[dimtimjim]

Yeah, will be slightly different one this year for us; kids getting older (and wanting fewer, but dearer presents) and Mrs DTJ's work rota falls terribly this year, working X-mas Eve AND Boxing day (or Christmas day Mk2 as it is in our house as that's when I'll have my daughter with us...). Then I'm working the 27th, 'tis all getting in the way of our usual family plans. Grrrr.

Best festive wishes to all. x

[chrysostom]

Does anyone have a particularly good mulled wine recipe?

[dimtimjim]

Ewwww. No.

Black Tower, all the way...

[The Deadly]

Does anyone have a particularly good mulled wine recipe?

Wine+On the hob+in a cup?

[Topher]

Deadly beat me to it.

[dimtimjim]

ha ha!!

[swaddon1903]

I finish work at 8pm on Christmas Eve, then I'm going to my parents' house for Christmas and then I go back to work at 2pm on Boxing Day.

I can't complain, though; I won't have a job after January 10th so at least I'll be working, even if I do only get Christmas Day off. Which I have to use my holiday for as well; they don't do public holidays where I work.

[Topher]

Where do you work?

[chrysostom]

Sounds suspiciously like the North Pole.

[Nicola_Red]

Anyone getting/giving any nice presents? My parents have bought me an external hard drive, which is very dull but necessary, as all my music and Moyles shows have been on Mr Red's external drive since we moved in July. I dunno what Mr Red has bought me, though. I've bought him a ton of stuff, all just smallish things though, no one major present. The funniest thing I've bought is tickets for my mum to see Michael Bolton

[The Deadly]

Has Mr Red got a big external hard drive?

[Nicola_Red]

2 terrabytes

[chrysostom]

*floppy disk joke*

[dimtimjim]

Giving: DTJ Jnr wants some 'beats by Dre' (even though when we talked about it; she has no idea who Dr. Dre is, but that's ok) and Mrs DTJ Jnr wants a laptop/notebook for college stuff (and social networking, no doubt). Mrs DTJ is getting her car MOT'd (not the most romantic gift, but one she needs, none the less).

Receiving: Who knows, probably not much (prob usual socks n Lynx), but that's ok; Christmas is about giving.

[bmstinton93]

Mrs DTJ Jnr wants a laptop/notebook for college stuff (and social networking, no doubt).

I hear there is a very good collection of porn on those things as well.

Also, age dependant maybe load up my email address and Skype before giving it to her?

[chrysostom]

age dependant

*scoffs*

[swaddon1903]

Where do you work?

Boots Service Centre. Packing and sending out people's orders on Boots.com.

[Topher]

They make you work Christmas Day unless you book it off?!

[chrysostom]

They make you work Christmas Day unless you book it off?!

Unfortunately workers don’t have an automatic right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.

If for example, your contract states that you are entitled to “28 days holiday plus all bank and public holidays” you should have the contractual right to take the Christmas bank holidays off work, plus any others that are listed for 2012.
But if the wording in your contract differs and instead states that you are entitled to take “Christmas day as bank holiday” the extra public holidays surrounding Christmas may not included, even if Christmas day falls on a weekend.

It is therefore wise for workers to carefully read the wording of their contract before automatically assuming that they are entitled to the day off work.

It is also worth noting that in order to qualify for the right to annual leave you need to be classed as a worker. If you are self-employed, you have no statutory right to paid leave for bank holidays.

[Nicola_Red]

Yeah, my contract states that I must work bank holidays as required, which is why I almost had to work Boxing Day. But thankfully we're closed on Christmas Day. My dad was a milkman when I was a kid and he used to work Christmas Day morning.

[dimtimjim]

When I used to work in hospitality trade, I used to love working Christmas day - double time and usually £50-80 in tips for 5 hours work... Seemed ok to me at the time, although now being a Dad, working C-Day would annoy me more...

[Topher]

Yep, I understand all that... but swaddon1903's job doesn't seem like one where it's particularly reasonable to make them work Christmas Day.

[swaddon1903]

They make you work Christmas Day unless you book it off?!

No, They aren't open on Christmas Day, but I'm forced to use a day's holiday entitlement, or else I wouldn't get paid for it.

[Topher]

That is * rubbish.

[bmstinton93]

I always had to do that with Sainsburys. Pretty sure it's common practice in retail.