How to plan a fair Christmas rota
Plan a Christmas rota by deciding which days you are open, collecting leave requests early, and sharing the days people mind rather than giving them all to the same names. There is no statutory right to be off on a bank holiday unless the contract says so. Those days can sit inside the 5.6 weeks of holiday. Working time still applies, including the gap between a late close and the next open.
A Christmas holiday rota is the ordinary week with the dates people care about. Start early enough that childcare and travel can be arranged. Do not invent a percentage of the team who "want Christmas off". Ask the people you employ, write down what you can cover, and publish the week.
When to start
Six to eight weeks before the first day you are treating as the Christmas period is enough time to collect requests and still change the draft. A cafe that only looks at the week on 20 December will spend the 23rd in a group chat. Pick the dates you mean: the run-up, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year. Then check which of those dates are bank holidays where the workplace is.
The lists are not the same. GOV.UK, bank holidays publishes separate lists for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Scotland's list includes 2 January. Do not copy the England and Wales column onto a Scottish or Northern Irish rota, and do not assume a date is a bank holiday because it was one last year. Extra days are announced some years. Whether anyone is entitled to that extra day off depends on the contract.
Bank holidays and holiday pay
There is no statutory right to time off on a bank holiday. ACAS, bank holidays and Christmas says whether someone works is up to the employer and the work. Restaurants and hotels are often open. The contract should say the rule, especially for someone new or someone whose days have changed.
Bank holidays can be included in the 5.6 weeks of statutory paid holiday, or given on top. That is the same for full-time and part-time workers. A bank holiday that falls on a day the person does not usually work cannot be used up as their holiday. If they do work the bank holiday, they must still get the full 5.6 weeks as paid time off. An employer does not have to agree to a different day instead, and a bank holiday cannot be paid off in lieu except as unused holiday when someone leaves.
If you close and need people to take holiday, ACAS says you should tell them at least twice as many calendar days beforehand as the number of days you need them to take. Two days of closure needs at least four calendar days of notice, unless a relevant agreement in the contract sets a different notice rule. A closure you spring on the team the night before is not that notice.
There is no automatic higher rate for working the day. A Christmas premium is a contract term, or it is nothing. This page will not invent one. Holiday pay itself, including irregular hours, is on Holiday pay for zero-hours staff and the holiday pay calculator.
Share the days people mind
Ask who wants which days off, and ask who is willing to work them. Then count. If the same two people work every Christmas Eve and every New Year's Eve, the rota is not fair just because the total hours match. The method is the same as any other week, written up in How to make a rota.
When two requests clash, use a rule you can say out loud. Examples that are fair if you apply them to everyone: last year they worked it, so this year they are first in line for the day off; or the request that arrived before a published deadline is the one you can promise. Do not promise both. A request you cannot grant should say which rule it lost to.
Leave that you approve has to come off the published name. The screen for that is Leave. A blank file, if you are still planning on paper, is the staff rota template.
Rules that do not stop for Christmas
Working time still applies. An adult still needs 11 hours between working days, one 20-minute break when the day is more than six hours, and weekly rest. The 48-hour average still exists. A close on Christmas Eve and an open on Christmas morning can miss the 11 hours even when everyone agreed to it. Agreement does not delete the limit. Read Working time and GOV.UK, rest breaks at work.
Young workers have tighter limits. Do not copy an adult Christmas close onto someone under 18 and assume the busy week is a reason.
A checklist for the Christmas week
- You know which days you are open, and which nation's bank holiday list you are using.
- The contract's rule on bank holidays has been read, including whether they sit inside the 5.6 weeks.
- Leave requests have a deadline, and refusals name the rule.
- If you are closing, the notice is at least twice as many calendar days as the days people must take, or the contract's own notice rule.
- Opens, closes and the days people mind are shared, counted against last year if you have it.
- The 11-hour gap still exists between a late finish and the next start.
- The published week matches what you told people.
What this means for your rota
Draft the Christmas week in private on Rotas, put approved leave on the same grid, and publish it while people can still change their plans. Open shifts are for hours you are willing to show with no name yet. The first organisation is free for up to 5 staff. The paid plan is £3 per active person per month, with a £15 minimum. You can use the paid plan for 14 days before the first payment, and that period does not ask for a card. Shiftbrook does not calculate bank holiday pay or a Christmas premium. Sending approved hours to Xero Payroll UK is not available until that connection works end to end.
Questions
Do staff have a right to Christmas Day off?
Not from the bank holiday itself. Whether someone works is the contract and the business. A bank holiday can be part of the 5.6 weeks, or it can be given on top. Read the contract, and the GOV.UK bank holiday list for the right nation.
Is bank holiday pay higher by law?
No. There is no automatic higher rate for working a bank holiday. A premium exists only if the contract says so. Someone who works the day must still receive their 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday as paid time off.
Can I close and tell people to take holiday?
Yes, if the contract says so or you give notice. ACAS says the notice should be at least twice as many calendar days before the holiday as the number of days you need people to take.
Does the Christmas rota pause working time?
No. The 11-hour gap, the weekly rest and the 48-hour average still apply to the hours you publish. A busy week is not an exception you can assume.
Sources
GOV.UK, bank holidays and ACAS, bank holidays and Christmas. Daily rest is on GOV.UK, rest breaks at work. Checked on 22 October 2026.
Related
The first organisation is free for up to 5 staff. The paid plan is £3 per active person per month, with a £15 minimum. You can use the paid plan for 14 days before the first payment, and that period does not ask for a card. Agencies use the same paid price. Client approvers are free and do not count.
Start free Log inGeneral guidance for UK employers, not legal advice.