Robert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel A Christmas Carol.

The overworked, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge, Cratchit has come to symbolise the poor working conditions, especially long working hours and low pay, endured by many working-class people in the early Victorian era.

When Cratchit timidly asks Scrooge for Christmas Day off work so he can be with his family, he notes it only comes once a year.

Scrooge reluctantly agrees on the condition that Cratchit comes to work early the day after Christmas.

[1] Seven members are mentioned in the original story, five of whom are named:[1] The character of Bob Cratchit has been featured in works based on A Christmas Carol.