Christmas holidays

Christmas is a time of celebration for many and employers can help the festivities by planning ahead for holiday requests or managing absences.

Christmas and the workplace

The Christmas season has a big impact on most businesses and employees in the UK. It will be a time when there is likely to be extra demand for products, services and sales in some businesses whilst others may experience a quiet period or may shut for the Christmas holidays.

Many employees will request time off to spend time with their family, go on holiday or attend religious services. Employees working over the Christmas period may experience different working patterns, a change in the nature of their workload or face difficulties getting to and from work. It’s also a period when some industries might need extra support and will take on seasonal workers.

Christmas bank holidays

This year, Christmas Day (25 December 2016) falls on a Sunday, boxing day (26 December 2016) falls on a Monday, which means the two Bank Holiday for these day will be 26 and 27 December. There is no right to have either day away from work or taken as paid time off unless terms of the employment contract allow otherwise. Paid public holidays can be counted as part of statutory annual leave.

There is no legal right to paid leave for public holidays. Any right to paid time off for these holidays depends on the terms of a worker’s contract. Paid public holidays can be counted as part of the statutory 5.6 weeks of holiday.

More information on Bank Holidays and annual leave can be found on our Holidays page