Annual leave at Christmas

[Miamarshmallows]

If you work/had a job, how much time did you take off at Christmas?
My friend posted on Facebook just now with 'Imagine having this Friday off until the 4th Jan, how funny is that?" and everyone responded with laughing emojis. I'm guessing because it's a rarity to have 2 weeks off for Christmas? Except it isn't. I know many colleagues spread their leave out but I always had 2 weeks off at Christmas. Just wondered if I was in the minority?! Obviously it's different for keyworkers etc.

When i worked in a supermarket no one was allowed any leave in december (unless exceptional circumstances). Im
New NHS.. 3 weeks of my leave is allocated to me 2 years ahead of time (shares school
Holidays out) not allowed christmas witbout exceptional reason. chirstmas school holiday cover was always a massive pita

I work at a university which closes Christmas Eve until the 2 Jan (or whenever the first Monday is after new year). I love it. No fighting over leave. It's one of the reasons I chose to work here.

I’m in school so off 18th-4th. DH works in an industry that always closes down 24th- 2nd so he has to take a week’s leave then.

We are shut for the four working days from Christmas Eve until New Year. I don't take additional time off, it's dark and cold, I wait until Easter.

School staff get paid for 4/5 weeks holiday, the rest is unpaid. Also, you can’t take a day off outside of term time, ever!

I'm not taking any leave but I'm just working from home so may as well save it for when I might possibly be able to do something with it

@choosername1234

Genuine question but what NHS key worker roles always have Christmas off? I thought the whole point of key workers were that their job was essential to keep the NHS running I'm an A&E nurse, usually work New Years nights

I guess specialist roles. The infection control nurse or clinical educator is not going to be working Xmas day. They’re still key workers.

I’m finishing work tomorrow (Friday 18th) and not going back til 12 January. I haven’t had any leave all year so I need a proper break. Normally I take two weeks off though, as the kids are off school. It’s very common in my sector for people to take 10-14 days off over Christmas.

We're a 365 days per year, 24 hours per day health and social care setting. We're a long standing, small team. We work either 24th to 26th December or 30th December to 1st January. This is just what works for us - most of the residents go home 24th to 26th but we have five who don't have any family contact. Most but not all return between 27th and 30th, so new year is a busier time, and the residents are young and the night shift on new year's eve is full on, where Christmas is quiet.
Luckily there are colleagues on the team who always want the Christmas shifts rather than the new year (even though MN holds that this is impossible and nobody would choose to work Christmas over new year) and Christmas shifts are booked well in advance on an opt in basis (we put ourselves down for the shifts we want). We do also get extra bank holiday pay.

I'm off for 2 weeks from Friday!

@Benjispruce2

School staff get paid for 4/5 weeks holiday, the rest is unpaid. Also, you can’t take a day off outside of term time, ever!

So they actually get about 8 weeks less than their salary, like pro rata?

I'm finishing tomorrow and not going back till the 4th, I probably wont do it every year but as I used to work in retail and this is the first year I can do it I'm going to enjoy it. I'm also going to enjoy that my children have to go to school on Mon and Tue and I'll be off :)

I work at a university and we always get from
Xmas eve until new year off without using any leave but this year we've been given some extra days so we get two weeks off.
I've taken tomorrow off using leave so I can have a quiet day at home while DS is in school.

Frontline healthcare though we are shut bank holidays. I also work set days. This year has worked well I finish on the 23rd and then back in on the 30th. Then back to normal from 4th Jan. All due to how the bank holidays fall. Previously I have worked Christmas Eve, NYE and the days in between. We are not allowed holidays in December.

Apparently I get Xmas eve off and that's it.

I normally don't take more than a week off at Christmas, but work are giving us the whole week off between Christmas and New year to thank us for everything we did during this crazy year, so I am having a 2 week break for the first time in forever!

I’m having two weeks off for the first time ever! I’ve been working 22 years. This is my second year working at a university and they have a number of closed days over Christmas. This year they’ve added extras because of covid so we get the full two weeks without using annual leave. I can’t wait!

@Benjispruce2

School staff get paid for 4/5 weeks holiday, the rest is unpaid. Also, you can’t take a day off outside of term time, ever!

Do you mean that if a teacher job is advertised as £36k per annum they actually only get paid £30k? To reflect the 8 "unpaid" weeks?

someone has to be in our office, so we all need to come in at least once, in the 2 weeks i am off 3 days, apart from the bank holidays.

@SingleWontMingle

Imagine having this Friday off until the 4th Jan, how funny is that?"

This is DEFINITELY a dig at school workers and quite frankly anyone who posts this can get fucked or go and get a job in a school themselves.

I suspect it's a bit of a dig at school workers and also a bit of performative martyrdom from whatever job they do - my cousin who is a paramedic is awful for this, it would appear she didn't know it would be shift work before she trained from the posts every few days about how she is the only person in the world who works nights/bank holidays/weekends

I work at a university. Technically closed from 23rd to 4th Jan. in practice I have 80 2000 word essays to mark, 40 15 minute videos to mark, a brand new module to write from scratch and two consultancy reports to write. I’m already on my knees after this semester. Still, at least I have an interview for my own job on Monday in the hope I’ll avoid being made redundant just before Christmas.

So teachers get 6-7 weeks unpaid leave a year? So does that mean your salaries are pro-rata? Does that mean you can go and get another job for the summer?

I am off from the 24th- to the 4th.

I am a NHS keyworker. We close weekends and bank holidays. On the other days there has to be enough staff in, but it is spread between teams. Other related crisis services are open throughout though.

I used to work most of Xmas in my last job so loving getting Xmas off now.

I am self employed and so I don’t work when my kid’s are on holiday. That’s the way it works for us though so this is not suitable for everyone.
My husband has 24th-4th off this year because of the way he has worked out his annual leave. He’s also had a week for the steam rally (that didn’t happen) and Two weeks for other holidays throughout the year.
We always look at his leave in January and then book days so we can make the most out of his 25 days a year.

I’m working up to and including Xmas eve and again on 31st. I could have the 2 weeks off .....if I had had enough leave to cover it which I don’t, so I’m working.