a lot of stores are telling Colleagues they have to work Christmas Eve
Tis the season of goodwill….
Unless you work in Asda stores! Most of the major retailers aren’t opening on Boxing Day this year as a goodwill gesture to thank all their staff for their brilliant hard work through the pandemic, but it will be business as usual at Asda. Bah! Humbug! And to add insult to injury, a lot of stores are telling Colleagues they have to work Christmas Eve, whether contracted or not…… Not True.
Bank Holidays are the days you can be required to work whether contracted or not, Christmas Eve isn’t a Bank Holiday. Giving 4 weeks notice to change your shifts is “not to be used for short term fixes”.
Christmas Eve is 1 day – that’s a short-term fix, if the stores needed people in then that change should have been done at the start of the Golden Quarter not 5 weeks before.
Your Management can ask you to change your shift, or swap your day off, but they cannot and should not be forcing you – after all, it is Christmas, a time of peace and goodwill to all. The behaviours of some Management teams certainly don’t reflect that.
We have been inundated with queries about these issues so hopefully this bulletin helps clarify the situation, if not and you still are being “forced” to work Christmas Eve when you aren’t contracted contact us and let us know.
Giovanna Holt – Senior Organiser
GMB trade union
North West & Irish Region
