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Your thoughts on businesses opening on Christmas Day


matildanz

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Our daughters one wish for this Christmas Day was to spend the entire day, preferably in her jammies, doing as little as humanly possible. Usually our Christmas Days are spend travelling around the countryside, trying to cram all the step families into one day and eating about 5 different meals. This year was to be different - everyone has their own plans and we were to all be at home with my MIL and her husband, having a nice quiet relaxing day.

But no..... Vic (our 15 year old daughter) is rostered on to work Christmas Day - at McDonalds from 8am until 4pm! The one day out of the entire year that they could shut the doors and let the workers have the day off. Who in their right mind has any intentions of going to blimmin McDonalds on Christmas Day??!! Add to that, she's working this Sunday - her 16th birthday!!

I am so angry that I'm physically shaking! Oh and just to add insult to injury, Vic just tells me she's also working Christmas Eve AND Boxing Day! I hope it rains constantly for the whole 3 days so she doesn't feel like her entire Christmas has been ruined. :(

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I personally wouldn't mind working

My step family ruined xmas for me so its no longer a big deal and working with holiday pay would be quite appealing. Those three days could pay for my whole holidays worth of DIY

If your daughter really doesn't want to work, she could cash in paid leave if she has some?

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Did she have any leave she could have booked in advance?

Not that it matters now I guess, but McDonalds, KFC and other similar places have opened on Christmas Day for years. It just comes with the job I guess. Gas stations still open. People still need them. I know McD's is not an essential but i've gone past on Christmas Day and the lines are massive. Guess some people just need their nuggets. :roll:

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I volunteered to work last year. But if I were a teenager I would refuse... In her case, she could say 'Mum won't let me work that day, sorry'. Or just refuse. Say there is already a family event planned. Did they only just notify her?

Does it really matter if she loses her job? It's not like a 15yo needs it to support herself. She should be able to find another job easily, fast food and supermarkets have high staff turnover & hire teens readily.

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Funnily enough Josh, the last 20 years of Christmas Days has been spent doing what the extended family wanted not what we did. This year was to be the first year I stood my ground and said 'sorry, this year we are going to do what the kids want and be at home but feel free to call in and have a drink or two!' This was the first Christmas I've not been stressed to the hilt with trying to find the perfect gift for people who are picky or have everything already! Unanimously decided by the majority that we all have enough dust collectors around the house that presents between the adults were banned!!! So to have this clanger dropped has just thrown me into a bit of a spin!

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i worked at kfc in hamilton some years ago -- the boss wanted to open xmas day and i was already irate about haveing to work new years when i had asked for it off 6 months prior well none of the other cooks were able to and when i flatly refused she wasnt able to open and i got 15 hour weeks for the next month instead of my usual 50hrs

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Does it really matter if she loses her job? It's not like a 15yo needs it to support herself. She should be able to find another job easily, fast food and supermarkets have high staff turnover & hire teens readily.

This in one teen that needs a job! She's a shopping fanatic! It's the main reason she's still there and not kicking up a stink about the hours. She has her name down at all the supermarkets but no jobs coming up yet. Also she wants to go into the cookery field when she leaves school and Macca's is paying for her to do food related courses through them that would otherwise cost her a small fortune to do them when she leaves school.

Apparently there was a list on the wall for people to sign if they were willing to work, but if not enough volunteered then they were going to roster anyone on. I just hope that it's really busy so the day goes faster for her. If they put her in booth (drive in, taking orders) she will go totally nuts!

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Funnily enough Josh, the last 20 years of Christmas Days has been spent doing what the extended family wanted not what we did. This year was to be the first year I stood my ground and said 'sorry, this year we are going to do what the kids want and be at home but feel free to call in and have a drink or two!' This was the first Christmas I've not been stressed to the hilt with trying to find the perfect gift for people who are picky or have everything already! Unanimously decided by the majority that we all have enough dust collectors around the house that presents between the adults were banned!!! So to have this clanger dropped has just thrown me into a bit of a spin!

There's always a bump in the road aye?

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For the first 10 years of my working life I always had to work christmas eve, christmas day, boxing day, new years eve and new years day just so that people who were not organised could phone in and cancel delivery of their newspapers while they went on holiday.

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Christmas is (meant to be) a religious day.It is illegal to discriminate against an employees religious beliefs.Dosn't your daughter have to go to mass on Christmas Day?Just a thought :wink:

This is my 14th Xmas away from NZ,and it looks like I'm finally set to get a white one,snow is due to hit this city this afternoon.We had it hard over the last few weeks,it hasnt snowed so bad in this part of the country for decades.I ust check the pond and moved the goldies into a tank if need be.Last winter we had a big freeze,and my mate lost a lot of very nice koi.

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If she is working to pay for her shopping habit she should be pleased to work stat days with the extra pay. Have a family "Christmas Day" on another day. If you are not religious it shouldn't matter on what day you celebrate.

Grant has been called out (and you get no warning) every Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years and, come to think of it, pretty much every weekend this year, for the past few years now. This year we are going to his sister's at Okiwi Bay - no cell phone coverage :lol:

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My husband is a fisherman, he is out working most Christmas's. We normally let the kids open their presents before he goes so he doesn't miss the smiles on their faces. I just try to think of the money! Don't get me wrong though at the time I miss him so much and find it hard to understand why he has to work when his boss is sitting at home or with his family.

Maybe just make the best of the little bit of time she has or reschedule Christmas.

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I hate to sound harsh but... she took the job knowing that they open on xmas and that there was a high possibility of her having to work. Most people that choose to work in retail will have to work most public holidays.

This xmas is only going to be the 3rd I have had off in the last 11 years of work.

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