Christmas leave priority

Absolutely outrageous
everybody should have the same bite of the cherry
why should people miss Christmas leave due to others circumstances
it’s bad enough giving parents priority but to include grandparents is a complete piss take

if you have kids and choose to take a job that involves working Christmas ( which we did ) then that’s on you if you don’t want to work Christmas get a different job

The Email about leave was realeased yesterday
So the Op couldnt have known about the polcey when they took the job.

She probably didn’t know that parents would be prioritised not just for Christmas leave but for all leave, though. She might have fondly imagined that it would be worked out more fairly for everyone.

incorrect conclusion to have drawn. I used to love working Christmas period (not day) when younger as it was a great way to earn cash between breaks at uni when I was child-free. Particularly when I coupled it with the night shifts that all the parents also didn’t want, meant for a great hourly rate multiplier due to Christmas period allowances and night shift allowances.

My mother did however pass away whilst I was at uni so made sure I didn’t work that Christmas before she did (cancer, so knew it was coming).

So currently have no skin in the game but have already done my stint working the Christmas period (inc New Year) when child-free and single.

So, given that my current industry shuts down over Christmas meankng I’m not at risk of having to work it, you could say I’ve done my bit (having previously worked it) without getting the benefit of a priority system now…. And I’m completely ok with that :)

I so agree with this - I hate the way so many people say that Christmas is for children - even my DH said it the other day. It is not just for children, it's for everybody who wants to celebrate it. In fact, I would say it is more for people who are religious and mark the event in that way. It's far more than a mound of presents and lots of fattening food!

Never get to attend it? Of course not. But I don’t see a system where that would work it self out. Priority doesn’t extrapolate to never….

The entitlement in this post 🤢

The fairest system is a rota system.

First come first serve doesn’t seem fair to me. What if you were ill/preoccupied when they released the dates to book off and others got to it before you? All sorts of disadvantage could come up with that I think.

So you have never worked xmas day ?
Loads of people work the xmas period.

Yes - it’s amazing that people think they can dress up their selfishness with “it’s for the children “ and no one else will notice.

I understand what you're saying OP. I do have children, but I don't think that should automatically give me more rights for time off. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said why should your life be dictated by others peoples children (or such like). My sister doesn't have children, but she lives over 500 miles (9-11 hours drive away) away from us. If she wasnt allowed any leave at Christmas we wouldn't see her. I'm a nurse so we're not allowed to take holidays over Christmas, so I can't drive to Scotland to see her. They have to come down to us.

It’s not fair. But equally, can’t grown ups accept a different date to celebrate and get together?

Children will miss their mum or dad at Christmas significantly and isn’t Christmas really for children?

Its not fair, but it’s understandable and I think I’d be fine with a parent of a young child having it off over me if I didn’t have a young child,

Exactly! I am currently pregnant, but I’d never expect others (especially those who are childfree) to put out or look after my kids unwillingly! It’s so entitled and gross. I do think we ought to help each other out in society, but that’s not the right way around it!

Well, that’s good of you but you can’t expect everyone else to take the same stance.

Xmas is for everyone
You cant dictate that adults without children cant enjoy xmas

I am not an HR professional but I would be v interested to see this tested, albeit I do think you're right that most employers would shy away from ET and settle instead.

Surely the legal defence would be objective justification under s19, as long as the company could establish a genuine need and therefore that the policy is reasonably necessary, and also assuming they could evidence reasonable application of the policy e.g. apply equally to both sexes and to people with caring responsibilities, consider exceptional needs as well, maybe provide an alternative benefit to those who miss out ... and of course evidence everything!

Alternatively, there's no reason why parliament couldn't amend the act to legislate for this.

Would you be fine with that for every xmas for the next 30 years or so if you never had children?

This isn't some weird gotcha. If anything it proves my point. If you are a parent of young children and don't think these parents should be prioritised at Christmas then you have proven that people are capable of supporting rules that go against their own self interest. People that support the fact that parents should be prioritised don't necessarily stand to gain from the rules as you seem to insist that they must. People can agree or disagree with something based on principle.

There is always a parent wanting that term break off. Not the same parent, but there is always A parent who wants it.

If parents are always prioritised over me for that week, it is very possible that it could be half a decade before I get a look in on that week. And then it only takes one parent to pipe up and say "me too I want that week" (when they already had it two years ago...) for me to be deprioritised yet again.

Im.a parent that worked several xmas days when my kids were young
Becsuse it was acknowledged that expecting non parents to just work every xmas was incredibly unfair and there would have been carnage had they tried to implement something like that

This is such an extreme scenario. In all the teams I have worked in, I have never known one where there was a succession of people having children with the exact right frequency to block others from taking Christmas leave. Right now I am the only person in my team with youngish children and my kids would age out of the rule in a year if it was limited to ten year olds. Only a fifth of workers on average have children under 10. They are very much a minority.

Don't go in, tell them the dates you are taking off and just take them off. Screw them all. What are they gonna do? Do it for every leave request, in fact it's not a request anymore, you are straight up telling them.

I think some of the parents commenting on here are going to be changing their tune when their adult children can't get time off to see them on important occasions because colleagues with children are prioritized.

I haven't seen my widowed mother for three Christmas in a row because I've been refused leave - including even the weeks around Christmas. She's a Christian and her own mother died on Christmas day, so to say it's a very important day for her is not an exaggeration.

She'll be turning 80 in July next year - school holidays. I've already been told I probably won't get it off because "colleagues with children" ...

Nonsense! That’s why we have a huge bill for free childcare benefits.

What's with the hyperbole. Nobody suggested that adults can't enjoy Christmas. That there isn't a specific type of Christmas magic that is heavily associated with childhood. Surveys consistently show this:
https://retailtimes.co.uk/adulting-takes-its-toll-on-festivities-as-73-say-the-magic-of-christmas-has-faded/