Festive Season Arrangements 2025

Dear Colleagues,

With thoughts rapidly turning to the festive season and teams planning their rotas for this season, here are the Christmas pay arrangements for this year.

Working over the Festive Season

Thank you to everyone who will be working over the holiday period to ensure that the people we support continue to receive the vital help they need, making it possible for them to enjoy the festive season too.

If you are working over the festive period, the following pay rates will apply to those on Optalis contracts. Managers will need to ensure that they understand the contractual rates for any of their people on non-Optalis contracts. If you are unsure, please ask the HR team on HR@Optalis.org

• Tuesday 23 December 2025 - normal working day
• Wednesday 24 December 2025 - normal working day
• Thursday 25 December 2025 – (Christmas Day bank holiday rate) - double time
• Friday 26 December 2025 – Boxing Day (bank holiday rate) - time and a half
• Saturday 27 December 2025 - normal working day
• Thursday 1 January 2026 (New Years Day bank holiday rate) - double time

Christmas Pay

December pay day will be Monday 22 December 2025.

This means that pay cut off will be earlier than usual and managers must ensure that all fully completed starter, leaver and change forms are with the HR team by 12 midday on Tuesday 2 December 2025 to enable final checks to take place.

To support the Optalis HR team and RBWM payroll team, please  submit forms to hr@optalis.org as early as possible. Don’t wait for the deadline!

Universal Credit Note:
We are conscious that early pay can impact eligibility for Universal Credit. Payroll have assured us that, they have made arrangements on the advice of HMRC to report pay as normal, even if we actually pay early in December. This protects eligibility.

Fast Input Cut-Off date

• Fast Input cut off : Friday 5 December 2025.
• Temporary Input reports issued to managers:  Monday 8 December 2025.
• Confirmation deadline for reports:  Wednesday 10 December 2025.

Managers – please make sure that you or someone else is available to input and check reports for these dates. 

Expense and mileage claims

• Any mileage or expense claims will need to be authorised by managers by Friday 5 December 2025.
• Managers - please ensure that you set your substitute approver if you will be on leave.

Payslips

Payslips will be released as soon as possible following pay run (around 18/19 December). We  strongly encourage colleagues to check their payslips as soon as they are published; do not wait for pay day. This will allow the maximum time to check issues and make any amendments as required; there will be limited staffing in both the Optalis HR and RBWM payroll teams in the Christmas week.

A reminder on how to access your payslip is here. Please ensure that you can access your payslip before December pay date.

We wish you a warm and happy festive season when it arrives.