Just a quick straw poll: does your firm give you a discretionary day off (a.k.a. partner day) at Christmas?Please respond with: a) No / yes / half dayb) name / type of firmMy response: a) Yes (currently, planning to stop next year "to be consistent with market practice")b) ACN

Sadly more and more firms are cottoning onto the fact that the days from Xmas Day to New Year are paid loafing and are closing during that period.The nasty sting in the tail is that many then count these enforced holidays as part of their employees annual leave allowance (whic is not raised to accomodate it)

In PA Consulting BOP practice, you are obliged to take leave between Christmas and New Year unless you are on chargeable work. These days come out of the already miserly 23 days leave allowanceChristmas Eve is allowed as a half day, but only if you are in the office or on client site in the morning. You are not trusted to take it as a half day if you are working from home in the morning.

a. No chance - same as BOP manb. Detica

Are you kidding?? The firm I work for doesn't even let you take sick leave, let alone giving away free holidays!!!Also, if I added up all the hours I worked since January, and had some kind of 'timebank' arrangement, I could probably have taken pretty much the whole of August-December off.

In contrast. I am happy to report:a) Yes, full dayb) Deloitte...and up to you what you do over Christmas and New Year.

Not sure what BOP man is talking about. I have been with PA for last 3 years and never have I been asked to take compulsory holidays between Christmas and NY , even the one time when I wasnt on client work. I think losers like BOP man do not really understand how things work in a corporate environment , or dont know how to play the game, and end up blaming the company for everything - Grow up !!!!

DCF, you need to check your e-mails more carefully, green dotters now have to take leave over the festive period.

@ BOPman is a loserRubbish - BOPman is spot on.3 days must be taken between Christmas and New Year, unless on client work, or unless working in the office - and is it even open during this period?The 0.5 day "concession" on Christmas eve is pathetic. As many people have to travel a significant distance into 123 in order to "benefit" it is just another empty gesture on the part of this extremely mean-spirited organisation

"You are not trusted to take it as a half day if you are working from home in the morning. "At PA you are just not trusted......period. Horrible place.

@no_no_noWhilst I generally delete all firm communications without reading them, that's not one I missed. Depends what part of the firm you're in. First we got an email to the whole service line imploring us to take time off in August, not September (yeah right - they pay me so much I've no qualms paying double), followed by a slightly frantic "NOT this cost centre" from one of our partners.Nothing's been said about Christmas. A few are planning to come in and take it easy.

DCF, yes we are oblidged to take annual leave (if any left) in that time period. You *will* be allocated to joyous sales work etc if you are available and were hoping to 'take it easy'.Ask your Consulting colleagues to forward the Christmas-NY email.

Umm... why wouldn't you take the leave if you had some left (seeing as it's pretty much use it or lose it...)?The trick is to plan your leave for when you want to take it and get the request in early. Fact remains that no-one is forced to take leave over Christmas.I think you are right that there is a good risk of getting some sh1tty task to do if you do come in...

Why not take leave at Christmas rather than lose it? Because PA's miserly leave year starts at the beginning of December (or is it November, I always forget) so Christmas is right at the beginning, not the end of the leave year.

I take a month off over Christmas and still earn £150k. Take charge of your own destiny.