Should people who don’t celebrate Christmas get to have it off work?

[Username638]

Might be a controversial topic, I’m not sure. I work in a small team and there always has to be at least two people in over Christmas. One of the people does not celebrate Christmas due to their religion. They get a week or two off earlier in the year for Eid. Now that it has come to deciding who is having what time off for Christmas, the colleague who doesn’t celebrate it has said he might go for a trip away. I find this unfair really because he has already had his celebration and his time off work. It was a given, he didn’t need to fight over holidays, he just was granted the time off (which is fine obviously, that’s not the issue. I’m just saying he has already had his celebration and now it’s ours).

I don’t think there should be any rules in place that he can’t have any time off over Xmas because I do think it would be unfair and not right. But I just would’ve hoped that he would make the decision off his own back to work Xmas eve, Xmas day and Boxing Day so that those who celebrate it can have it off. I feel like it’s common decency? I did ask what he is up to for Xmas a few weeks ago and he said nothing as he doesn’t celebrate it. But now he’s decided he might go away for the whole week of Christmas and I just find it selfish tbh.

I understand where you're coming from. But no workplaces wouldn't do this ad they wouldn't discriminate against religion.

So no Muslim will ever be told "you can't boom time off at this time of year as it is a traditional Christian holiday"

Christmas is extremely culturally and religiously significant too. Nobody would have questioned her colleague on the degree of significance Eid was, neither should she for her Christian beliefs if any.

Could you speak with him about it and say you’d really appreciate the time off with family and as he has already said he doesn’t celebrate Christmas would he mind working?
I work in a sector that operates 365 days a year and I was due to work Xmas day, I was lucky enough to get a shift swap with someone who wasn’t bothered about having it off, they are more interested in the double pay 😂 would that not be an incentive for him, does your work not pay double on BH?
In my opinion he should do the decent thing and let someone who celebrates Christmas have the time off (and you dont have to be at midnight mass or church Xmas day to justify celebrating it 🙄)

😂

He will have had to take annual leave for Rid whereas there a bank holidays over Xmas so not comparable

If I want to take annual leave on any bank hol I have to submit leave in the same way as any other day of the year and use annual leave hours to cover it, the same as her colleague would have had to do for EID It’s a different system for people doing jobs that operate 365 days a year and are expected to work bank hols.

PoupeeGonflable · 21/11/2024 07:12
Presumably you are a practising Christian and will be at church for midnight mass on christmas eve and for a service on christmas day. And that you will be just singing holy carols (not 'all I want for Christmas', etc), exchanging only 1 token gift?
Otherwise, sorry, you are being so divisive culturally and professionally; i mean, saying 'I’m just saying he has already had his celebration and now it’s ours' couldn't be any clearer in its resentment.

@PoupeeGonflable what a pretentious, arrogant person you are. How dare YOU judge someone’s religious belief by YOUR criteria. And how pompous, sneering, and devoid of any kindness you are to Christianity.
Take your checklist and shove it where the sun don’t shine.
BTW this is a Christian country.

😊

🙄

Nobody is more deserving of time off at Christmas, and nobody should need to justify why they want the time off.

I'm not a Christian but I like to book time off around Easter to go away as I have to use less annual leave.

Unless you all wanted time off around Eid (which is typically a couple of days, not weeks) then you're being ridiculous.

This is exactly the reason I don’t tell
colleagues my religion. Never mind that I am
british and it’s a lovely time of year of reflection during Xmas. The fact that I am not Christian apparently makes me not qualified for time off on Xmas day.

The dates for eid change every year. So yes I have had to work it because I've put annual leave when other people have too and theirs has been requested and mine hasn't. It didn't matter to Sandra that I wanted to celebrate eid with my family and had covered xmas she was going on holiday and that was her priority. If she put in the leave first, she got it. If i did, then I would. I always offered to do xmas eve and boxing day because I'd rather new years eve off and the 2nd of jan but when it wasn't reciprocated I stopped. If he uses annual leave for eid I don't see what your issue is unless someone else put theirs in first and was denied it. In most places it's on a first come first served basis no matter what your reason. Yes he could think of you but why should he, you don't sound particularly nice and I wouldn't want to go out of my way for you either.
My dh will be the only member of his team working xmas week, all the others have annual leave. He'd rather take his at another point in the year but isn't guaranteed eid although his manager does try.

Take your frustrations out on your weak manager who shouldn't be promising anyone leave without it being formally submitted and should have some sort of rota for the xmas/new year period.

Your last sentence "this is a Christian country".

No the UK isn't a "Christian country".

Less than half of people in the UK marked themselves as Christian, in the last census

I'm a practising Christian who celebrates Christmas and get it OP, even if your reason is more culturally.
We don't know how much your colleague celebrates Eid, so if he takes time off even though he isn't religious about it, he might think you're not as religious about Christmas.

Communication is key, you say you talk a lot with him, so how does he not know how important Christmas is to you?

Not speaking up is what's made him bold enough to mention taking time off in front of everyone. It's a power move to ask after a meeting and not directly to the manager.

We had an arrangement where if you worked over Christmas, you get New years off.
Some preferred having New Year's off as we were a young team then, and we'd always communicate so people had their preferences.

Communicate more as a team or with your manager. Don't rely on human decency, especially in this age.

It is though. There is an established church - the Church of England, a state religion as such.

The majority of the population may be more post Christian in practice, but a Christian religion is the state religion.

The clue there is “England”. England =/= UK.

The most recent census showed that those describing themselves as Christian are no longer a majority (and people whose only Christian activity is being baptised are included in there).

The end is nigh.

Yes but still less than half of people in the UK identify as Christian.

You’re right there. Let’s say England then. It does have the greatest bulk of the population by far, though.

I suspect there may be a residual cultural aspect, maybe even an affection for the link or idea of a Christian culture. Of course, the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ association with Christian churches not unusual either.

And the schools! Don’t forget the schools. Faith schools can be very good. If you don’t want to/ or can’t afford to fork out for independent ones, a church school can be a good alternative. Especially in London. There is competition, and catchment. Parents usually have to go to a bit of effort (i.e go to church etc) to get their children in. Of course, it means that interested and involved parents will be actively supportive and it will create a good environment.

Not saying that parents who go other routes aren’t interested, involved or supportive. Just that the others keep church participation and activity going as there are rewards.

It’s one thing to choose a religious education for your children. It’s another to have legislation that compels a “daily act of Christian worship” in non-faith schools. Utterly disgusting and something I’ve been campaigning against for years.

Well, I suppose there isn’t that separation of church and state when there is an established state religion (like in England!). Head of state and state religion both embodied by the monarch. It isn’t France, where you’re supposed to toddle off to do your own variation in your own time. So many ceremonies, memorials and remembrances in the UK take place in Westminster Abbey/St Pauls etc. They seem to take place in more secular spaces when Le président de la republique does the honours in France.

The point is that there shouldn’t be a “state religion”. Nor a monarchy.

I’ve zero interest in anything that takes place in any churches.

I'd much rather the UK stayed a loosely Christian country than to risk it becoming a Muslim country and the errosion of women's rights.

Women’s rights are being eroded as it is.

why can’t we just be a secular country? Why would it become a Muslim country?