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.

If that is the case then your employer is not being consistent. If people of faith get priority on their religious days then that includes Christians.

What happens at Easter?

YANBU op

The OP said that he took a week or two off, but in any case, there are two Eid's and most families routinely celebrate for two or three days each time. So yes, you can compare it to Eid since the OP is specifically saying Christmas (two days) not any longer period.

I have a number of friends in occupations where working across Christmas is common, and where they celebrate other festivals themselves they generally volunteer to do Christmas - it's called common decency. Nobody expects them to miss their own special holidays, and they reciprocate. Christmas may be more "cultural" than religious now, but it is traditionally family time.

No, you just get all your holiday entitlement rolled into one (so OP's would be 25 days of holiday + 8 bank holiday = 33 days of AL). Although, NHS does offer extra pay for working on a bank holiday and a lot of people chose to do anti-social hours for this exact reason. But it's not a requirement.

Yeah I agree with you. Selfish on his part. What would happen if you booked time off during Eid and he couldn't get it?

I think in services like NHS and care and police etc, where you have to have someone working on desirable public holidays like Christmas and New Year, they should be paid at time and a half. That way people who don't really need the time off would be incentivised to decide that and work them as they could get a benefit to save up for something that's more important to them, and people who do really want the time off would have more chance of getting it.

Why?? Why does it matter how they choose to ‘celebrate’?

Very selfish of him. The only way for him to understand that is by not being able to take EID off next year. Keep an eye on the dates and book it off first.

I think it wouldn’t hurt him to allow others who celebrate Christmas to be off. Whether they’re religious or not.
I agree with others who say this is a poor management situation. Instead of relying on others goodwill they should have some sort of rota system.
I work in care and that’s 24/7 so some of us will be working Christmas Day. My firm try to rotate us so we at least get some time off over Christmas and New Year.

Out of curiosity are there other people in the team that aren't 'doing anything' (or just chilling out with family) that you have umbrage with or just him?

@Glasgowgal2 the colleague is not just "chilling out with family" he said specifically that he won't do anything as it's "just like any other day", that's the point

I've had the same thing happen to me in the past and the whole team was pissed off about it. A Muslim colleague who openly admitted to not doing anything over Xmas and said she found the whole day very boring because everything was closed booked it off while the rest of us had to work. I don't know why you would do that to your colleagues, you can literally book any other time of year off but to chose the one time everyone else wants to spend with their family seems a little selfish.

Presumably because he’s Muslim and doesn’t celebrate Christmas as they’ve mentioned several times.

We also work on ‘who had last year off’ if he had last Christmas then he should work this Christmas.

It’s irrelevant whether or not he celebrates Christmas Day, he’s entitled to days off during winter like anyone else. As far as I remember, there are no other public holidays for several months so this is his opportunity to take a break. You just have to accept you may be working on the day.

I agree with what you are saying OP and If he had Xmas off last year then it should be rotated around and whoever had it off last year shouldn’t get it this year.

Sounds like you have a crap system in place. Go sick on Xmas day.

@ImTheOnlyUpsyOne

It also takes the staff away from those events that have to supervise them being sat out, so I'm sure they prefer us going away)

Do you really ask school to remove your kids from a Christmas school activity?

Op does this colleague get paid extra for working Christmas?

I think the manager is being unfair here as they should allocate the days fairly depending on who worked the previous year and try to give everyone at last one bank holiday off whoever they are.
I don't celebrate Christmas but we do have family round for lunch on 25 Dec and enjoy the time off/quieter time at work and we used to go away as a family between Xmas and New Year. I have to say I have never worked over the festive period as either work has been closed or I've managed to take the time off.
I would totally bow to a colleague who wanted Christmas Day off for religious reasons though - but in the UK most people have a family gathering at that time of year anyway so it's a moot point.

Although Christmas has christian roots most people in this country are not christians. There are many people of other faith who celebrate Christmas for the festivities rather than the religious aspect.

No, I fully understand the op and still think she's wrong.
And in her example above I would say she should keep her booked leave. Birthdays aren't a surprise, if you want to plan a big trip away then the hypothetical co worker should have booked it earlier.
How is what the op is saying any different to saying that people who don't have children or aren't Christian shouldn't get Christmas off? I am neither, and if I want to sit at home in my pants alone all day that's my business.
The issue is the business has a shit way of working out AL. If its a hotly contested time of year then there should be a clear policy, ie you work one of the days 24-26th not all, and if you had the 25th off last year you won't get it this year. Then at least everyone would know they would have A day. And it should have been decided before now, people need to make plans with their family if they are celebrating on a different day and it's reasonable to want to know before the beginning of December.

So do you think this should work in reverse and the employer should allow others to book holidays at Eid instead of prioritising him ? Because OP has stated that they cannot apply for holidays over Eid, they will be rejected so that he can book the time off he needs.

GargoylesofBeelzebub
Does he have children?

What does that have to do with anything*

I think it's pretty obvious. They will be off school/nursery and he may have no other childcare.

When your manager comes up with the rota that's the time to ask if he will swop, I would say that if you are pestering him saying he doesn't celebrate Christmas etc don't be surprised if the answer is no to swapping rota!

its worth remembering/thinking that maybe those that don't celebrate Christmas don't want to be working on that day as pretty much everyone is wishing them happy Christmas and out of politeness he may respond nicely.

As others have said if you desperately want christmas of look for a position in a business that closes at Christmas

Yes because we don't celebrate it.

This. Are you deeply religious?

@ImTheOnlyUpsyOne

That's strange poor kids.