AIBU to question conference/ business trips/ luxuries of business spending during a serious financial crisis?

I’d like to know this too.
I travel for work and I have to travel economy ( even when I have to work the day I arrive - I’ve got changed at an airport more than once!), my hotel
budget is minimal and my meal allowance barely covers a main course and soft drink.
What perks have I missed?!

The public sector don’t get staff parties unless they pay for it. I had great parties at private companies and charities, but now I get nada even though these events are supposed to improve productivity, thus paying for themselves.

What are these perks for public sector employees that you speak of. Can you give some examples?

Conferences are valuable professional development and networking. I couldn’t do my job without keeping up with the wider profession and best practice. I also benefit us by sharing my work.

Business trips look like a big expense on the face of it but it’s nothing compared to cost saving that’s can be made from cutting staff. I’m off to the USA soon and we’ll have around 100 people travelling from around the world but mainly within the US to that same event. If it costs £200k that seems like a huge expense but it’s 2 people’s wages and employer contributions, maybe 3 people, maybe not even 2 depending on the role that’s going. The 2 activities can’t be compared, and that’s before you even get into what the business benefits of the event may be in terms of finding additional efficiencies or generating more revenue.

It's nothing like what it was in the early-mid 00s. Not my expierence at all, I work for a national charity who does a lot of work alongside NHS, local and national government, everything has been stripped back to the bone. I work with fairly senior people and nobody is taking business trips.

We can't print anything, can't pay for meeting rooms, travel is pre-approved an public transport only and are on a pay freeze. But we'll still get a Xmas party, which will be drinks and nibbles in the office and meal out. Does that look bad, it probably does but when you can't pay people a cost of living increase the least you can do is take them out for lunch at Christmas time. Some would suggest we stop doing that too.

We hosted a conference as it was an outcome from our funders, but the venue was free, took the cheapest lunch option available and didn't do any extras. No printed programmes, no branded materials, no catered breaks (people could buy a coffee in the cafe on site). Please tell me where these lavish parties, conferences and business trips are happening in the public and charity sector.

Some will spend on fundraising gala dinners for donours, they're different as you usually earn much more from them than you spend. Likewise for conferences that charge a delegate fee these are often an income generator.

Like what?

Of the people I know in private sector, most of the expensive away trips seem to be for sales staff. Who are generating the money. Not to say that nobody ever goes anywhere but it's not often very flash for ordinary employees in my experience. Spending is cut back massively on occasions and travel bans for internal stuff are common in places I've worked. I do think other companies do bigger fancier parties and conferences but it's definitely not common across the board.

Currently public sector and we don't even get milk or teabags provided. Definitely no subsidised canteens or Christmas party, we sometimes do Christmas lunch but we self fund and a lot of people can't afford in December. I've not met the majority of people that do the same job as me in different locations.I've worked in the same role for well over 5 years and there are people I've spoken to individually on Teams many times. It isn't great for morale imo but it is what it is and you do what you can to make connections.

I’d be interested to hear of examples of private businesses which have said they’re threatened by rising costs and are also in your opinion wasting money.

public sector is interesting- while I’m sure that your average council employee is not enjoying travel or conference perks, I vaguely know an guy who was an MP and had some foreign office ministerial role in the last conservative government. I remember seeing his social media with him travelling S America for months on end with a few assistants and thinking “why is anyone funding this? If the UK was a business that budget would have been cut”.

if governments cut at all they seem to give every dept a small percentage cut rather than saying “right, x is a luxury and is being eliminated so we don’t have to cut y priority at all or in fact can give it more money”.

i find it totally bizarre.

well, you sound like a jealous moaning Minnie.

Yes, if it's not your business, I think it is unreasonable to question how a private business manages their finances. That aside, there are tax benefits to certain activities, like spending £50 a head on a Christmas party or £150 per head on a conference, for example. Businesses don't spend money out of the goodness of their heart. It's because it's financially efficient for them to manage money in certain ways.

Recruitment and retention used to be a reason for a generous employee benefit package, but there are so many skilled people looking for work nowadays, companies don't actually have to compete to attract them.

Companies tend to have policies that protect the business, like key man protection, or PMI for senior staff, whose absence from the business would be far more costly than paying for them to have private tests/treatment and getting them back to work asap.

So really, they're not doing anything obscene in the current economic climate. They're managing their money efficiently.

Business class travel has cut down a lot since covid.

Sending people out on business is expensive and also risky.

So a well run business is always going to limit the amount of travel its people do to the amount that is actually necessary.

Nowadays a lot of conferences are virtual.

Our ‘away day’ was down the stairs in a conference room. We brought a packed lunch, and we all scuttled back to check our emails in the break. Totally living the high life on the taxpayer’s dime. Muahahahaha.

So your premise is that businesses shouldn't do marketing and business development, @CoffeeMumForever ?

I hope you don't run a business.

I work in the public sector and other than free teabags and instant coffee we get nothing else. If I accept any invites to a conference I have to declare it first, the value has low (less than £25 iirc) and I cannot have any alcohol or gifts. So yeah. So not much of that going on here

I travel periodically on business, I'm in a premier inn, flying easyjet and capped subsistence allowance for meals and I can assure you there are no luxuries! (and I'd rather be at home!)

We aren’t allowed to do any of this anymore. If I want to attend a conference, I have to pay for it myself. I can’t remember the last time I had legit work travel reimbursed. Pre-COVID probably? I’m an academic.

On the other hand, Dh and I have a small business. Usually twice a year, we treat all staff to a night away. An activity of some sort during the day, nice dinner out, drinks, taxis, hotel, breakfast the next day and all travel there and back. They work hard and it’s good for business for employees to know they are looked after and treated well.

My employer doesn’t give a shit if I’m treated well. 😂 There are about 100 qualified people to every job out there. If I pack it in, I’m replaceable. No one cares to buy me dinner!

My DS gets flown business class if he has to travel long distances, but he then has to drive two hours when he gets there, and go straight into meetings, so it’s to enable him to get some sleep. A lot of business is confidential and in-person relationships are important. It may comfort the OP to know that often, when coming back, he loses a lot of his weekend to travelling, and is not paid any extra for it, or given time in lieu.

They tend to all be sound company decisions with lots of data to back it up.

If you can keep your employees happier with £3k of perks, it’s better for the bottom line than needing to pay them £5k more in a bonus or spend ££££ replacing them.

My current role - in which almost everyone works remotely - involves several annual staff retreats. It costs a fortune, but the best ideas we get come from getting together in person, and productivity skyrockets. We have a healthy budget to attend conferences per person (as did my last role) and a huge amount of referrals when we need new people come from the networking our teams do - not to mention the fact most people return from conferences feeling inspired, and with fresh new ideas for their work. Companies ultimately benefit from this.

@CoffeeMumForever are you just jealous cause someone you know got to go on a business trip?

Ah yes, the excess of the public sector. Only last week I tripped over platter after platter of free lunches, biscuits and the remnants of a good old fashioned office piss up.

Actually, that's not true. There wasn't even any washing up liquid and the hot water heater is broke so I had to go to another floor to make a brew. We're not allowed a kettle.

I don’t work in the public sector but know plenty who do. I don’t think they even get a free cup of tea: need to bring their own tea bag’s to work.

the private sector? That’s their business

I'm public sector and do get free teabags. But we no longer get lunch on one-day courses (my organisation used to push the boat out with M&S sandwich platters). We do have tampons provided in the staff loos though it's too late for that to benefit me...

We've been told there are definitely redundancies coming if that makes the OP feel better

Obviously a high trust environment…!