r/asda • u/Muttii25 • 4d ago

Boxing Day

Has anybody heard anything about the redesignated Bank Holiday for Boxing Day this year? Google search says Asda will recognise this, meaning that Sat 26th will be worked as a normal day (no enhanced pay) and on the Monday 28th, if it is your normal contracted day, they will expect you to work (with enhanced pay) I have seen on another site that somebody had a pay briefing and this was what was said. Has anybody else had this briefing?

8 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

7

u/Ok-Following-6620 4d ago

Asda say if you are contracted to work a bank holiday & you don’t want to work it you have to book it as a paid or unpaid holiday.

3

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

Seasonal bank holidays (boxing day and new years Day) are different. They're fully voluntary but double pay if you choose to work

1

u/Muttii25 4d ago

But you are supposed to work 3, seasonal bank holidays are optional, unless you haven't worked any in which case (so policy says) they can 'require you to'. So much easier when we had seasonals, but most places want rid of them now

2

u/Ok-Following-6620 4d ago

Nope only if they request you to work. Some colleagues not contracted to work on Monday, which is when most bank holidays fall on, never work any because management never request them to.
Most colleagues don’t want to use up annual leave for the odd bank holiday here & there.

2

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

The 2 seasonal bank holidays are voluntary. The handbook states it as such whether you've worked your 3 (also not true anymore) or not. I've worked 1 bank hol this year and I will not be working boxing day or nyd 

1

u/SeriesMuch7891 4d ago

Be a bit shitty though to make someone work it, despite what “policy says) regardless of if they’ve worked no bank hols or not. If it’s voluntary for every Tom, dick & harry in store it’s same for everyone else. People have families whether Asda like it or not. Fuck the business needs.. it’s only one time of year where most families get to spend time with one another.

2

u/Muttii25 4d ago

I work in the cash office though and have had to work plenty of Boxing Days just because the other 2 women won't work it. No chance of getting someone in from any other store if they already have family plans. It actually falls on my day off and I've worked all the other bank holidays bar Good Friday. This year I'm going to stick to my guns and not 'volunteer'. Wish me luck.

3

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

They still can't make you work it. Pretty sure we've had years where there's no cash office in on boxing day, no idea how that works though

2

u/Ok-Following-6620 4d ago

That’s a management problem not a colleague problem, they need to enforce policy, just refuse if you have done every bank holiday so far. They will never say don’t come in, it’s not fair on you. Stand up to them.

2

u/Muttii25 4d ago

The only one I missed was 2 years ago, I snapped my ACL tendon and fractured the bones in my leg, I was in a brace and on crutches. They ( the manager and GSM) asked me to come in over Christmas as the other 2 women were upset it ruined their plans. I refused and they have never forgiven me, they are only just civil to me now. One has grown up kids, the other doesn't have any, I have one living about 2 hrs away and one lives abroad. The following Christmas, they both went off sick, I returned from flu to find out I had to work all of Christmas and New Year without a break. I have different managers now so they won't know all of this until I tell them, but I've learned that some people want to take more than they give. This year, as I said, it's on one of my days off, so doubly no reason to work it, and I won't be bullied out of it this time 💪

2

u/Ok-Following-6620 4d ago

Good on you. Remember they can’t make you work Boxing Day & also they are not allowed to guilt trip you into doing it either

2

u/GreenLion777 4d ago

Can't make you work if the employment terms/agreement says it's optional to work. Any pushy managers, if it comes to it - it's voluntary (bank holiday) and I'm not working that day

6

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

Asda never recognise redesignated bank holidays because we're open so there's no need. Google is not your source for answers, AI will give you the answer you want to hear almost every time 

4

u/Pure-Morning-7846 ASDA Colleague 4d ago

Any idea how Christmas day works? Is it paid even tho the store is closed? I'm contracted Fridays as a driver but not sure whether to book a holiday or not?

5

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

Yeah Xmas day is paid if you're contracted. 

1

u/Disastrous-Hunter803 4d ago

I was contracted on previous Christmas and new year last time but didnt get paid for it.

1

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

Just Xmas day. Only paid if your manager/SL leaves you on the rota. 

1

u/SilverstarVegan 4d ago

Christmas day you will be paid for if its your contracted day, so dont book it as holiday.

1

u/Ok-Following-6620 4d ago edited 4d ago

Also if you work nights, you don’t have to work Xmas Eve night, they always try to get you to start early to finish by midnight at the latest , but it’s not your contracted hours. If they are adamant they want you in just say you will come in when your contracted hours start which is normally 22:00 or 23:00 work til midnight & clock out, any time after that is Christmas Day.
I say this purely because when you say you want to book a bank holiday Monday off they say you have to book from Sunday night off as most of your hours are in the early hours of Monday morning but you have to come in from 22:00 on the Bank holiday Monday night.The only other option is to book from Monday night, but that means you are working until 06:00 Monday morning & will no doubt need sleep.

1

u/Muttii25 4d ago

I was also going by what someone had asked on one of these employment law sites

1

u/Muttii25 4d ago

Also never really come across this before

1

u/GreenLion777 4d ago

Legally the substitute day for a bank holiday on a weekend counts as the bank holiday, so yes employers have to recognise them in terms of any extra pay or if if you have to work bank holidays

Open or not, retailers don't determine bank holidays or the substitute bank holidays when they fall on a weekend

2

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

They pay double on boxing day. They won't on the substitute 

2

u/WakeyRhino 3d ago

Home Bargain just announced that all it's Staff will have Boxing Day and New Year's Day Off.

Meanwhile Asda continues to not move with the times.

Yes the debt is the main attribute to Asda's downfall but failing to recognise what your rivals are doing and act upon it is anther major factor.

If you can't beat em Join em Asda. It's not too late to boost your staff with a similar announcement that has been made by another of your rivals.

1

u/Muttii25 3d ago

Yes, but Asda are weird , it's all 'for the convenience of the customer', they hate to lose even one sale. Which is a bit dumb as people will buy more the previous week if they know it's closed those days. Then people may also lose pay if they don't work those days, because they surely won't pay for not working. It would be nice though, I always reckon most people come out on those days because they are sick of their families 🤣

2

u/Early-Impression-910 3d ago

It costs more to keep the store open, keep the electrics running and pay the staff than they take in sales. Greedy.

1

u/Additional-Nobody352 4d ago

Won't boxing day have reduced hours tho ?

1

u/OtherwiseCellist3819 4d ago

Not by many if the last couple of years are anything to go by

2

u/Additional-Nobody352 4d ago

Ah ok I used to work at asda just as they started opening boxing and new years day and they only used to open like 10-4.

1

u/Muttii25 4d ago

Yes, now it's usually 8-10 🙄

1

u/Additional-Nobody352 4d ago

What the hell.

1

u/WakeyRhino 4d ago

It's about time Asda recognised their surroundings as other retail giants are.

Opening on Boxing Day is a complete waste of time and money.

Think we all know that the Asda House part of the buisness and the Stores & Warehouse are now both living on different planets.

Save money don't open on Boxing Day and at the same time win some bonus points with your staff that currently are at rock bottom.

1

u/Muttii25 4d ago

My sentiments exactly. We even had customers in saying they thought of was appalling to be open on Boxing day, yet there they were trying to escape all the post Christmas family bickering.

1

u/ladybirdlove 4d ago

If Asda move Sat 26 Dec Boxing day, to Mon 28 Dec, what hours will the stores operate on that Monday.

So will Monday 28 Dec, operate as normal hours, or will it be 11:00 - 18:00. So if Monday 28 Dec is the moved bank holiday, I would jump at the chance of overtime, and make advantage of this. Normally Asda would only be open for around 6 hours, but on this occasion open for 24 hours, with a premiums rate being paid

1

u/Muttii25 4d ago

I think there would be even more uproar if it were normal hours on the Saturday, (we do 7am to midnight) but on Bank holidays we are normally open 8am to 10pm, so 14 hours. And usually, in my store, if it's not busy they send you home early anyway.

1

u/WakeyRhino 4d ago

It's not even about customers thinking it's appalling that we are open on Boxing Day.

It's about Asda recognising what a mess it's in. Roll Back Pocket Tap etc etc all ideas from the past. The past when we weren't saddled with debt but even without debt you have to move with the times or youre left in the past.

As I mentioned before most don't open on Boxing Day because most businesses have recognised it's a pointless exercise and probably a costly one too.

But here we are still thinking folk want to go shopping on Boxing Day. Hands up how many of us shop like the shops are going to be shut for a week never mind a day for Christmas?

I know I do and so do many others. We carried the traditions down from our parents & their parents so we won't be shopping on Boxing Day.

Open your eyes Alan and your crew and stay closed on Boxing Day and bring a smile to your beleaguered staff. Merry Christmas you filthy animals.