To be fucked off about Working on Christmas Day

[Flipflopskid]

I am working ( not by choice) on Christmas Day ( absent from home from the early hrs of the 24 th even...) and will not be home til gone 11 pm on the 25th, hence I will be forced to miss out on everything.

The joy has gone from my heart. I'm well fucked off I can tell you.

In the past I have always shunned the idea of Christmas in a hotel, Christmas lunch in a restaurant etc. out of respect for the poor buggers who would have to work it; like their families don't matter at all ....

God it makes me so angry that people don't think about this when booking their flight,making a reservation for a mini break etc. cos they can't be bothered to do it all themselves!

" I know lets get some other poor bastard to do it instead and hey, just for god measure, fuck up a prospective special magical parent/ kids bonding session whilst we're at it!"


Am I being unreasonable?

[50shadesofmeh]

Christmas Day and New Year's Day here, working from 7 in morning till 8 T night, and I have 3 kids which includes a 7 month old baby. Not happy at all.

[Darkesteyes]

Remembered this from another thread i was on. Looks like there will be ppl on workfare on Xmas Day.


UptheairymountainWed 13-Nov-13 06:56:38



Ref Darkesteyes' comment about workfare - there was a recruitment event yesterday for young people, held by a pub near me in Liverpool, to recruit bar staff (with other duties such as cleaning toilets etc). It would be 8 weeks training for JSA only and then they'd decide if you got a job. So basically free staff for Christmas and New year with no job at the end of it .

I've contacted the local paper and I hope they name and shame the pub but how many other businesses are doing the same?

[EvaBeaversProtege]

Weegie your story made me cry.

[Ledkr]

windmill that's hardly a fair point to make is it?
The op isn't a midwife or obstetrician or paediatrician.
People who hate working at Xmas still do, even if they do hate it.

[grumpyoldbat]

I think yabu, it's just a day. Choose another day to celebrate.

I'll admit I'm off Christmas Day this year although in my defence it's just worked out as my rostered day off. My only day off in 21 days. The other days will consist of 4x 730am til 8pm, then alternating days of 9-5 and 2-10. I will get shouted at, sworn at and possibly assaulted. Occasionally people even threaten our families. We all just have to accept it as that's life and it's the job. Although no double time on NYD it's much preferable to unemployment and workfare.

[SootikinAndSweep]

I'm confused, are you flying to Saudi or from Saudi on Christmas Day?

[Joysmum]

I love going out to dinner on Christmas Day and we always do.

A Christmas meal requires so much more shopping, cooking and clearing up after and doing MORE work on Christmas Day does not much of a holiday to me!

Its so nice not to have to battle the shops in the last few days before Christmas to get the fresh stuff only to find the shops haven't got it so you have to go to another. It's nice not to have the extra washing up, not think of the extras like crackers and table decs etc.

In the past I've taken advantage if being able to work Christmas for more money and time off too which I appreciated more at that time.

Having said all of that, my fav day over the festive period is when the my whole family descends on our house for the day (usually day after Boxing Day). I do a buffet and hot roast spuds and cold meat and we play family games. Much better than Christmas Day. We aren't religious but our daughter appreciates Christmas Day on Christmas Day and apart from her present opening of the delivery from Santa, I think all of us prefer the family party day.

[NCISaddict]

Working Christmas day for the ambulance service is strange, virtually all 12 hour shifts and the way the rota works most people who work Christmas also end up working New Year too.
Also there tends to be a strange mix between very serious incidents (cardiac arrests are quite common) and people calling 999 because they're lonely. We jump from full on trying to save lives to making cups of tea and chatting to elderly people who are on their own. It's a strange day, often very sad but occasionally uplifting.

On the plus side, you do get to eat loads of beige Iceland type food.

[Bubbles1066]

I've had to work Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing Day before and New Year's Day too (not the same year for New Years though). You have my sympathy.

[LaGuardia]

I am working Christmas Day , New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. I imagine if you were unfortunate enough to need medical help over the holidays you would expect me and my colleagues to help you? Obviously the triple rate pay the NHS will be paying me will help greatly

[scottishmummy]

Service industry such as restaurants respond to demand,if they've got booking they open
Yes we've gone out Xmas day and no I don't feel sorry for staff having to work it
Why should I?

[Ubik1]

Op it truly sucks

PMSL at triple pay


I'll be on the OOH phones - 2x nightshift 21/22/23 then try to be all nice and no -grumpy with the kids once I get up on xmas eve at around 2pm, and then in for more fun Xmas day 4-11.30pm and Boxing Day 4-11.30pm

We also get folk with chest pain, people with chronic illness that has worsened, people lonely/depressed and people who stubbed their toe last wednesday.

But we have the big cash prizes, sausage rolls and tins of Celebrations to look forward too!

[scottishmummy]

Op you're in Saudi Xmas day is a statutory holiday there it's a regular day
You're not in U.K. Being compelled to work public holiday
I do hope you have a great time with your loved ones when you finally get here

[Ubik1]

if i was made to work christmas day i woud leave my job some people might not agree but am not missing out on my childrens short childhoods

Oh FGS grow up

[scottishmummy]

Thankfully,the service sector,public sector,aren't so melodramatic about working xmas

[TheCrackFox]

It is pretty shit working Christmas day and I have done plenty (and Hogmany and New Years day too).

Utterly laughable that there is extra pay - you just get an extra day off in mid February. Whoop de fucking woo. And the tips tend to be worse because customers are so over charged for their Christmas dinner.

Anyway, I changed sectors because I was sick to death of working every Saturday night, bank holiday etc and missing out on all the fun.

[scottishmummy]

I've worked Xmas etc I like the camaraderie,and just the way it is
Certain jobs eg public sector,service sector you'll be asked,goes with job

[grumpyoldbat]

What's it like to be able to just quit a job because you don't like the shifts? I hate my job every day but I can't meet my responsibilities if I quit, so I stay.

[TheCrackFox]

Public sector = worthwhile job that has a point to it.
Service sector = watching people get pissed and essentially pointless.

I worked in the service sector and after working 10 Christmases in a row I decided to retrain.

[SauvignonBlanche]

God it makes me so angry that people don't think about this when booking their flight

Aren't you flying on Christmas day yourself OP?

[grumpyoldbat]

Surely if you work in the service industry you're always watching people have fun while you're working.

[chibi]

can you not have xmas on a different day? why must it be on the 25?

[expatinscotland]

In N. America, Boxing Day isn't a holiday. You're expected to go to work even in office jobs. So if you live far from family, that means Xmas with friends, volunteering, a ski or snowshoe in winter climes if you can't get the day off.

Meh. DH has worked Xmas and Boxing Day loads, so have I. For no extra pay. In min. wage jobs. When you need the money, you need the job.

And plenty of people patronise restaurants, stay in hotels, fly on Xmas to be with ill relatives, because they cannot get off work any sooner, business, etc.

[Procrastinating]

Not all people working Christmas day are miserable about it, I used to work Christmas day every year. I was a silver service waitress in a hotel, the tips were huge and the customers were happy.

[katese11]

I'm not sure why people are being so mean to the OP. Yes, people who work in certain industries have to work over Christmas - my mother was a care assistant and worked every Christmas day -as kids we used to go in at lunchtime and help out (child labour laws were much laxer then ;) ) It made such a difference to the old people and we all felt like we'd done something nice. But if you take a job in IT not expecting to have to work Christmas day I can understand why you wouldn't have that same glow. ..! Whose Christmas are you making better by working?