To tell them to F*** off and quit before the Christmas break?

I would just not go. You’ve been there three years, they can’t just sack you.
When you get called out on it, tell them that as it was unpaid, you weren’t going to attend.

I would leave. I won't be treated like shit in the workplace. Absolutely leave and you will find another job. You might find other employers in your sector have heard about your company and how they treat staff and not be surprised you have left at all.

Give proper notice so they can’t criticise you for walking out; behaving professionally matters when you work in childcare.

If we ask our staff to do additional hours it’s either paid or they get time off in lieu. Even if it’s a charity event my staff don’t work weekends and I would ask for volunteers - give them much more than 4 days notice and either pay them or give them time off. To expect you to do this for free in your own time in such a bullying manner is disgraceful. They can’t discipline you if it’s not a working day and you haven’t agreed and they are not compensating you. They sound awful.

Hand in your notice as soon as. I honeslty dont know why nursery managers/owners think they are better than anyone else. They love having that power over people. Get out while you can and tell them to stick their job up their arses. They would be nothing without the staff actually doing the hard graft. You wont ever be thanked for it by them.

Don’t go. Tell them you’re ill - flu, Nirovirus, etc. New Year - new job!! Plan to leave asap. This is a wake-up call and the start of a lovely new job with employers who value you! I left a job where I was unhappy and undervalued and a year later I was earning almost double the salary in a similar role elsewhere. Sometimes it’s a scary leap, but there’s always a point when you think, “Enough”. Sounds like this is it. Sending you all the best for Christmas and the New Year. Xx

Do we work for the same nursery chain?! I honestly think we do! Nothing pisses me off quite like the emails I receive telling me saturday we have to be working and it’s MANDATORY! Always in capitals, in a threatening manner. I’ve only been at mine 8 weeks and I’m handing my notice in in the new year. I’m sick of been snapped at and spoken down to. I love my babies and I’m going to miss them so much but my mental health is declining by the day. It’s just toxic. Toxic management and toxic room leaders

This.
My daughter worked at a nursery like this. It made her ill with anxiety.
Eventually someone reported then and they got into a lot of trouble with Ofsted.

You need to check exactly what your contract says before you do anything. I would not under estimate how hard it could be without a reference albeit think employers are no longer allowed to give bad ones. Not sure how it is in the Care industry but they could well hold it up and you could end up months out of work whilst cleared again for a new job. For one day, I would bite my tongue and then move on at your pace not theirs.

I know that the time is past now, but I hope that you didn't go and just sit back to see what happens. If they sack you, you can take them to a tribunal, your contract doesn't include this work and THEY are giving to charity, not you.

Do it.... It's illegal what they are doing but you deserve better

If you can survive financially for a couple of months then yeah do it!

You need to leave the nursery , l do notice that nurseries do have a big turnover of staff. Over worked and underpaid. With your experience you could do a certificate in education for child care and teach in a college. Sometimes colleges employ you aslong as you study at the same time. Better pay and conditions. Good luck whatever you decide

Well, they are in the wrong here, not you. What despicable employers. In all honesty, what could they do if none of you turned up - sack you all? (Then where would they be?) With such short notice and such an attitude by them, they deserve to be left in the lurch - shame on them. I do hope you listen to your DP. There are other child care posts out there. They do not deserve your loyalty.

All you just leave and go somewhere else. Try eteach or similar, plenty of these jobs around. Leave them to fester in their own pile.

although just to say working for a school is very similar. Teachers get a slightly better advantage over support staff,

Did you go??

I hope you didn’t go OP.
If you have any fall out you just take them to an employment tribunal, they wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. It’s this sort of behaviour by employers which needs calling out and it will continue to happen until you and your colleagues do just that.

This is where I’d not turn up but, rather than quitting, I’d start documenting things for a claim if they sack you or threaten to. I did this years via ACAS ago in a job where I was being treated like shite. All I did was fill in a form seeking a tribunal and almost as soon as they received word of that they settled ( I received £4000 which was quite a lot back then and covered unused holiday pay etc) so it didn’t even reach a tribunal.

a close friend worked for a local nursery (which also has a positive reputation on the surface and charges high fees), and the stories she shares of the owner/management are shocking. The treatment of staff is completely illegal in terms of threats, bullying and on the spot sackings based on whims. Unfortunately the majority of staff are young girls, often on low paid apprenticeships, who become too scared to challenge ‘authority’.

I hope the "instructions" you were given were in writing eg must attend and won't be paid.
Keep everything!

Depends how much you depend on your earnings . If you can do it, yes I would.

If you can afford to leave and your DP is fully supportive then what are you waiting for? Life's too short to be stuck in a job that makes you unhappy.

OP, why go to the event tomorrow? Blackmail by your employer is totally unacceptable. Of course most people have plans for the weekend before Christmas & volunteer work is not part of most peoples' plans. Are you sure the charity will actually benefit??

This. This is exactly what I was going to say. Do NOT quit a company that does illegal things. DO tell them to sack you over this “five days warning for a mandatory unpaid event a week before Christmas,” and even if they mysteriously decide not to sack you, call ACAS and get advice on how and if you can report them for this (mandatory unpaid event with threats of dismissal). Simply tell your bosses (via email or text, however you communicate in writing) you won’t be coming to an unpaid event as you have longstanding plans. Then their reaction is their choice.

Don’t resign. Go off with work related stress and raise a grievance. If you’re leaving anyway if your Dr agrees you are stressed then get your 28 weeks SSP first?