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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Christmas Annual Leave

90 replies

UnFairPolicy · 18/12/2018 15:08

I work in an office, normal 9-5:30 jobby

We have to book annual leave for Christmas so I have booked Christmas Eve and in doing so have to use 7.5hours of my annual leave for the full day

It was announced today that our offices will be allowed to close at 3pm on Christmas Eve so I asked whether I still needed to use 7.5 hours of leave or whether I only needed to book 5. I was advised that I still need to take the full 7.5

AIBU to think that's quite unfair? No one is now going to be working the full 7.5 hours and if I cancelled my leave and re-booked it to finish at, say, 12:30 I would only need to book 2.5 hours of leave...

Opinions please Xmas Smile

OP posts:
Thentherewascake · 18/12/2018 16:11

annoying but completely standard. If you want to take the day off, you book the full day. If you are working, you are only there for a couple of hours.

That's exactly the reason why many people do not like to take Christmas Eve and new Year's Eve off.

Original poster
UnFairPolicy · 18/12/2018 16:12

I do see both sides of it, and I don't want to work at all on Christmas Eve as I want to spend as much time with the DC as possible.

I think I'll just have to suck it up and hope for an early finish on the 28th seeing as I should have been off on that day anyway (no thanks to selfish bastard colleague...)

I won't be bloody volunteering to come in next year if selfish bastard colleague tries to book the whole week of again, they can do one!!!

OP posts:
m0therofdragons · 18/12/2018 16:20

Most offices tend to do this. We have to stay until the bitter end as I'm in a hospital and it's poor show to slope off early when the nurses can't. It's a perk of working Christmas Eve in most offices though. You can't benefit from the perk if you're not working!

RedBlu · 18/12/2018 16:22

If you had the 28th booked off and your colleague didn't but is refusing to come in, then surely it's up to your boss/manager to figure something out?

I don't see why you should have to come in (unless you are the manager?).

You should have said you were away which is why you booked it off then you couldn't have been expected to come in

DarlingNikita · 18/12/2018 16:26

I think it's very unfair. Very disorganised of the management to let people book their time off and then announce early closing at the last minute.

topcat2014 · 18/12/2018 16:28

It is part of the bunce for remaining on duty to the end!

It happens every year the same in most places - this is why I would never book Christmas eve as a day off :)

topcat2014 · 18/12/2018 16:29

Think of it in reverse - you have had a whole calendar day off work, so why should that only need half a day from your entitlement?

e1y1 · 18/12/2018 16:32

It's normal - same at places I have worked.

They say they early Finish is for the benefit of people working and if you book a days leave, you use your shifts allotted hours.

To get the early finish you have to be working, so you're only option is to cancel your leave.

Current place is much more straight forward, leave done in days not hours, so a days leave is 1 day deduct, no matter what your shift (although the entire company practically do 8-530 - save for a very select few areas - ie my area)

EffOrf · 18/12/2018 16:37

It is fairly commonplace and to take advantage you really need to work on Christmas Eve, could you cancel your day off and take it some other time

Polarbearflavour · 18/12/2018 16:40

Seems a bit mean seeing that:

“UK workers gave their employers £31.2 billion of free labour last year, doing a grand total of two billion hours unpaid overtime.
Five million workers put in an average of 7.4 extra unpaid hours, missing out on an average of £6,265.”

inneedahome · 18/12/2018 16:40

You definitely shouldn't have to use extra hours. It's ridiculous.

We were given xmas eve off as a present and as a result everyone has been asked to change how they have booked this day i.e. if it was annual leave change it to authorised absence.

BlaaBlaaBlaa · 18/12/2018 16:41

It is unfair. Our organisation always closes at lunchtime on xmas eve and doesn't open again until the new year. If you're booking that day off you are only required to book half day and the days between xmas and new year are just bonus days off- no leave required.

This year we're not even opening on xmas eve and we've just been given Friday 21st off as a bonus so i'm aware what we have is extremely generous.....yet people still complain!!

Polarbearflavour · 18/12/2018 16:42

We get Christmas Eve, and the days between Boxing Day and NYD as leave as the site is closed. It doesn’t count as annual leave - just paid time off for closure days.

When I worked in the City we would be told to go home by midday by management. Xmas Smile

When I worked in the NHS (office) we had to work our hours as normal.

ChocolateWombat · 18/12/2018 16:42

So here's one for you. DHs office will close about 2 on Christmas Eve and everyone will go home. Many of the workers work at home however. He will be working at home and logs his hours (often farvinnexcess if the contracted hours - no problem with that) but should he finish at 2 from home and work a full day whilst at home? He is very conscientious and isn't a home worker doing any skiving but would keep working a full day unless he has been explicitly told not to.

What about for those who work from home and do flexible hours that are logged? Do they get any benefit of an early closure day or is this just the time where you lose out in a minor way and it's one of the few downsides of working from home or flexi?

VanGoghsDog · 18/12/2018 16:44

This is very common, in fact, so common it's been the case everywhere I've worked.

This year I have booked Christmas eve off, I know everyone will finish early but I wanted the day off, in the past I've ended up staying all day and later one Xmas Eve due to workload despite everyone leaving early, so if you want/need to guarantee the time off, you book it and you book the whole day.

Last year I had someone book half a day, pm, then when the email went out about 11.30am that we would all be allowed to leave at 1pm, he sent an email to cancel it - I refused and said he still had to use his leave as there was never any guarantee he could leave early.

Mitzimaybe · 18/12/2018 16:44

Your gripe about the 28th is a completely separate issue. If your leave was approved and then your colleague announced she was going to be off even though she hadn't had it approved, why did you agree to come in? You should have just told them that you can't do it. If the manager says "but you're not going away" you say "Oh we are visiting auntie Julie's that day, it makes her Christmas, we can't let her down."

If you've already agreed to work it then more fool you but get it in writing from your manager that you have done this as a favour to the company and in return for a guaranteed Christmas week off next year.

AllTakenSoRubbishUsername · 18/12/2018 16:46

That's so wrong. It's like taking a week off work and having to include the weekend! How do they get away with that??

Original poster
UnFairPolicy · 18/12/2018 16:52

Our manager is a complete spineless wimp and lets the staff walk all over him. He knew that I would volunteer to cover the 28th because we all know he won't make selfish bastard colleague come in on that day...

It's always me picking up the slack, the others obviously don't give a shit. That's why I'm fixating on the Christmas eve leave!

OP posts:
Maybe83 · 18/12/2018 16:54

My job only makes you take the half day.

The office is closed you can't work so why would you need annual leave to be off.

Original poster
UnFairPolicy · 18/12/2018 16:58

Mitzimaybe nobody's Christmas leave was approved, we had to complete a wish list of the days we wanted off (same as in previous years).

I wanted the whole week off, so did selfish bastard colleague (and another colleague) and because they had already arranged to be away for the week (with family down south, and couldn't possibly come back in to work the Thursday) they got to have the leave because boss man knew that me and my other nice colleague would volunteer to cover the Thursday/Friday (because we always step up!!!)

It boils my piss that selfish bastard colleague essentially booked a holiday without booking annual leave - you wouldn't book a cruise without checking you could have the time off work first!! And boss man said not one fucking word about it! And it's even worse that this is their 4th Christmas off in a fucking row!!!!!!!!

OP posts:
ScreamingValenta · 18/12/2018 16:59

It's the same where I work. It's planned as an early finish but you can in theory be asked to work the whole day if it's unexpectedly busy. One year there was a major crisis on Christmas Eve and some people ended up having to be there till 7pm.

WidowTwonky · 18/12/2018 17:00

You volunteered. So why are you complaining??

Myimaginarycathasfleas · 18/12/2018 17:03

I sympathise but I think them’s just the Christmas breaks if you’ll pardon the pun.

I have known senior managers send round an email at 4:30 on Christmas Eve inviting people to knock off half an hour early. Not sure who they thought was left in the office at that time, never mind how much work they were actually doing!

5foot5 · 18/12/2018 17:08

I honestly think this is quite normal. Almost everywhere I have worked would apply the rule the same way, i.e. office closes at midday on Christmas Eve but if you want to take Christmas Eve as leave you book a whole day.

Where I am now is much more generous. I tried to book Christmas Eve as leave and was told that it didn't seem worth people coming in for one day (Monday) so they would just give us all an extra day's leave and we can all finish on Friday! Grin

Osirus · 18/12/2018 17:10

My office is never open on Christmas Eve. I thought it would be more common than it is but obviously not!

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