The proximity of the Easter weekend and Anzac Day public holidays means that workers will be able to take just three days of annual leave to secure a a 10-day holiday.

This year Good Friday falls on April 18, followed by Easter Monday on April 21 and the Anzac Day public holiday just four days later, on Friday April 25. This means workers who take three days' annual leave on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday can have 10 days off in a row.

Stephen Cartwright, chief executive of the NSW Business Chamber, said while he would be ''very surprised'' if most businesses did not continue to operate between the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends, ''some businesses may encourage their employees to take this opportunity to use their leave''.

But because annual leave has to be requested, Mr Cartwright said businesses would be able to maintain the workforce they need to continue operating.

''The idea that there may be an exodus of employees is a bit fanciful,'' he says. ''It's my experience that most people will probably be happy with two long weekends and continue to work mid-week. Productivity is unlikely to be affected negatively in any significant way during those working days. The opposite may in fact be true with five days' work having to be done in three.''

Sydney consultant Camilla Frumar, 31, says she and her boyfriend Brett were planning to make the most of the leave deal and head to Vietnam. ''Since we have a bit of a penchant for holidays and are often scrambling for enough annual leave to take them all, we jumped at the opportunity to get 10 days for the price of three and got in early and booked a trip to Vietnam a couple of months ago,'' she says.

Some travel companies are marketing the break with offers of packages for the 10-day period.