Christmas leave priority

The new starter is added to the group with the fewest staff members in. At my previous workplace there were 4 groups.

1: able to book the week leading up to Christmas, ending in Christmas Eve.
2: able to book the week starting Christmas Day & ending on New Year’s Eve.
3: able to book the week starting New Year’s Day.
4: no leave allowed over Christmas & New Year.

Obviously you moved along a year each year & you knew 4 years in advance what your entitlement would be so you could easily plan.

how can this even be legal?

ask your union or phone acas

Again, why are you so adversarial against parents of young children? You were a young child once. Your parents would have been afforded this privilege for you if the rules were in place then. You would have benefited.

The militant child free are a scary group of people that want very little allowances made for children because they see it as a disadvantage to them and an advantage for parents Newsflash: society needs children. Parents already pay an absolute fortune and sacrifice a great deal for their children. Yes, it's their choice etc etc but pretending that the child free could live in a society without children is wrong and this means you have an obligation to children in the same way they will have an obligation to you when you're older and dependent on them.

Yes, that's completely sensible. Let's deprive them of an advent calendar too.

Because time moves for parents in a different way. Your children will never experience their first xmas again or their 3rd but by the time someone is an adult and has had 34 Christmases it loses any magic or real meaning, still a lovely time of year but nothing special about it

"You can't participate in the Christmas tradition of every other child in the country, darling, because Sandra from work can't possibly have her turkey on the 26th instead."

And some say parents are selfish 🤣

Nah, if you want every Christmas off, do not take a job where you're workplace is open 24/7/365 days.
Should you trump someone who' has a terminally ill parent, who's Chridtmas is going to be their last?

This is a ridiculous system, if they do this every year then people with no children or older kids will never get any time off.

Absolutely they should, my point is none of them are actually working over "Christmas", including OP, plus they are getting a displaced bank holiday, so technically 4 days off over the main xmas days, so what is the point fighting over it?

This. It’s what Jesus would’ve done.

Good grief, don't start using actual common sense! 🤣

Not in any legal sense. Parent/non-parent status is not protected outside of pregnancy and maternity.

Employers are entitled to decide when leave is taken. Maybe they have done it differently in the past and all the parents of under 7s have mysteriously gone off sick instead.

i don’t celebrate Xmas and have zero attachment to 25th December at all, but surely grown adults can cope with spending time together on a different day without the world ending?

I am not the poster you asked, but I do remember my own childhood Christmases. Even the ones where my parents were working, they were not less magical. We had fantastic Christmases and no one was traumatised because mum or dad (I don't remember them both working on the same Christmas day to be fair) was at work.

HTH 😂

I agree with you op. I worked retail and every year for 15 years I worked Boxing Day because other people had grandkids or were young and would be hungover. I was always told it was first come first served and I never understood why I never got it so one year I booked it online at a minute past minute on Christmas day my manager had the cheek to say "ooh you were quick" well yes because just once I would like to not work. I had children but they were a bit older but not teens. My family is just as important as theirs.

You literally wrote this:

It’s very obvious you have young children and love the privileges it affords you but other people are allowed to point out how unfair it is!
This statement is massively adversarial and designed to make it look like parents of young children are getting advantages for themselves at your expense. The needs of the child are completely ignored. It's all about the parents getting one over you.

And get reported to childline?! (Joking)

In all seriousness, I think this policy can be challenged on a number of levels. As you say, what if you have no children but older or unwell parents for whom it might be their last Christmas

If you can't get the time off could your parents come to yours? Then you could have a family dinner in the evening.

OP, I think you’re being unnecessarily obtuse. I thought you were going to say you had to work actual Christmas Day, you don’t. You have options, but you’re choosing to be awkward about them and not consider any suggestions. Bah humbug.

Not your employer’s problem.

We’re a similar distance from family. We meet up for food at some point between Halloween and Valentine’s Day and call it Xmas. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I mean, my original argument here was about school holiday childcare, not the day of Christmas itself, but I would also say it's blindingly obvious that having Christmas day on the 25th itself is probably far more important to children than anyone else.

I mean, you could drive up 24th but are choosing not too. You have your reasons, and your employers have a reason for whatever they're doing too. Maybe you can ask them to change their policy and if bothers you that much - just look for a new job with better policies.