Phoning in sick on Christmas Day?

[themanors]

I work as a receptionist in a hotel
I have been told as the newest member of the team I will be working Christmas Day months in advance.
It's 11am -11 pm shift and the same Christmas Eve (my birthday)
It's minimum wage and we won't get paid extra.
My dad is 87 and isn't in the best health and I'm his only family
I'm really scared that this might be his last Christmas and I'm wasting it at work for a company who doesn't care
I asked to swap and was told no
I asked if anyone else wanted to work was told no

Aibu to phone in sick?
Il just add I'm not workshy
I never ring in sick

I have worked in hospitality for years for a very well known holiday company also on NMW and although we don’t work Christmas Day we’ve regularly had to work Christmas day, Boxing Day, NYE and day. At least half of the staff never turn up anyway. One girl this year just gone had been posting drunk statuses and photos just past midnight on Facebook and then deleted them by the morning although they had several members of management on Facebook nothing was done about it. This is sadly a common occurrence in our place of work. Minimum wage for many means minimum effort.

Some people will just flat out refuse because they will say it’s Christmas and they just won’t give up their family time for it. It’s frustrating for the people that bother that have to carry the rest but you’ll never stop people phoning in sick because they just don’t want to be there and most with a much less valid excuse than yourself. It is what it is.

You do need to be aware that there is a good chance that they might sack you and the people who have to cover you will be mightily pissed off with you. However, let’s not be under any illusions - if you died tomorrow they would replace you in a heartbeat. You only get one dad and it’s an awful situation for you both to be in where he’s on his own at Christmas and if I were you’d I’d call in sick in a heartbeat. I say that as someone who has never pulled a sickie in their life. Sometimes there are situations in life that are much more important than a minimum wage job that wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. If it were the NHS or a job where serious repercussions may happen if you don’t go in then I wouldn’t be so blasé about it but in this situation I’d say dad comes first. If you can live with the consequences of no job post Christmas until you find something else then you know what to do.

How is it greed? People need to stay in hotels all year round. I've worked plenty of Christmases and dont work in healthcare. Get a different job.

Sorry agree yabu look for another job if you don’t like the shifts

I still don't understand why the nhs is different...the whole 'saving lives' etc.

As someone who works a lot of Christmas' due to shift work and working in health care....yes 100% my family are more important than my job!

But it's part of my job role..and I knew when I signed up to it I would miss out....and the rest of the year the shift work suits me.

Christmas is just one day!! I celebrate it for most of December!
Last year I had my Christmas dinner by myself...in my pj's after working the whole run up to Christmas then....Christmas eve late shift (so missed my daughter going to bed) and then Christmas Day all day.

My dad worked for the police and the same used to happen...we celebrated on different days!

Crack on with it...not trying to use emotional blackmail...or find another job!

They can sack you for any reason not covered by Equality Act (or otherwise illegal) in your first two years of employment.

Seriously. They can sack you because they don’t like your handbag. You need to get another job.

You say your dad will have no dinner because you are at work. Who gives him his dinner the rest of the year?

Just reposting this as it wasn't answered.

If that was your previous thread, I think someone pointed out on there that you'd had the last twelve (at least) Christmases off. Which is presumably more than some of your colleagues will have had.

As others have said I would look for something else and then leave. You can explain in your exit interview your reasons for resigning. It's very off not to get enhanced pay for working Christmas day.

Greed or for people like that poster who can't bare to slum it for just one night?

Anyway, thems the breaks with hospitality

She hasn’t had 12 Christmases off- she didn’t have a job to be off from!

Nobody would want to work Xmas day in those circumstances. As you say, a shorter shift and or more money would make it more palatable. It’s quite normal for a hotel to be open over Xmas though.

However, it’s months away so I’d try to find another job asap. It’s not fair to call in sick for the reasons others have mentioned.

You said it yourself, they aren't a charity so they don't owe anyone Christmas day off. If you don't want to work Christmas then you need to get a job where working Christmas isn't a requirement.

So would the OP be okay working if there was enhanced pay?
Would aged fathered be any less aged?

You're responding quite aggressively to people who are simply answering the question you asked.

Of course you would be unreasonable to call in sick on the day - you'd be leaving them in the lurch with no warning and someone else who will also have family responsibilities will have to come in with no time to prepare.

That fact is not the fault of anyone here. It's just a fact.

If your father is too ill for you to do this job, then leave. If you want to keep the job, then accept the responsibility. There's no reason you couldn't try talking to your employer if you haven't already done this and explaining the situation to see if you can avoid working both days, but I'm not holding my breath. Hospitality is not known for being familiy friendly.

Your best bet is to look for a new job. In the meantime, arrange your Christmas celebrations for another day

But you're not genuinely sick. You're calling in sick so that you don't have to work, and are planning to do so 4 months in advance.

I would look for another job. I wouldn't leave my 87 year old dad on his on on Christmas Day for minimum wage.
Any manager worth their salt would split that shift evenly so everyone got time at home.

What are you basing this on? That's not how most people get into business ownership. It's not the 50s.

How have the hotel managed Christmas cover in the past? Surely they don’t always go by who is newest? How many people usually do your job? Could the day be broken into 2 6 hour shifts each day, so 11-5 and 5-11? It’s it an independent hotel or part of a chain with HR etc?

You didn’t read that at all, did you?

And the split shift thing is so it only means one person misses their family, not lots of people unable to relax and celebrate properly...

We "do" Christmas as a family on Boxing Day. I request that as my "one day off" as we have to work 2 of Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve. It has happened I've had to work though, mostly at the start. Because newest start works Christmas is common to be fairer to longer standing staff who have had to miss several

I’d get looking for another job to be honest. Don’t call in sick just remove this situation from your life as soon as possible.

I worked in a hotel that had to have cover from 7am to midnight, we had 3 receptionists, on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day etc we choose to split the day into 3 and each had a shift per day. We put the days and times into a hat and took one each in turn.

I was allocated the midnight finish on Christmas Eve and the 7am start on Christmas day, only the other two didn't turn in, didn't answer calls and the duty manager was rushed off her feet with guests demands, guess who worked from 7am till midnight on Christmas day and had to go in for 7am boxing day just incase the receptionist who should have been on didn't come in.

That was the first and last time I worked hotel reception.

As it’s an hotel and some people like to go to an hotel other staff. for Christmas, I imagine there will be kitchen staff and chefs, housekeeping staff and maintenance staff on duty and a duty manager.

Of course you don’t want to do it. I don’t imagine many people want to work on Christmas Day, but certain jobs dictate that some people have to.

I think you need to make a decision about whether you want to keep that job, look for another or give up work altogether. Phoning in sick will ring all sorts of alarm bells and isn’t fair on

OP, work up to the day before, keep searching for jobs in the mean time.

Ring in sick then if you must, but be prepared to be fired first chance they get.

Hopefully you will get another job by then.
Get as much experience as you can working there to pad out your CV.

This reads as though you want us to say it’s ok to phone in sick. Obvs it isn’t. You have a good reason to not want to work Xmas Day, so make sure you have changed jobs by then - it’s August so you have time. Phoning in sick is totally unfair on your colleagues who would have to pick up the slack.