What do you work as & do you get time off at Christmas?

[VillageFete]

As the title states!!

Does your job allow you time off at Christmas? If not, have you ever had to work Christmas day?

I guess it's a case of planning and managing your time around work, but wouldn't it be lovely if we all got the whole of December off!!

[Crutchlow35]

Estate agent and I will get from 23rd through to the Monday after new year off. DH gets CD, BD, NYD and 2 January which is actually quite good this year because the days all run into weekends.

[bigbutsrus1]

Work as a midwife and tend to work every other Christmas. Get to request , so now if I have to work I ask to do a late shift so I can be with the kids. Worst would be a night shift Christmas Eve!!

[WildFlowersAttractBees]

I work freelance so have kept a clear diary from December 15th to January 5th .
DH is a civil servant, office closes on 23rd December and re opens on January 5th too.

We are really fortunate that this is not included in DH's holiday entitlement.

[FTRsGotAShinyNewNN]

I'm a hospital receptionist but I'm lucky enough that my team don't work bank holidays, usually work Christmas Eve and go back on the 27th. This year I will be happily on mat leave.
DH is in the armed forces and has been I the incredibly fortunate position of only working 1 Christmas of the last 14!!!! I have no idea how he's managed it

[rideyourbike]

I'm a nurse, I work mainly nights part time and I usually work Christmas night. Get new year off though and spend all Christmas day with husband and children

[Moreisnnogedag]

Doctor so have worked a fair few Christmases and New Year's Eve. This year no oncalls on either :)

[funkybuddah]

Retail so later shifts and often back in on boxing day and new years day. Usually fine but last year bought 2 weeks of constant miserable fuckers.
Please be nice to your retail staff even if you are having to return something, they probably also got dud gifts

[Pollywallywinkles]

Its business as usual for us other than the public holidays, so if you want time off you have to bookie off and take as annual leave. I always offer to do one of the days between Christmas and new year and as per usual will web working one of them.

[Ragwort]

306235388 - quite agree, and if Christmas is so exceptionally important to your family - why on earth work in the hospitality industry where it is very well known that you have to work during the festive seasons.

Actually some of my best Christmas Days and certainly most lucrative were working in restaurants .

[306235388]

I'd have thought if Christmas was exceptionally important to someone they'd be all about spreading festive cheer and thinking of others, not screwing their workmates over when they've only been asked to work one bloody day.

[SueDunome]

I work in a school office, I generally work through the school holidays, but the office closes down for Bank Holidays plus five working days over the Christmas period so don't work from just before Christmas Eve until 2nd January.

[DesperatelySeekingSedatives]

DP works as a delivery driver for a major retail chain and is only guaranteed Christmas day off. He has got a good chance of getting boxing day off however because they don't need that many drivers that day but he is knackered by the time he gets home on Christmas eve coz they are exceptionally busy in the run up to Christmas like everyone else who works in retail. I've always worked in retail and it does suck working boxing day. My old boss let us choose to work boxing day or NYD. the rule was you had to work at least one. most of us were very grateful he was so reasonable about that.

Shame on the person who phones in sick on BD (or rather her husband) despite the fact he works in the restaurant industry. If Christmas is that "important to us" (like it isn't to the rest of us who also celebrate it ) I suggest he has a career change and avoids any job that its given you work around Christmas.

[dramajustfollowsme]

My uncle was a policeman, his only child's birthday was also Christmas Day. The day was clearly very special for him...he never ever shirked a shift. How very selfish.
One of the reasons my dad got a video recorder in the early 80's was to tape my cousin's reactions for my uncle to see.
They would just celebrate when he wasn't working.
My dad was an editor of a newspaper. It only didn't print on Christmas Day and New Years Day. They were the only 2 days of the year that he completely switched off from work. At any other point he might have had to go back in, depending on the news.

[Humansatnav]

When I worked in care we would not get our enhanced rate if we called in sick at all over Xmas week, unless we had a doctor's note/ pharmacy receipt.
Stopped selfish people like the pp's dh !

[ememem84]

I work in an office. So have to book the time off. Not allowed to take Christmas every year we have a rota system.

[JacksLady]

I used to work in a hospital, before I had kids if I had to work any of the christmas/new years days I would cover all day, I thought if I had to go in I was in so why not do all day, save anyone else disrupting their days!!
After having the kids, I used to ask just for all of christmas day off & I would cover all the other days if needed. It worked out for everyone

Now I work in a primary school kitchen, so have the whole time off

[chickensandbees]

I work in an office. Get the bank holidays off and can book the rest off if I want as long as someone else is working over the period. I often work from home and just keep an eye on any emails that come in, which is hardly any. I will probably go into the office for one day just to tidy up, it's a good opportunity to get my filing done and desk cleared.

Also shocked that someone called in sick. Not fair at all on colleagues!!

[LeBearPolar]

Am in at the poster whose DH called in sick because he was asked to work Boxing Day. How selfish!

But it's OK because Christmas is exceptionally important to you.

DH and I are very lucky because we both teach.

[aubreye]

I am a neurosurgeon and I currently work for the NHS.

I have to book time off and this year I have taken two weeks off in total over the Christmas period to fly to Conneticut over Christmas to see my brother and Scotland for New Years to see PILs.

[HappyCria]

I work in hospital pharmacy and we only get Christmas day and new years day off as a holiday and the rest has to be worked.

Dh is a gritter driver and gets no time off at all. In fact they pretty much have a leave ban from October until March.

[BiddyPop]

Civil servant. I'm cry lucky not to work 25th or 26th ever. Office used to be closed 27th but no longer, we only need skeleton staff thought to answer phones until new year. Usually 1 guy wants to get back in fast so does it happily. Most people with famies can take the whole 10 days off.

When we're on a travelling year, I book the whole of Christmas week off from Saturday before. But if we're staying in our own house, I go in up to Christmas Eve. If we take it off, it's a whole days leave, but if we show up in the morning, we only need to be there for an hour or so and it's very sociable (some work done by some, but not a lot in general, I'm usually one of the dopes working!). And as office is 5 minutes walk from a main shping street, dd comes with me and we meet DH afterwards to get any last minute bits and pieces, and enjoy a nice lunch before going home. And we've been early enough to get a parking space as I've had to be in early enough for work. SO win-win!

[JustAShopGirl]

retail - Christmas day off, cannot book any holidays from end October til start of Jan unless really desperate and willing to beg and do all the shittiest jobs for the next month... or if you do something above and beyond - like a craft session for 30 cub scouts that you manage to keep going for an hour and a half without threatening to kill someone - then the boss will say "well done - do you want boxing day off this year" etc...

used to work for a specific job which would out me - same shifts each week if you didn't work Christmas day and New Years day, you worked Boxing day and the day after New years... in Scotland....

have also worked for "the government" - one post where I could book what I wanted when I wanted to. another post where I was on call and had to provide cover.

I was a SAHM when the kids were little so could do whatever when it was important to me. DH can book leave when he wants and usually takes a week or 2 over Christmas.

[hazelnutlatte]

I'm a nurse
Can book whatever time off I want over Christmas
I realise 99.9% of nurses don't get to do this! I run clinical trials so we just schedule all appointments a week early or late so none of them are over the Christmas period. I will have the emergency pager this year but it rarely goes off and if it does it I would just be expected to give advice, not actually go to work!

[Shinyshoes2]

In retail .. Well not retail per se ... Sort of specialised area .. I'm off from the Monday (23rd? Drc ) until around the 3rd January
I'm pretty lucky as my role isn't high up at all but I manage to get what I want Christmas
Most people in my field of work prefer to work Christmas and be off New Years ( much younger than me )
Fine with me

[choirmumoftwo]

Nurse but in a role where we do office hours so always get the bank holidays and weekends off. I also have wednesday as my day off so have fallen really lucky this year with a 5 day christma break!