There used to be a point system for working over Christmas that avoided this.
There is a points system, but most guys have half a dozen already and all the LH DEP's will start at 0. They will also start with 0 leave points, which are built up over a rolling 5yr window. Added to this is the fact that there will probably be very little future external recruitment to the fleet so the majority of new pilots to the fleet will be senior internal bidders who have likely already built a bank of points from short haul.