Send one plain-English Christmas email in the first week of October. Say which days you're open and your hours, whether you're closing and which days come out of holiday, the deadline for holiday requests (we use 31 October), how you'll decide if too many people want the same day, when payday is and who to ring if something breaks. That's it. We've written them all out below.
We'll be honest, we never had a Christmas policy. What we had was a lot of people asking us the same five questions every December. The fix wasn't a document in a handbook nobody reads, it was one decent email at the right time - and then a couple of short follow-ups.
So here's every Christmas email we send, in the order we send them. Copy the lot or grab the Word version with all six in.
The Christmas email to staff (copy and paste)
This is the big one. We send it in the first week of October and it does most of the work for the whole of December. It's written for a business that closes between Christmas and New Year - if you're staying open, use the opening hours version below instead.
Hi all,
Here's the plan for Christmas so nobody's guessing.
We're open as normal up to [Wednesday 23 December] and we'll close at [1pm] on Christmas Eve. We're then shut until [Monday 4 January], when we're back as normal.
The days we're closed that aren't bank holidays ([29, 30 and 31 December]) come out of your holiday, so please keep [3] days back for them. The bank holidays ([25 and 28 December and 1 January]) don't come out of your holiday.
If you want any other time off in December, please get it booked by [31 October]. We can have [2] people off from each team on any one day and it's first come, first served. If it's a tie, whoever worked last Christmas gets first dibs.
December payday is [Friday 18 December]. That makes it a long wait until January's payday on [Friday 29 January], so just bear that in mind.
If anything urgent comes up while we're closed, ring [name] on [number].
Any questions, just give me a shout.
[Your name]
Swap the bits in blue for your own and you're done. If you're not sure of a date, they're all in Christmas bank holidays 2026 - including Scotland's extra one on Monday 4 January, which is easy to miss if you've got people up there.
We used to just tell people about Christmas as it came up - in passing, in the kitchen, the odd email. Which meant three different people heard three slightly different versions. Now it's one email in October and if anyone asks, we point them at it. It's saved us a lot of "oh, I thought you said..." conversations.
Christmas closure email to staff
This is the formal-ish one, for when you're closing and making people use holiday for it. The law says you have to give at least twice as much notice as the time off (so a three-day closure needs six days' notice), but honestly, send it in October and you'll be miles over. If you've already sent the main email above, you don't need this as well - the main email covers it.
Hi all,
Just confirming that we'll be closed for Christmas from [12pm on Thursday 24 December] until [Sunday 3 January]. We're back open on [Monday 4 January].
The working days we're closed ([Christmas Eve afternoon, 29, 30 and 31 December]) will come out of your annual leave - that's [3.5] days for a full-timer, less if you're part-time. The bank holidays on [25 December, 28 December and 1 January] don't come out of your holiday.
If you think you won't have enough holiday left to cover it, come and have a chat with me before [30 November] and we'll sort something out.
Thanks, and I hope you all have a proper break.
[Your name]
Christmas opening hours email to staff
For when you're staying open, or running a skeleton crew. The thing people want to know most is "am I working on the 29th?", so we answer that as near the top as we can.
Hi all,
Here's how Christmas will work this year.
We're staying open apart from the bank holidays. Our hours will be:
- [Thursday 24 December]: [9am to 1pm]
- [Friday 25 December] and [Monday 28 December]: closed (bank holidays)
- [29 and 30 December]: [10am to 4pm]
- [Thursday 31 December]: [10am to 2pm]
- [Friday 1 January]: closed (bank holiday)
- From [Monday 4 January]: back to normal hours
We need [2] people in each day between Christmas and New Year. Holiday for those days is first come, first served until we hit that number, so if you want time off, book it by [31 October].
If you're working a bank holiday, you'll get [time and a half / a day off in lieu to take in January].
Any questions, just ask.
[Your name]
If you're running a skeleton crew, the question you'll get most is "who's in on the 30th?". In Book Time Off the whole team's on one wallchart, and you can have a daily who's-off message go into Microsoft Teams, Slack or Google Chat (or a team digest by email). It won't plan your shifts - it's a holiday system, not a rota - but nobody has to ask you who's around.
→ Start free trialChristmas holiday request deadline email
A short nudge about a week before your deadline. It's amazing how many people read the first email, mean to book and then forget. Us included.
Hi all,
Quick reminder that Christmas holiday requests need to be in by [Friday 30 October].
[29 and 30 December] are already filling up in [team], so if you want them, don't hang about.
After the deadline it's still first come, first served, but we'll only say yes if we've still got the cover.
Thanks,
[Your name]
Honestly, since we've been using Book Time Off this reminder matters a lot less. People book from their phone, the approver gets an email and says yes or no in one click, and once a team's hit its limit for a day nobody else can book it. So the "first come, first served" bit sort of runs itself. You'll still want to send the reminder - software can't make people remember - but there's no spreadsheet to update afterwards.
→ Start free trialChristmas payday email to staff
If you pay early in December, tell people - and tell them how long January's going to feel. Most of the January payday grumbling we've heard is really "I didn't realise". There's more on the HMRC side in Christmas payday.
Hi all,
Just a heads up that December's pay will go in on [Friday 18 December] instead of the usual [last working day of the month], so you've got it before Christmas.
That does mean it's [six] weeks until January's payday on [Friday 29 January], so it's worth planning for that now.
If you get Universal Credit, don't worry - we report it to HMRC under the usual pay date, so it won't look like you've been paid twice in one month.
[Your name]
Back to work in January email
Sent on the last working day before you close, or the first day back. Short, and a nice way to restart the year.
Hi all,
Thanks for everything this year - it's been a busy one.
Just a reminder that we're back on [Monday 4 January] at the usual time. If you're poorly or something's come up, let [name] know before [9am] that morning.
Your new holiday allowance for [2027] is live from [1 January], so if you've got plans for the year, get them booked early.
Have a brilliant Christmas.
[Your name]
Do you need a Christmas working policy?
For most small teams, no. If you're under 50 people, the email does the job and it's far more likely to actually be read. Where a short written version does help is in your handbook or contracts - mainly so that "keep some holiday back for Christmas" is something people know from the day they start, not something they find out in October.
If you want one, this is about as long as it needs to be:
Christmas and New Year
Each year [we'll tell you by the end of October] whether we're closing over Christmas and New Year. If we close, any working days we're closed will come out of your annual leave and we'll tell you how many days to keep back. Bank holidays don't come out of your holiday.
If we stay open, holiday between [21 December] and [2 January] is first come, first served up to [the number of people each team can have off]. Requests for this period need to be in by [31 October].
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are normal working days unless we tell you otherwise.
Closing every year and want the full, proper version? We've got a Christmas shutdown policy template with ten clauses and its own Word download. And if you're after other policies too, they're all in our employee time off policy templates hub.
Christmas emails to staff (Word template)
All six emails in one editable Word document. Swap the blue bits for your own dates and details, have a quick read of the notes and send.
- The main Christmas plan email
- Closure notice, written to cover the notice rule
- Opening hours version for staying open
- Deadline reminder, payday and back-to-work emails
- A short Christmas paragraph for your handbook
The legal bit, if you need it
An email isn't a legal document, but a few things are worth getting right in it.
- You can tell staff to take holiday on set dates, like a Christmas closure, if you give at least twice as many days' notice as the holiday. GOV.UK puts it as twice plus one day, so add a day to be safe (ACAS, GOV.UK).
- There's no legal right to bank holidays off or extra pay for working them - it's down to the contract (ACAS).
- Paying early in December? HMRC lets you report the normal or contractual payday on your Full Payment Submission rather than the day you actually paid, which avoids problems for anyone on Universal Credit (GOV.UK).
- Part-timers only use holiday for closed days they'd normally have worked, so tell them their number separately if it's different (GOV.UK).
Sources
| ACAS | Asking for and taking holiday · Notice for requiring holiday on set dates. Checked October 2026. |
| GOV.UK | Holiday entitlement: booking time off · Notice periods. Checked October 2026. |
| ACAS | Bank holidays and Christmas · No automatic right to bank holidays off. Checked October 2026. |
| GOV.UK | Running payroll: reporting to HMRC (FPS) · Report the usual payment date even if you pay early. Checked October 2026. |
| HMRC | Employer Bulletin, October 2025 · Paying early at Christmas: report the normal or contractual payday. Checked October 2026. |
| GOV.UK | UK bank holidays · Christmas 2026 dates. Checked October 2026. |
FAQs
This is practical, general information for UK employers. If you've got a dispute brewing or something unusual in a contract, talk to ACAS (it's free) or an employment solicitor.