It's Christmas Day, so spare a thought for those stuck at work

Hundreds of thousands of people will be working throughout the day or at least a large part of December 25 this year all over the UK.

And the situation is no different in Shropshire and Mid Wales where a hardy band of workers will be giving up at least part of the festive celebrations and working instead.

Nurses, police officers and paramedics are often given as examples of workers who carry on with their normal duties no matter what the time of year, however many people in all sectors of employment find themselves at work on Christmas Day.

For church ministers, Christmas Day is often not only a special celebration but also a busy one too.

Shropshire pastor Ken Sykes says the festive season is just one of many occasions when the clergy will be hard at work while the majority of the country is relaxing and celebrating.

Mr Sykes, from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Oswestry, said: "You do need to put in the preparation for the Christmas service and then of course Christmas Day itself is busy.

"There are times you might wish you would rather not have to do it but it is part of the role.

"The same goes for Easter and, of course, there are times you would rather have the weekend off, but it is something you know you have to do.

"I was a science teacher before I joined the ministry so it was a change for me. Teaching was very much Monday to Friday but the church work is different."

Thousands of farmers across Shropshire and Mid Wales will be on duty this Christmas as well as ducking in and out to enjoy at least some of festive cheer, according to Llanfyllin farmer Peter Lewis. He said: "You try to spend as much time as you can with the family on the day but you still have the farm as well.

"You need to work because of the livestock but you try to have a nice time with the kids too."

The harsh economic climate means many people have to work no matter what day it is, according to Oswestry taxi driver Darren Gill. He said: "People still have to get about on Christmas Day and, if the work is there, then you do it.

"You are providing a service to people. Many people do work on Christmas Day."

The growing level of people work at Christmas is reflected in figures from the TUC. It says the number of people who worked on December 25 rose by 78 per cent between 2004 and 2010.

In 2010 almost 172,000 employees were in work on Christmas Day, compared to just over 96,000 in 2004.

NHS and social care workers are likely to make up the largest group of people working this Christmas, but more than 14,000 people work in hotels, pubs and restaurants on Christmas Day and a similar number work in shops and garages.

The high number of NHS staff on duty on Christmas Day comes as no surprise to Ellesmere man Simon Vernon.

Mr Vernon is a porter at Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital and has worked on Christmas Day on several occasions.

He said: "Hospitals never stop whatever day it is. The work has to be done but we do try to be a bit jolly just to keep the patients' spirits up."

There is also a growing number of people who will be catching up with some work at home on December 25. Many will switch on the laptop at home for an hour or two just to catch up with e-mails.

Heather Noble, chairman of Oswestry Chamber of Commerce, said people's views of working on Christmas Day has changed.

Mrs Noble, who runs a business advisory service, said: "Most businesses still operate a skeleton staff over the festive period.

"However, with the attraction of higher rates of pay and time off in lieu it has become more common for people to volunteer for these once "unattractive" shifts.

"I have never worked on Christmas Day but, as I get older and my responsibilities to family reduce, I come to think that Christmas Day is just one day and to work for a few hours and change the order of the day would be easier and in some cases perhaps quite enjoyable.

"To say I make a point of not checking e-mails would be an overstatement but suffice to say, as a sole trader, I have the choice and that is valuable in itself."