Anyone who works shifts has been offered a reward for their hard work
Oscar Fisher Trainee Reporter
11:12, 09 Nov 2025
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem
Nottinghamshire shift workers who are working on Christmas Day are invited to take part in ‘The Big Christmas Shift’, a nationwide initiative offering thousands of free main meals to festive shift workers.
The event will see Greene King pubs across the UK host an alternative Christmas celebration for those who will be on duty on the big day.
The pub company has enlisted Santa, the original festive shift worker, dressed in his original green costume, to announce the initiative that will benefit shift workers across the nation, from nurses and carers to chefs, servers, delivery drivers and emergency crews.
The initiative comes as research from Greene King pubs reveals what shift workers in East Midlands feel they miss most when working on Christmas Day, with 46 per cent saying it’s spending time with family, 22 per cent missing the tradition of opening presents together, and 20 per cent longing for festive TV.
Green King is offering its 30,000 employees a free Christmas meal, with participating Nottinghamshire pubs including:
Beechdale (Nottingham)Lord Ted (Newark)Admiral Rodney (Nottingham)Broad Oak (Strelley Village)Lady Bay (West Bridgford)Meadow Covert (Edwalton)Plainsman (Mapperley)Sun Inn (Eastwood)Talbot Inn (Mansfield)Tree Tops (Mapperley)Widecombe Fair (Mansfield)Three Ponds (Nuthall)Cooper’s Brook (Daybrook)Corn Mill (Chilwell)Horse & Groom (Moorgreen)Magna Charta (Lowdham)Nottingham Knight (Ruddington)Nurseryman (Beeston)Test Match Hotel (West Bridgford)Bell Inn (Nottingham)Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (Nottingham)
The pub company has announced The Big Christmas Shift in a Christmas advert that is filmed and is set in Bury St Edmunds, where the brewery has been crafting beers since 1799.
Greene King pubs have taken Santa back to his original green outfit, which he is said to have worn throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, only becoming consistently red in the last 100 years.
Andrew Gallagher, brand and marketing director at Greene King pubs, said: “We see first-hand the hard work that goes into making Christmas happen, including our very own team across the UK.
“While most of us are sitting down for Christmas lunch, millions of people are working hard to keep things running.
“The Big Christmas Shift is our way of saying thank you, giving those working on 25 December their own chance to celebrate, relax and enjoy a festive main meal before the Christmas rush kicks in.
“In the advert, Greene Santa pays tribute to shift workers of the modern day as he says, “it’s time to celebrate people who don’t just work at Christmas, but who make Christmas work.”
Dining and Cooking