To think we shouldn't have to work the day before Christmas Eve?

I'd not go.

It sounds as if the owners have no idea of the traffic on the 23rd which is when most people will be travelling.

Going across country from Northumberland to Manchester is not an easy drive.
You should expect delays and you'd need to leave home very early.

The M6 is notorious for jams and accidents.

I'd find another job.

There must be plenty of work in shops between Morpeth and Newcastle- even if you have to travel into Newcastle each day.

This. Employers can be really dumb, this is not the way to inspire loyalty.

In winter is pitch black driving.

Yes, I’m aware that plenty of companies close the office/business over the period between Christmas and New Year and that annual leave has to be used for those three days. My husband works for an organisation that does this.
Also, lots of places only close for the bank holidays on 25th, 26th and 1st Jan.

(I haven’t forgotten essential services that don’t close at all before someone points that out).

Depends on proximity of end and start point to the train stations though

With pre Christmas traffic it could easily be later and with a 3 hour drive probably needs to also factor in a toilet/ food stop

The travel is also an issue. Some of it should be in work time (so event for a shorter time) and you should have been given notice of it

After the traveling costs would it be worth a days pay? If there's not much in it and you can choose to go and lose a days pay, I'd just not go.

Midnight? OP said she'd be home for 9pm.

That said, I'd suck up the unpaid day and not go.

6 hours of driving outside of normal working hours is not an easy day. That sounds very tiring.

Never heard of Black Eye Friday.

What's that?

I think it's a big ask to drive 3 hours to Manchester.

The traffic will be crazy because lots of people will take that day off to make it a long weekend before the 25th.

I think they are being unreasonable given the distance and the traffic on that day.

And told their employees they could not 'progress' in the company unless they attended.

I think the issue here is the lack of notice. They told you you were off and then told you that you are not.
If you were told from the start this was the situation then fine but telling you now doesn’t seem fair and means you may have already made plans/ could be difficult to now arrange childcare.

Yeah I’d be annoyed at having to travel 6 hours for enforced fun if I usually worked in a shop, if you were being asked to travel to a trade show or to cover another shop and do your actual job, it wouldn’t be as bad, but you’re just going to sit there all day resenting them. I’d take the day as holiday and look for another job if I were you.

Some of the responses on here feel a touch harsh to me - yes it is a normal working day as any other, but you’re being asked to do something outside of your normal work requirements. If they wanted you to open the shop on the 23rd when previously they’d said it would be closed, it would be annoying but tough luck. But I don’t think anyone would be that keen on doing 6 hours of (seems to be unpaid?) travel that close to Christmas. Feels like a slightly inconsiderate ask from the tops of the company to be honest. They’ll think they’re being really thoughtful to offer a fun Christmas do, but perhaps haven’t realised the true impact on those employees furthest away. You could have all had team Christmas Do’s for your individual shops, and watched the presentation together online. As the others have said, a working day for a Christmas do would be a fun get out of work day, but the travel is what makes it not so.

My advice would be to check your contract - if there’s nothing in there about the travel you may have grounds to say they can’t make you go and can’t deduct the pay (though that could make things feel tricker with top brass/managers), or take it as annual leave if you can, or say you’re not going and take the pay hit.

So you want Christmas Eve Eve off? It's a normal working day, ffs...

Known as ‘Mad Friday’ my way (NW). Last Friday before Christmas when many people finish work and carnage in town centre pubs and bars ensues!

For many companies it's not, it depends on where Christmas Day fall in the calendar.

Even in Australia, most companies are closing for business on the 20th of December except retail.

The OP really needs to raise her contract with her manager.

Why not just ring in sick?

So if the days that the shop is closed were taken out of your annual leave allowance as you said, then you must have that extra day AL that was going to be used for the Monday.
So just take it on the Monday and don't go to the party. They can't halt progression for this.

They've done nothing wrong. Offered people the chance to earn some extra money at Christmas time for attending a party and feel part of a bigger thing. They're just a bit silly not thinking about travel and Christmas.

It's horrendously unreliable though. I used to do this journey weekly last year.
There were issues more than 50% of the time.
So if you HAVE to be there and they won't accept train issues as reasons for being late I would drive.
Although I don't really think it's safe to drive 6-7 hours in a day...
And realistically it's going to take closer to 4 hours each way Newcastle to Manchester...

I feel your pain Op.
I work at a university and our previous vice chancellor always made sure we had at least 11 days over Christmas period off and always paid us a week early; this year a new vice chancellor isn't allowing us to finish on the Friday we have to work right up til 7pm Christmas Eve! Also won't be paid til Christmas Eve either. Completely screwed us over! 🤬😤

I expect to have to work the 23rd and 24th every year. They're both normal working days.

I would absolutely not travel that distance for a 'do' for a retail job though. Are they paying the travel cost?

I can't bear these hideous, enforced 'team building' days either, OP. I've endured far too many and now thankfully have a legitimate excuse not to, or at the very least only to go for part of the time.

I have a 1.5h commute to work each day, which is fine: I took that on as part of my contract and that is the distance to my workplace. 3 hours there and back to Manchester - that's without the terrible traffic on the periphery - when it's not your usual workplace is unreasonable. Docking a day's pay for not working a normal working day is fair enough, but saying it will 'halt your progression in the company?' Definitely unreasonable. I'm not sure where this sits from a legal standpoint, but it sounds questionable to me. At the very least, it's dictatorial and uncollegial.

If your employers want to retain their staff they're going exactly the wrong way about it.

Your car can break down very easily and it's impossible to prove. Ideally you'll be at the roadside just within a mile from home and so unable to call the RAC and then you'll have to try and find someone to come and help.
I mean, it depends how big a story you want to tell and the possible consequences of lying. I mean it's a car not a CV. What's the worst that would happen?

Or D&V. That's always a good one. You can self-cert for that.

Is there no useful work that could be done in the shop (and why is a retail shop, assuming that's what it is, shut on the day people want to buy shit in a hurry for their loved ones)