Christmas leave priority

Where I am, we're a small team and we're expected to work it out between ourselves to make sure everyone gets something. We're closed the main days and bank holidays, but open the rest. So we have a spreadsheet we put our preferences on and as long as our team leader agrees there is enough cover, we can have what we've asked for. If there isn't, we're expected to discuss it between ourselves. Our team leader will only intervene if we can't reach agreement. There's no priority. We're just expected to be fair.

That is true.

Gosh! I've never seen grandparents given priority before and I've never seen a weird, arbitrary age of children mentioned when considering priority.
I have daughter who is 3 y/o and if I had to work Christmas day, we'd simply celebrate a day early at our house. It isn't the end of the world and I don't think it's fair to automatically give parents priority over others, though actually thinking about it, I'd make an exception for single parents, because if there is no one else to watch the kids then what can they do over Christmas when child minders etc. are probably not working?

It's never an easy situation for anyone!

Vanishingly unlikely this could be stretched to be discrimination of any protected characteristic but it's certainly unfair and bizarre.

Have all leave requests been submitted for that period? If not do your parents perhaps need any care around that time? if so you could put in a request for unpaid carers leave , employers cannot refuse it but they can ask you to take it at a different time if it causes serious problems in the business (which it wouldn't if not all leave requests are in yet).

I worked in hospitality and we had to do Christmas period, it was a small enough place that it was names in a hat. As a parent who worked Christmas Day with younger children I don’t see why anyone should get priority just because of that

Its a choice to have kids.

I think that’s completely unfair, the only fair way of allocating it is taking turns across the years (with any new starters informed that they will likely need to work the first few years before it’s their ‘turn’).

Someone above mentioned prioritising parents for all school holiday leave; I was a teacher before I was a parent, if that was the policy at my husband’s workplace we would never have been able to go on holiday together!

that's not what she said, and in any case this is about leave before Xmas, op isn't working Xmas or Boxing day

Quite right, parents and registered carers. Thanks.

Grandchildren!? Absurd. That should have no bearing on anything whatsoever.

Completely ridiculous and unfair.

That's why parents are disliked, because of nonsense like that.

My parents often worked on Christmas Day. As a child, it was such a non issue, I am sure they felt bad but we didn't 😂

Having a child is not a disability, why shouldn't you work at Christmas?

They actually put that in writing?!

Is it one manager going rogue writing what they want to their team or is it an actual considered, reviewed and agreed upon formal policy that has been set out company-wide?

What about someone caring for an elderly parent if they cant get carers in during the holidays?

Totally unfair... Why should grandparents have any priority? Surely they are a parent of an over 7? 😂

Our team used to do first come first served but the same people would take the whole xmas break every year citing that they had booked a holiday - kids were grown up. Meant some with kids would always lose out.
Now our management has changed, all our usual leave is done that way but xmas everyone says what they would ideally like and they try to work out how everyone can get what they want.

so it isn't even priority for Xmas day off, it's for Xmas Eve?

Yeah I don't think they really needs a rota, and I have 3 kids so would be top priority for a couple more years.

surely you travel up after work or request a half day off and see if that swings it?

Well yes im 53 and still the child of my 84 year old Dad.

Not fair at all , why should a grandparent have priority over a parent ? and why should a parent have priority over someone child free ?
Who decides that Christmas is more important to those with kids / grand kids ?
I'm a mother of 3 but i have never expected to be prioritised ,we all want time off kids or not !

2 and 3 are the wrong way around. If there has to be priority, grandparents should never come before parents.

No, I think parents of children too young to look after themselves should have priority when it comes to booking leave in school holidays.

I dont know why grandchildren are included unless the colleagues have parental responsibility

So you think people who dont/ cant have children should work every xmas?

If people go into jobs that mean working over Christmas, they should be prepared to do their share of the Christmas shifts. The only fair way to do it is to take turns.

And then if there is an other child younger than 11, do the parents still get priority? In the way the OPs company has listed priorities then it sounds as though with a bit of judicious juggling and opportune family planning parents and grandparents could get priority until their youngest child/ grandchild has left home for University.

Apart from everything else that I hate about this, what does children/grandshildren over 7 even mean? My children are 29 and 26, do they count to put me in category 3, rather than in category 5 with "everyone else"? When is a child/grandchild no longer a child - 16, 18, 25, never?

This is interesting on a theoretical level! I'm not sure about whether this would fly though - by that logic, wouldn't any benefit given to pregnant women be indirect age discrimination given that older women are less likely to be pregnant?