To wonder how long it'll be before mcdonalds is open Xmas day.

[letsplaynice]

I in no way want this but their opening hours this year are crazy shut at 10 Xmas eve open again 8 on Boxing Day then only shut 8pm till 8am Hogmanay it makes me a bit sad

[raltheraffe]

letsplaynice what personal difference does it make to you whether McDonald's is open or not. If you do not want to buy food there then don't.

[ilovesooty]

Amsterdam is busy and there is far more open than closed. I'm in a pub eating full Christmas dinner now. €14.50, no need to book and serving until 11pm.

[DreamingDiva13]

The shop across the road from me was open until 3 today, didn't quite see when he opened but it was around the 9am time

[5madthings]

Our McDonald's was open, only staff who volunteered and they got double pay. We went for lunch as dp is at work all day (children's services) and I wasn't cooking an as dinner with all the madthings needing my attention. Dp will have a Xmas lunch at work and we are having a buffet once he is at home. The madthings saw McDonald's as a real treat and it was lovely actually, surprisingly busy!

[ilovesooty]

Thanks, Owllady

I hope you and everyone has a lovely Christmas.

[Owllady]

Oh I know, it's the paramedics I know aren't very well paid :( for what they do
But then again, most of the health and social care industry is poorly paid
Sigh
The people we rely on most

[Redglitter]

Those salaries are despatchers not paramedics

[Owllady]

I think it's a travesty that paramedics are so poorly paid. They really are amazing people and yes, I'm generalizing but it's such a difficult job and I'm yet to meet one that wasn't just absolutely marvellous :))

Enjoy your holiday sooty
Enjoy your sons company chenin

:)

[goodasitgets]

Band 3 here. Not time plus as said above though. That's for call handlers, band 4 for dispatch. My rota falls that I work every christmas and NY for 9 years I think

[ilovesooty]

Sorry SirChenjin I think my last post went too far. I do appreciate your point about people being compelled to work on bank holidays. I suppose I'm just trying to get over the fact that if people do it makes a lonely time for some a bit less lonely.

[Ubik1]

Ambulance dispatchers are level 2 on agenda for change. Grades above are for clinically trained ie: specially trained.

[Redglitter]

In fact according to one Ambulance service website despatchers start at £18k rising to 24k after a year then increments to 28k. That's more what I'd have expected

[Ubik1]

Check it out red glitter. Grade 2. Ambulance service rates of pay are very low.

[ilovesooty]

And obviously to you, cocooned in your family unit, things like outside catering, hotels and transport just don't figure. Try sparing a thought for those who are not so fortunate. It seems you don't have the imagination though.

[Redglitter]

I'd be very surprised if Ambulance despatchers are paid between £14 - 17k. I know police ones are paid considerably more

[ilovesooty]

By that token I take it you're happy to do without TV then. It's a non essential service. No need for it on Christmas day.

[SirChenjin]

Yes, that's right - let's switch off the national grid, because no-one needs heat or light, do they? Come on, if you're going to come up with an analogy, try one that fits the thread.

Ubik - what you said about loads of people in out city don't celebrate Xmas and are happy to work on the day is absolutely key. If people are happy to work on Christmas Day, then that's fine - but what I really, really wouldn't want to see is for Christmas Day to become another working day in non-essential sectors (like McDs as per the OP...) where more and more people are forced to give up their Christmas.

And on that note I shall head off and tackle the ironing

[ilovesooty]

So perhaps you'd like to sit in the dark, not do any cooking and have no sanitation facilities so that people don't have to work on Christmas day?
Oh. You need heating, light and sanitation? Perhaps all the people who work in media could have the day off. You don't need to watch TV on Christmas day do you? Or do their families not matter?

[Ubik1]

Well yes - but we weren't..um..flipping burgers. We would expect to be paid a little but more.

Anyway, loads of people in out city don't celebrate Xmas and are happy to work on the day. We used to try to swap shifts with Muslim colleagues ( although some Muslim colleagues liked to celebrate Xmas too )

[usualsuspect333]

I meant many supermarkets pay more than MW,not less.

[SirChenjin]

Again - I'm not sneering at McDs burgers, I'm referring to the title of the OP.

[SirChenjin]

It translates to more than the McD workers forced to work Christmas Day would get.

[SirChenjin]

Not all shops pay MW? Really? I thought it was a legal requirement to pay MW to everyone over school leaving age?

[lemisscared]

i love a macdonalds breakie it means holiday in our house. do xmas day mc d breakie sounds like a fsir idea. then theres the poor fuckers who have to work xmas day.

[Ubik1]

Well it doesn't translate into that much extra after tax TBH.

Anyway, we all appreciated our burgers and pizzas on Christmas Day.