Christmas leave priority

Because school aged children are off school. Childcare providers don't take children just for school holidays only, with the exception of holiday clubs, of which there are none over Christmas.

Xmas day is on the 25th of December every year it shouldnt be a shock to parents that chlld minders wont be open on xmas day
If you choose to work in an industry that requires you to work xmas as a parent its up to you to sort xmas childcare out not expect your collegues to take up your slack
Thats what i had to do.

Lots of nurseries close early on Christmas Eve and are shut for Christmas week until New Year.

Band together with friends and family and make diy rotation of childcare.
Or is it only non close people who are suppose to sort that issue?
That's what my parents did with few others during school holidays.

But that isn't the problem of the other childfree colleagues in the office.. in exactly the same as it's not their problem that OPs family live 5 hours away.. no one should automatically get preferential treatment for either of those things.. which is what the problem is here.

If it is so important that you are at home with your children for the entirety of Christmas then you should choose a job that accommodates that, not expect everyone else to miss out because of your poor choice of workplace.

Most parents, myself included, make decisions to allow us to manage childcare fine without stepping on other people to get there.

I remember the tears and tantrums over the Xmas off duty very well 😂

You chose to have the child knowing you'd need to find childcare it's not up to childfree workers to cover for your choice to have them

Should they not be allowed to have leave during school holidays when their spouses are off?

I think you're right that there are two separate issues here: childcare cover, and the idea of Christmas being for kids.

With respect to childcare, I think parents should have priority, but yes you're right again in that they may not need it if they have another parent who can cover etc. So then other people would be able to take the leave. That priority must also be balanced, as many of us have said, with other needs like caring responsibilities. The exact "ranking" (for want of a better word) of staff members' circumstances in any given company in any given year is for the management to decide, carefully and with genuine consideration.

With respect to allowing parents to be with their young kids because it's Christmas - well, all else being equal, I believe that's the decent thing to do. I think many of us on here, again, have said that we have given up leave or worked Christmases to allow our colleagues with young children to have that time. I don't think that should be mandated though, unlike the former issue - I just happen to think it's morally sound. Of course there are other scenarios where I would also think it's morally sound to give up my leave for - like the terminal parent scenario, etc.

Organise what though? There are no Christmas holiday/childcare clubs, so there is nothing available to organise.

Nope, wrong again. Maybe ask rather than assuming?

I get what you’re saying. I always worked xmas when i was childfree.

The issue is that the ‘childcare’ you’re referring to like childminders and kids clubs are also shut. So we parents often depend on taking annual leave at xmas while we use kids clubs the rest of the year.

It’s how employers deal with this though that’s the problem. Maybe it should come down to offering it out more equally but if a parent isn’t prioritised for leave but still needs childcare, they have to take it unpaid.

Friends, family ,other parent
Or finding a more suitable job.

As I've said, I don't think they should take priority over those with dependants, no.

I think it is nice to give parents priority for actual xmas day but probably not enforceable in reality. Could be done with good will maybe but an annual rota is probably needed for fairness.

If someone has caring responsibilities of any sort that ought to be taken into account. Not everyone has family members able to help out with child care etc. again though, this would need to be good will rather than policy because it is not the problem of other staff if they aren't happy to be accommodating.

Other than actual Christmas day though I don't see the issue or why anyone should feel entitled to priority.

If I didn't have children (and was not a teacher) I would much prefer to book most of my leave outside of school holidays anyway when things are cheaper and less crowded, but if someone has a particular reason for wanting xmas or any date off they should have equal rights to it.

And the grandparent thing is crazy.

Apparently every single parent that MUST have the Christmas period off is an orphan with no family. No friends or in laws either.
It's very strange.

Personally, if leave is denied to you again for Christmas, I'd call in sick!!! (Slightly tongue in cheek but you get the drift....)
I would check the actual work policy about leave and allocation. If they are not following their own policy, then you need to address that. Especially if you are not allowed to carry all remaining leave over to the following year.
I spot that you also have quite a lot of leave to take. Not being allowed to take your leave is fundamentally wrong, as it can leave to burn out etc
It maybe worth contacting ACAS or your Union if you belong to one to get some help and advice.
If you are all employed on the same contracts, but parents are getting preferential treatment then that needs addressing. Perhaps look at the complaints/grievance process.

I completely agree there should be a rota; I remember in the years that I was teaching, my husband couldn't get summer holiday leave (not even a week) because families were prioritised. No summer holiday for us because others could take up to three weeks but someone married to a teacher couldn't take one. Everyone has to have a fair chance to take leave; everyone matters.

Whatever backup plan they had in place when they decided to have children AND take a job requiring Christmas working.

Because surely as a parent, you think about these things in advance, and don’t expect other, unrelated people with no responsibility towards your children to solve the problem for you?

Some people don’t have family, friends, or other parents to look after their kids but that shouldn’t mean child free people can’t take leave. I do think it should be done by rota though so it’s not a free for all. The grandchildren one is ridiculous.

You mentioned other parent. That still requires the other parent to need time work at xmas doesn’t it.

This year DH is off while I work until xmas eve. Then after boxing day we swap.