How to Set Up Christmas and Bank Holiday Call Routing

To set up Christmas call routing, create a closure schedule for each date your office is shut, point it at an out-of-hours destination (a recorded message, a voicemail box, a mobile or an on-call group), then ring your main number from outside to check it works. Do it at least a week before you close, not on the afternoon of the last working day.

What should you decide before you touch the system?

The settings take minutes. The decisions take longer, so make them first.

• Which dates are you closed? Include half days such as Christmas Eve, as well as the bank holidays.
• Who covers emergencies? One named person or an on-call group, with a number that will actually be answered.
• What do callers hear? A short message that says when you reopen and what to do instead.
• Where does voicemail go? Check someone is reading it, and that the mailbox is not already full.

Which dates do you need to plan for?

In England and Wales the Christmas bank holidays move when they land on a weekend. Boxing Day 2026 falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday shifts to the Monday. Always check the GOV.UK bank holiday list for your nation before you build the schedule, because Scotland and Northern Ireland differ.

How do you set up holiday routing on Gamma Horizon?

Horizon handles this with schedules in the Horizon portal, and bank holiday routing is part of every package on the Gamma Horizon page. The quirk is that a schedule is always built as an “Open” schedule, even when you use it to describe a closure. Our step-by-step guide to setting up schedules on a Gamma Horizon phone system covers the clicks.

1. Open the Horizon portal and go to Site Management, then choose the site.
2. Select Schedules and create a new schedule.
3. Add an event for each closure date. Keep “All Day” ticked for full closures, which run from 00:00 to 23:59.
4. For part days, untick All Day and set the start and end times.
5. Attach the schedule to your main number or auto attendant and choose where closed calls go.

How do you do it in Microsoft Teams Calling?

Teams lets you build holiday sets and attach them to an auto attendant, each with its own greeting and routing. Menu names move around in the Teams admin centre, so follow Microsoft’s current guidance for the exact path. Our guide to setting up a Teams auto attendant covers the resource account and licence you need before any of this works.

How do you do it on 3CX?

3CX lets you set office hours and holiday dates on a queue or digital receptionist, and choose a different destination when you are closed. The exact screens depend on your version. If T2K manages your system, send us the dates and we can set them up. The 3CX digital receptionist guide explains how closed-hours call flows fit together.

What should your closed message say?

Keep it under 20 seconds, and keep the auto attendant menu to three options at most. If callers wait on hold for a voicemail prompt, consider custom music on hold with the opening dates. Say who you are, when you reopen (the actual date and time, not “in the new year”), and what the caller should do. A good version sounds like this: “Thank you for calling [company name]. Our office is closed until 8.30am on Tuesday 5 January. If it’s an emergency, press 1. Otherwise, leave a message after the tone and we’ll call you back.”

Record it properly rather than relying on text-to-speech if you can. Callers trust a human voice, and a Poole boatyard or a Christchurch dental practice sounds a lot more reassuring with someone they recognise.

How do you test it before you close?

1. Ring your main number from a mobile, not from a desk phone on the same system.
2. Create a test event covering today, call again, and confirm you hear the closed message.
3. Press every option in the menu and check each one lands where you intended.
4. Leave a voicemail and check it arrives by email or in the mailbox.
5. Delete the test event, then ring once more to confirm normal routing returned.

What goes wrong most often?

• The schedule ends on the wrong day, so calls ring out in an empty office on 4 January.
• A part-day event was set in the wrong time zone or the wrong hours.
• Someone left a manual divert to their mobile switched on, which overrides the schedule.
• The emergency number is a mobile that is switched off over the holiday.
• The schedule was added to one site, but the main number sits on another.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change holiday routing from home?

Usually yes. Hosted systems let an administrator change schedules from a browser or an app, so a forgotten closure does not need a trip to the office.

Do bank holidays apply the same way in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. The dates differ, so check the GOV.UK list for each nation where you have staff or customers.

Can closed calls go to a mobile?

Yes. Check how your plan treats calls diverted to mobiles, and make sure the person knows they are on call.

Who do I call if I forget?

If T2K supports your system, ring support on 01202 854111 and we can change the routing for you.