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.

Unless you're praying on Christmas Day what makes you think you're more entitled to it than anyone else? It's a public holiday and so all non-religious people are in the same boat

Except as OP has said several times, they don't get bank holidays off, so no, that's irrelevant. He's being a selfish dickhead and I bet he'd have a fit if anyone did the same to him.

But OP doesn't even know if he has this Christmas off as the rota is not done. Their office requires for two people to be on. I assume, there are more than 3 people in the team so someone (potentially, quite a few people) will be having two Christmases off in a row. Why not this man, specifically? Because he is Muslim? Seems like discrimination to me.

If you wanted to book a holiday when Eid was, what would the employer do? Prioritise him or draw names out a hat?

Whilst you can’t dictate how anyone else uses their holiday I’d be pretty pissed off if he ended up with both off, even if that was unreasonable.

Yes we're all miserably unhappy. 😭😭😭

Anywhere I’ve worked the Jewish/Muslim staff have always volunteered to work over Christmas tbh.

The thing is, his celebrating Eid almost certainly involved religious observation which meant that it had to be on specific days, It looks like you accept that your celebration of Christmas has little or no religious element.. It isn't really comparable. You've presumably also taken annual leave at other times of year when you wanted to?

Xmas on rota every year here and those with young DC have to do their turn. We can't just shut and kick out patients for 2 days!

How is it discrimination. The employer doesn’t allow anyone else to book holidays at Eid because he is off for his celebration.

You've presumably also taken annual leave at other times of year when you wanted to?

Except at Eid. Shouldn’t it work both ways ?

Although I guess there can be issues with childcare/transport etc so even if he doesn’t celebrate, it may be tricky for him to actually get to work

Is he? Why doesnt he have to prove he's worthy of a religious holiday off? Do we just assume he must be 'deeply religious' because he said the word Muslim?

Christmas is part of British culture, you don't have to believe in a skydaddy for it to have meaning and importance to you.

It’s about team spirit. If you don’t need the day off for religion, school events such as the nativity play etc, family celebrations then don’t take that day off in place of those who would like the time off. Think of others. Of course there should be a rota for the public holidays.

Seriously OP?

I assume you have other colleagues who are off for the festive season yet you choose to only focus on and blame a Muslim colleague?

Anyone is entitled to ask for time off over Christmas and New Year.

It does not matter if they have kids or not or if they go to church or not.

If he has kids they will be off school and it is perfectly understandable they want to use the time for a family holiday.

I think you really need to give your head a wobble.

Allegedly. It doesn't seem to me as though OP actually attempted to book Eid off. She just said "they wouldn't be allowed to" but that could just be because the man books it as soon as he know when it is and they only allow one person to be on AL at the same time.
On the other hand, if multiple members of the team end up having multiple Christmases off in a row and this particular man is expected to give up his on the grounds of being a Muslim, I think HR will have a field day with it.

Because it's a day that I've celebrated since birth. Because my whole extended family will be together to eat food, listen to music, play games and exchange gifts. I'd be very sad to miss out on it. By comparison, the colleague will be doing nothing. It's inconsiderate. Obviously.

Edit - entitlement has nothing to do with it. It's about not being a dick. Of course they can book it off, and she did. But everyone thought she was a dick.

Op your issue should be with your manager. Your colleague has every right to book leave whenever he wants regardless of f his race or religion. If your manager approves it then that's their fault not the employee booking the leave.

The manager would have to be very careful about refusing someone's leave on the basis of religion so it would have to be on a rota system. Ie. Bob had it off last year so they should work and Mary has worked it two years in be a row so she can have it off this year. Etc.

I feel for you because it’s tough to not be able to make your Xmas plans. But Eid is a red herring. Xmas is not comparable to Eid because presumably you did not want the leave and you were not competing for it.

And you say that this guy does not celebrate Xmas but he sounds like he wants to celebrate it by going on holiday, which is perfectly valid. It is not clear whether this guy has lived in the UK all his life or not but presumably he’s not new to the UK if he has the right to work. He has his own way of celebrating the holidays even if it not the same way you celebrate.

Be frustrated at your line manager or your terms and conditions but don’t make this fella your scapegoat.

My best friend is Muslim and doesn't celebrate the religious aspect of Christmas, but loves the whole family and kids off, Christmas TV, lots of nice food, etc. Sees it as a British cultural thing...like most of us! I don't think anyone should be denied this. If he wants to go away to avoid all of this, that's his right too.

I'm not totally heartless though, if you had kids and would be away from them, I would, in his shoes, work Christmas.

Being someone who did rotas in an industry that has to provide a 24/7 service I spent years ensuring complete fairness.
Working a bank holiday is not like working a normal day there are fewer staff available and the pressures are different. This should be shared fairly across the team the 8 bank holidays and weekends adjoining bank holidays were shared evenly across the team and then the actual dates were rotated over the years so if you worked Christmas one year you would not work it the next year. Our team was small so we worked alternate christmases. I kept years with if records to ensure fairness if I was ever challenged.

Colleague may not be Christian but he is as much a part of British culture as anyone else?

Lots of non Christian brits claim Christmas as a cultural phenomenon and not a religious one so why shouldn’t he be entitled to that view also? Presumably he uses annual leave in the same way as everyone else?

You need to change jobs. Or, make sure there is a fair rota in place so everyone has time off each year - this is the fairest IMO. Or, if you want to be petty and waste your holiday allowance, take time off over Eid 🙏🏻

Exactly. Xmas is part of British culture and this guy is British and wants to book the holiday.

No when you work in an industry that covers 24/7 you are given a minimum of 28 days holiday (often more) if you work a bank holiday it's a normal working day pay wise and if you don't work it you use a days holiday.

Christmas is a bank holiday so no, I don’t think it should work in reverse.