Work party

How many people are attending? Might be quite difficult to arrange something that suits all. I’d go by the diaries of people who absolutely had to be there). Could also be a cost issue if venue or entertainment etc needs to be taken into consideration. Whatever it is,I doubt it’s intended to annoy you. Sometimes shit happens.

This. Sorry but it's not all about you. These things take a lot of planning and coordination and it's likely this day worked best because it was quiet or didn't have key meetings or pressures etc. they can't juggle an entire schedule around for one person! If you're that bothered, swap your non working day. I know others who have done this in similar situations in the past

Sure. (Well, probably I'd be delighted, but that's a different story. )

But, for example, OP may be the only person who doesn't work on a Friday and Tuesday is the only day with everyone in, say. In which case organising the Christmas party for Friday afternoon and evening is fair enough.

Based on the OP I do suspect it's about the five hours of not working (otherwise why mention it), which is just petty tbh.

I don't think it is that at all. Wouldn't you be cross or disappointed if an event was arranged on the one day of the week that the organiser knew you couldn't go?

Do all the part timers have the same working days? Or is there an single day when everybody is in? If the answer is No to either of these, then you are not being discriminated against.

So there are days of the week when 100% of the staff are in? And just this date they be picked there's only you off in the whole business?

Behave yourself - not everyone who works part time has children for a start and you can never please/suit all staff. All the whingers like you are what made my workplace depressing!

I wish my life problems were like this.

It happens. I missed the works Christmas lunch for a decade or so because it always coincided with DD's schools end of term activities and I always went to see her in whatever it was. Went for the first time the other year. It was nice but nowhere near as brilliant as it has been in my mind all these years. FOMO is real.

That's life!

They can't keep everyone happy!!

So presumably other PT workers can swap their days too?
Are you sure there's a day everyone works?
Maybe it's not practical to use a day everyone is in for the party?

You aren't being punished for being a woman or having children. Presumably some of the other PT workers are men? Some don't have children?

I get the disappointment - I work PT, as does my whole department, and we often miss out on some of the "work treats". But they also do plenty we don't miss out on. And some of the FT workers do miss out on when they end up working off site.

But it's not being punished for being a woman or a mother

I feel like women are punished for being part time due to having children!

Well that's quite a reach isn't it.

So your place of work are having a party and you're angry that they won't arrange around not only your schedule, but also your child's? You're being ridiculous and I hope you don't embarrass yourself talking like that at work.

This makes it sound aa if you’re annoyed they’ve picked a day where you have other plans- it’s not necessarily about the part time thing?
if you didn’t already have a commitment that day, then would you be able to swap your shifts that week so you could attend?

Unless I’ve misread that, it kind of sounds like “my friend is having a birthday party on Saturday night and I can’t make it cause I have other plans, and she won’t reschedule around me, and now I’m mad!”

Behave! It’s a fact of life that sometimes you miss out on things. This doesn’t sound like a campaign against you or against part time work. Sometimes you just have to suck it up.

Or should I be asking my company to change the date of our summer party next year since it clashed with my birthday this year and I couldn’t go?

Are you annoyed you're missing the party, or annoyed everyone else is getting five hours off that you aren't?

This comes across as somewhat entitled.

Well you have a few months to organise something if you really wanted to go.

No day of the week would be ideal, as you have to assume a work party will not finish at the same time as a normal working day.

I agree with an expression of disappointment and nothing else.

Just one of those things - someone else could be on annual leave or off sick etc. It's not about five hours off work, it's about the social event together.

So it's not because that's a non-working day as such - your child has a commitment you can't miss.

I'm not sure it's realistic for a company to find a date when everyone can definitely attend for things like that.

People have different non working days. People might have annual leave booked. Even full time workers might have an appointment of commitment they can't get out of.

I haven't been able to attend occaaional work parties for some of the above reasons. Staff attending get that time of, I haven't. That's the deal, it's really not the end of the world.

YABU.

Is there a reason they haven’t done this though? Lots people on annual leave or work meetings that can’t be missed?

They could have.
They should have.

Any D&I training says to do this so not to alienate people with commitments on other days, ie some religions couldn't do a Friday due to prayers.

They haven't accommodated you.

Personally I'd make my manager aware I was disappointed not to have been included and leave it at that.

What about the part timers that it then doesn't suit if its changed? Women are not punished. Is your child's Dad around? It's no different to it being a Saturday evening and you still can't get childcare. That's not being punished. You must have known you didn't have any childcare options before deciding to have children?