many founders, too, with the data also showing that the average UK business owner starts their working day at 7:52 am and finishes at 6:04 pm, a 10+ hour day. Nearly 1 in 3 (29 per cent) work more than 48 hours per week, the legal maximum for employees under UK Working Time Regulations.
Michael Jurek, Tide member and Co-Founder of Professional Pickleball Franchise North London Storm comments on his first-hand experience of not feeling able to take time off as a founder: “For a long time, I felt unable to switch off. Part of that came from a belief that nobody else could fully step into my role because of the specific knowledge and context I held. It felt easier to remain available at all times, even when I was supposed to be on holiday. But by being always available, I created an expectation – both for myself and for others – that I was always available.
“One of the biggest challenges of running a business is that the pressure rarely stays confined to the business itself. It can impact your relationships with your partner, family, friends, and even your own health and wellbeing. Over time, those pressures can compound if you don’t create space to decompress and reset.”
Over the last six months, Michael says he has prioritised disconnecting and is already reaping the rewards, “I eventually realised that I wasn’t fully showing up for either. I wasn’t giving my business my best attention, and I wasn’t giving my friends and family my full presence either. Operating in that constant middle ground was actually creating more stress, not less.
“The biggest shift now has been reducing the amount of information and responsibility that sits exclusively with me,” explained Jurek. “Ironically, the business has become more resilient as a result.”
George Schmidt, CEO UK/Europe at Tide, says: “Many founders start a business to create more freedom and flexibility, yet the reality is that too many end up feeling unable to properly switch off. Nobody should feel they have to choose between their business and their wellbeing. Tide exists to make running a business simpler, helping owners cut down on admin and reclaim valuable time.”
