Immigration at LHR on Boxing Day
Dec 22, 2016, 1:36 am
#46
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: London
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Are you honestly saying you don't know anyone whose office is open on the working days between Xmas and NYE?! If so you and lhrsfo must be living in some kind of parallel universe to the London I know.
Some small companies do close their offices, and perhaps some larger companies in certain sectors like marketing, but otherwise basically all large company offices remain open. They are quiet for sure, but they are open and a fair amount of people do work.
Some small companies do close their offices, and perhaps some larger companies in certain sectors like marketing, but otherwise basically all large company offices remain open. They are quiet for sure, but they are open and a fair amount of people do work.
As a consultant I'm expected to take holiday over Christmas and New Year (some of our large banking clients impose a mandatory furlough) but previously when I was more "hands-on" even getting Boxing Day off was a struggle. The markets are open after all and the financial world keeps spinning, Christmas or not. The Japanese stock exchange is open on Christmas Day so if you're looking after Asia/Japan, don't assume you'll be off at Christmas.
I'm still at the stage of enjoying the novelty of being holiday over Christmas-New Year. But I do miss those quieter days in the office over the festive period that gives you time to catch up on all your admin. Instead this year I was flat-out until the very last minute and will return to a tornado of work in Jan (and the admin/unread emails will never get done!).
Dec 22, 2016, 2:14 am
#47
Moderator: UK and Ireland & Europe
Join Date: Jan 2003
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It varies. I've worked for (telecoms) consultancies that close down altogether between Christmas and New Year (and you get the days off for free). Where I work now (travel) has round-the-clock ops, so the office is open 24/7, but thankfully my role is no longer 3rd- or 4th-line support, so I will not be looking at a single email from tomorrow at 4 until 9 on the 3rd Jan.
This week, the office has been at best half-full. I expect it to be skeleton staff only next week.
This week, the office has been at best half-full. I expect it to be skeleton staff only next week.
Dec 22, 2016, 4:25 am
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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We clearly do live in parallel Londons - I suppose that's one of the things that's so great about this city. I was at a party last night with about 20 people in professions ranging from medical, through publishing, to risk management. Not one person had an office that was open between Christmas and New Year, although there was some moaning that everyone's office was opening on the 23rd.
Dec 26, 2016, 9:53 pm
#49
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 907
Heading back to the original post, I'm just updating based on my experience yesterday. We landed at 830am into LHR T3. The e-gates and the queue for U.K./EU nationals was empty though only one immigration officer on the in-person queue (which we used) so it was a little slow.
The Non-EU queue snaked back into the corridor back to the piano. I estimated a 2 hour wait. We ended up joining the non-EU line at first because the Heathrow staff were not managing the queues well. A few of us EU/UK nationals all did the same thing so there was a clear communication issue. I peeked around the side and realised what was going on, and then left the queue for then non-existent UK/EU queue. My US Citizen wife went through the UK/EU queue with me, and we were glad about not having to spend approximately 2 hours in the queue.
The Non-EU queue snaked back into the corridor back to the piano. I estimated a 2 hour wait. We ended up joining the non-EU line at first because the Heathrow staff were not managing the queues well. A few of us EU/UK nationals all did the same thing so there was a clear communication issue. I peeked around the side and realised what was going on, and then left the queue for then non-existent UK/EU queue. My US Citizen wife went through the UK/EU queue with me, and we were glad about not having to spend approximately 2 hours in the queue.
Dec 27, 2016, 2:12 am
#50
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Are you honestly saying you don't know anyone whose office is open on the working days between Xmas and NYE?! If so you and lhrsfo must be living in some kind of parallel universe to the London I know.
Some small companies do close their offices, and perhaps some larger companies in certain sectors like marketing, but otherwise basically all large company offices remain open. They are quiet for sure, but they are open and a fair amount of people do work.
Some small companies do close their offices, and perhaps some larger companies in certain sectors like marketing, but otherwise basically all large company offices remain open. They are quiet for sure, but they are open and a fair amount of people do work.