To never contribute £ to a person leaving work collection ever again?

I had this happen with someone leaving twice and coming back. I didn't contribute the second time. She has now left again... Collection reached over £500.. absolutely ridiculous. Got told last week she's coming back as a contractor 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yes that's absolutely what she should have done 🙄🤣... I don't think that's the point op is trying to make..

Something good that came out of covid and extended WFH is we don't do joint leaving presents or have awkward speeches/presentations anymore unless someone is actually leaving the company.

For changes of roles, engagements/weddings, new babies, apprentices passing exams, passing driving tests etc someone will send round an e-card for us to sign and that's it.

YANBU. So much easier just to have a no gift policy for occasions at work.

I've had people call by lunchtime on the Monday, asking to come back! We write off the present and they tend to buy some nice treats and be first to the bar at the next night out to "pay back" the gift value

Just contribute £1 or £2 in future

That’s better than what happened in my old workplace. Someone who’d been with the department for more than two decades announced she was leaving. People contributed generously, plus organised drinks and dinner and had a tearful send-off on Friday afternoon. Monday morning she strolled in and sat at her desk like nothing had happened.

It turned out that she’d used quitting as a way to orchestrate a promotion and had no intention of leaving. She didn’t return the cash she’d been given!

£10 is way too much for a colleague, I normally drop a couple of quid in the pot if I liked them and nothing if I didn’t.

From now on I'd put a pound in each time, so I'm not bothered by the whole thing. A tenner is ridiculous, unless they were my friend!

Depends what your office norm is. If your leaving present is £30 worth of Oliver Bonas type stuff (I'd say this was pretty average), you only need to put in £10 if there are 3 of you contributing. If there are 30 of you contributing you'd only need to put in £1. £10 is usually going to be too much unless close colleagues in a small team.

I know how you feel. We had one colleague who kept leaving and being persuaded to come back (staff shortages) - I think she had three leaving dos!

I'd ask for a refund.

The gift was given with the expectation that they piss off permanently. This implies a contract. You might have been looking forward to them leaving! - this has now ruined your week!

(I'm not particularly social as you might have guessed)

@pawpawgingins - unless you’re very highly paid or in a very senior role or close colleagues with the person leaving, £10 is a lot to contribute. I think you’ll find it’s a lot more than most people put in. I understand your annoyance but you may be less bothered if you paid less and I do think it’s fine to pay less.

I think you're being incredibly tight. It's not as if people return to their previous jobs on a regular basis. When I stopped working for one of my schools a few years ago, the governors bought me a lovely present but they weren't happy with my replacement and persuaded me to go back a year or so later. No-one was funny about the present I had been given, but I assume that I won't get another leaving present when I retire in a couple of years time.

I wouldn't be annoyed about the specific situation, wasn't anyone's fault. However if someone job hops regularly not only are they getting lots of leaving presents every year or so, they're also getting salary increases regularly. If I stayed in the same job for years I don't think I'd bother too much with leaving gift contributions as I wouldn't be getting the same presents and wage increases. That might be a bit petty but whatever, I'd just put in a couple of quid. I wouldn't put in so much I'd end up resentful.

If I was the leaver I would have donated the leaving gift amount to charity and sent an email to explain and thank everyone for their generosity.

I hate work collections there is always one going on and it's only a 100 of us in the office but they do it for weddings, special bdays, leavers etc. I didn't get a collection done for my 40th and when I moved departments I only got a bottle of prosecco (between all the people in the dept) then I was asked by my old department to contribute for one of the girls 40th for a dinner voucher 🤣. I don't contribute anymore. One of my closest colleagues decorated my desk and gave me a pressie so I will just do the same for her, it just not keen on the constant collections....

Rather than thinking the money bought you a month of hard work, think of it as the money having bought you an experienced person who hit the ground running. A new starter would have needed training and hand holding and would have been more hindrance than help for a lot longer. If you had just booted the leaver out they may not have come back at all. Instead they loved the place enough to walk back in and crack on. P.S. I only give £2 unless it's someone special to me.

In my place of work we give £2-5 depending on closeness. Sometimes a manager might put in more. I usually give £3. Our department has expanded in the last year quite significantly so from now on I'll only donate if I know the person. Plenty of people never participate.

So feel free to not participate or reduce the amount. However, this specific case witha colleague is not too common so if you reduce the amount then it will feel less crappy.

Optimum would be the employer paying for it. But that ain't gonna happen

There were so many at work quite a few who I barely knew. There was an envelope and we ticked our name when we put in. If it was someone I barely knew it was just a couple of pounds someone I worked directly with five pounds. If I enjoyed working with the person I used to send my own card with memories of working with them.

Try spending a decade contributing to eleven billion wedding, maternity leave and birth collections. I spent hundreds of pounds on this in my thirties and now realise it’s unlikely to ever be my turn so I’m no longer bothering.

One woman got SIX collections in that decade, the single childless women got none.

I hate workplace collections and wish the trend would just end!

That is sensible .

This surely doesn't happen most of the time. Also, if you made a move and quickly realised you made a mistake, wouldn't you consider trying to get your old job back if it was available? I don't think I could begrudge this. It's not like it was an elaborate scam to get leaving gifts. Sounds like the person who left regretted it and so is coming back. They may have enjoyed some leaving gifts and drinks, but I imagine they've had a stressful few weeks too if they dislike their new job so much that they're looking to escape it already!

That sounds like a blooming good idea