Unfair at work?

[Wildflower123]

There was 4 main days everyone at work wanted off over Christmas and I didn’t get the day I was asked for (despite being away with family) and the reason given was the work volumes are too high.

I’ve since found out that a colleague was allowed to leave 2 hours early on Christmas Eve - despite high work volumes

They went out drinking after work so it was not an emergency. They can do what they want in their own time and my issue is not with them.

My issue is that if my request is ignored then management shouldn’t allow others to leave early?

It depends on the business, I'm in hospitality and though we tried to be fair, not everyone could have what they wanted. Because with the exception of Christmas day where we were bookings only, you can't know who's coming through the door and when, so some staff were sent home early when events proved to not be as busy etc. We sent the staff that had requested that day but not got it first but if someone was sent home early say Christmas Eve because it was quiet, we still needed the staff rota'd in for NYE say because we had no way of knowing how busy it would actually be until it happened.

I think you are being a bit unreasonable. There is a difference between having the whole day off and leaving 2 hours early.

Where I work, we need a certain amount of staff on duty at certain times but I allowed someone to leave an hour early on Christmas eve as the busy period was out of the way.

Would leaving 2 hours early on the day you wanted as leave have allowed you to do what you planned?

I made my decision when the off duty came out for Christmas one year, my shifts were awful (Christmas day, Boxing night and NYE night shift). Colleague was given Christmas Eve then off til 30th, then not back til 2nd!). That was it, I was determined to be in a new job before the year was out and I was!

I couldn't grudge a colleague leaving 2 hours early on Christmas Eve.

It’s hard to give everyone the time off the want over the festivities.

Honestly I think it’s ridiculous that anyone in a non ‘essential’ roles (emergency services, hospitals...etc) are made to work 24/25/26 or 31/1. There is no good reason to not be allowed the holiday! The world won’t end if a call centre, hotel or office doesn’t open for 5 days of the year, or has low staffing levels!

If a business wants to profit substantially by open (hospitality) then they can entice staff to work by offering increased wages...etc.

A few of my friends work minimum wage jobs in hospitality and whilst their employers (bars, restaurants and hotels) all made crazy profits staying open for Christmas/New Years - throwing big expensive parties, my friends are just threatened with being fired if they dare not turn up or call in sick!