I may have a week or 2 in the Sun, then start mid Jan 2005
How abouts you?
Tomorrow {the 17th), and Xmas day… 
My own choice tho, so i’m not complaining… May as well take advantage of everyone else having time off, and if it gets me away from the usual xmas family strife, all the better… 
Luv
Chrisie… 
Finish today 
Return on 6th Jan 
mmm what to do with all this time
finish saturday
start back jan 4th
Im with chrisie on this one as few as possible
simon
im off xmas eve, then back in xmas day, boxing day, mon, tue, wed, off thurs and frid then back in new years weekend 
Hopefully no more than a usual week and I’m working on making that happen at the moment.
You mean we are suposed to get time off at Xmas??
since I work Mon - fri, this year I get xmas and boxing day off as they fall on Sat & sun,
but the yard only “closes” for xmas day, 
but in reality the night shift / early morning guys will be starting at anytime from 9pm xmas night for deliveries on Boxing day to RDCs around the country. the company has designated mon & tues as bank holidays so Ill be working those as premium ££ shifts, hopefully they will not notice use dragging it out beyond 8hrs when the premiums ££ scale up
there has been a blanket ban on us taking holidays since the beginning of Nov, until Jan 1st
Oh the joys of working on RDC deliveries, maybe peeps will one day stop insisting on shopping at all hours of the day / year and allow us to have time off
25 12 04 to 05 01 05
As I’m now self employed I’ll take off as many days as I can afford.
Over here you are lucky to get Christmas Day itself off! , when I worked at MS Carriers, they would only ‘allow’ a certain amount of drivers to have a gauranteed time at home on Christmas Day, it was a first come, first on the list kind of deal. I remember one British driver not making the list, he phoned me on Christmas Day to wish me a Happy Christmas… from a truckstop 700 miles from his home! 
Poor Sod!
The actual time a driver got to spend at home on Christmas Day depended on where his last load delivered on the 24th and where his next load delivered on the 26th ( No Boxing Day here! 
) Many drivers got to find out the hard way that what the company meant by Christmas at home did’nt always mean the whole day! For some it was a few hours, for others it was as little as an hour at home before thay had to leave out again. Some who may have delivered on the 24th a thousand miles away could’nt get home until late Christmas night, long after everyone had eaten Christmas dinner and long after the kids had opened their presents, played with them and gone to bed! others could only get home in the wee hours long before everyone else would be getting up! That was that, it was a take it or leave it deal, the company had fulfiled it’s obligation that they would get any driver home for Christmas Day if they had requested it, they never said to anyone they would be home all day, they just said they’ll get home on Christmas Day. (read the small print!)
In fairness to MS they really did’nt have to do that, as most other companies did’nt do it for their drivers ( this was back in the mid 90’s), in fact MS did’nt start getting drivers home for Christmas until the year we started ( ’ WE ’ as in the first of the British Drivers) although I don’t think we had anything to do with it, we did make sure as many drivers and management as possible were made aware of how we do Christmas in the UK.
Get this! you only got holiday pay for Christmas Day if you worked on Christmas Day, otherwise you got nothing. (As far as I’m aware this is still true for Swift/MS Carriers drivers) There is no holiday pay over here, or at least there was’nt a few years ago, wether thats changed at all I don’t know, but I’m sure Pat, Bully or Munchman could either confirm or deny that.
I got caught out once, not realising, that, as I had booked New Year off months in advance, I was expected to work Christmas Day, they did’nt tell me until 3 days before, I told them I was’nt going to work Christmas. they said, if I did’nt then I’d better start looking for another job! ( I ate humble pie and worked 
, but only Christmas night ) after that, the next time Christmas came around I was running ’ Dedicated’ which meant all of us were off at least most of Christmas Day and only had to come in late that night for early Boxing Day deliveries.
So, to all you UK drivers who whinge about your working conditions etc, I’ll bet you don’t feel quite so hard done by now, do you?
Cliff Warby:
As I’m now self employed I’ll take off as many days as I can afford.
me too - so that’ll be one then
Denis F:
Cliff Warby:
As I’m now self employed I’ll take off as many days as I can afford.me too - so that’ll be one then
That many■■?, ■■■■! you must be doing well, I can’t afford that much time off
i’m self employed as well and i’m currently in the process off organising some work for the hols,hopfully i’ll only have the weekend off.
Days off ■■?
Off from what 
Is that the days when they lock up the keys to your lorry ?
■■
Jo
Self Employed (agency) so I take whatever I like. Do Sunday - Thursday anyway, so I’ll have the Friday and Monday thanks . Used to have a fortnight off (paid, not holiday) and I got soooooooo board.
Ragtop:
Tomorrow {the 17th), and Xmas day…My own choice tho, so i’m not complaining… May as well take advantage of everyone else having time off, and if it gets me away from the usual xmas family strife, all the better…
A grand agency attitude I am proud of you lass.
I’m working 4 days next week 2 the week after and back proper on the 4th.
I might pick up extra shifts though I got that bored last year I took 6 race horses to Frankfurt airport to be delivered on new years eve. and I did agreed to this with 24 hrs notice.
Last night run for me is on the 23rd so i’ll get back at about six am christmas eve,then no more till the 4th of jan…yippee…
Scan
Half of Christmas day because I’m in bed in the afternoon ready for my Boxing Day shift. Then off the following Wednesday & Thursday my usual breakdays. Then back in Friday to the following Tuesday. Why do people always want to shop for food, if they stopped eating for 2 or 3 days I could have a break.
Arfa Job:
Half of Christmas day because I’m in bed in the afternoon ready for my Boxing Day shift. Then off the following Wednesday & Thursday my usual breakdays. Then back in Friday to the following Tuesday. Why do people always want to shop for food, if they stopped eating for 2 or 3 days I could have a break.
I have never understood the shopping for the holocaust thing that goes on!
I will probably spend 10 or 15 pounds more on specials but the shops will re-open before I starve to death.
working up to thursday then off till the 2cnd jan. hooray stuff this work mlarky gimmee all the time off i can get.