Pagan police to get witchcraft holidays

Tabnabs

Police officers who indulge in witchcraft have been given the right to take Hallowe'en and the summer solstice off as religious holidays.

Bosses have formally recognised pagans as a minority group and granted them the same rights as others such as Muslims.

Members of the new Pagan Police Association will have guaranteed holiday on the faith's eight festival days. But one pagan officer has sparked controversy by admitting he uses witchcraft to boost his chances of promotion.

'You cannot alter someone's free will with witchcraft but you could use it if you had a promotion coming up, or you were worried about a friend or a particular area of work,' said PC Andy Hill of Staffordshire Police.

Heathen PC Andy Pardy from Hertfordshire Police, who set up the association, said there were misconceptions about the religion. It did not involve 'dancing naked around a fire', he said.

'It involves chanting, music, meditation, reading passages. For pagans, the practices are seen to have the same power as prayer does for Christians.'

But the president of the National Secular Society said faith groups were 'dangerous' and could compromise police impartiality. 'The police should call a stop to this and dismantle all religious groups,' said Terry Sanderson.

Both the Police Federation and the Home Office supported the pagan move.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Pagan_police_to_get_witchcraft_holidays&in_article_id=704711&in_page_id=34

Toots

Wish they'd bring that in here

Nevyn

Most multinational/international companies here have that policy.

Tabnabs

You just gotta work christmas day instead!

JuniperCatKin

As far as I can see, it would be of benifit. People having time off at different times is good. It means, as far as I look at it, people covering for each other on their holidays. Would this be a wrong view of mine?

DublinWriter

Yes, but will someone please think of the Jedis?

oncevotedff

Dyflin wrote: »

You just gotta work christmas day instead!

Wasn't Yule a pagan feast?

Shiminay

Yes, but for a lot of Pagans, Yule's celebrated on the Solstice which is the 21st or 22nd.

I was a hotel worker for the last 5 years and last year's Christmas was the first time I'd had the day itself off in a long time as I was in the IT Department rather than in the hotels themselves (I was still expecting a phone call incase something broke though ). I asked for (and got) the 22nd off without any difficulty from the powers that be as they figured it was win - win since someone was covering the day everyone wants off and I was happy that I got what I wanted too.

I'd love to see a shift in employment law that changed holiday allowance and allowed people to state upon beginning employment somewhere what days (if any) they would like off as "religious festivals" and the necessary rules and regulations applied to that no matter what faith they believed in (and atheists/agnostics/etc just get to take the days as free floating holidays). The notion that any religious holiday be an enforced "bank holiday" etc is a silly one to me, but unfortunately I don't make the rules...

Yet...

Urizen

That IS good to see. Tolerance is finally starting

Tabnabs

oncevotedff wrote: »

Wasn't Yule a pagan feast?

Yule is a heathen feast which actually lasts 12 nights, starting on the 21st. So you'd have to put in for a fair bit of leave to celebrate the whole thing :pac:

Urizen

Ha, and I'm Hellenic. I'd be off half the year if I celebrated everything!

... I'm for it!

Nevyn

Urizen wrote: »

Ha, and I'm Hellenic. I'd be off half the year if I celebrated everything!

... I'm for it!

Your poor, poor liver...

Urizen

Yes... I understand completely...

That was a bit of a fib actually. Care to elaborate?

Nevyn

Drinking and celbrating that much would have to be hard going on a body

Urizen

Ah right. That makes sense. When I first saw that I thought it said you poor poor liver... Didn't know what was going on!

But yeah, I'd probably get cirrhosis within a year. That's if I wasn't arrested for animal cruelty first, what with the sacrifices and all...

Nevyn

That depends on where you live and if the neighbours complain

Urizen

Well since it's their kids and all...