About work do

[foodfrax]

I found out this evening that our Christmas meal has been booked.... it's £40pp + drinks aibu to think that's excessive?

unless it is something spevial of course

Most of the standard chain restaurants like Bill’s, Zizzi... do 3 course Christmas menus for around £25.

I work in the public sector and an evening do with a bit of food and some drink is paid for - not excessive amounts, but it's a thank you for our hard work during the year. One of the Faculties I work with will also do a really flash paid for meal and drinks but I'm not going to that this year and it's usually sponsored.

We'll buy our own drinks afterwards. There's also a couple of team meals that we pay for ourselves that are optional - we organise those ourselves and they're never more than £20 per person. I'll go to two of those because of my role.

That is really expensive! Ours is £25 (I think, might be £28?) and that is for 3 courses. Not including drinks, obviously.

I would't pay £40! None of the restaurants around here charge anywhere near that and we've never paid more than around £30 I don't think. (Last year's included a disco in the bar too but let's not talk about that.......)

Last Christmas meal I went on was 2 courses for £15.99. Dessert plus drinks took it to about £25. This was a few years ago but not that long. £40 is far too much.

I’ve never paid for my meal? I thought it was the norm for the company to pay

Same. I'm self employed now but all 'dos' were on whichever company I worked for. That said, £40 sounds okay for a Christmas thing.

I work in the public sector so we're going for an £8.99 Christmas carvery at the local hotel.

There is a £50 taxable allowance per employee IIRC for christmas party staff entertaining ;-)

I have always had my xmas 'do' paid for by work.

I just mean it's a random type of cuisine and the set menu has two options.

Surely it should be free?

I guess you live in London

I think it should be free but that seems cheap to me assuming it's 3 courses. Any alcohol.

No I don't live in London. It's not a swanky restaurant by any stretch of the information - it's in the same park as Pizza Express but it's independent. Pizza Express would be a much better option as it goes!

It's some dips for starter, then a goulash type thingy then a pastry. Soooo Christmassy...

Free??? Some people obviously live in a different world to me!

You don't have to go OP.

It is a bit expensive but I would pay that in London. Only if I liked the people and food though!

We paid £35 this year last year £40 so I guess average. At my previous employer the Christmas do was paid for at a cost of £25k for about 200 employees.

Surely the cost depends where you work and your pay grade....

No, because we have employees on 20k to 80k.

Invited to the meal I mean.

I haven't been to a works xmas do for about 20 years tbh - and back then it was always paid for by the company. I live in London and would be unlikely to pay £40 for a meal for myself anywhere...

I have actually been invited to one by my employer this year (which is something new - maybe they previously did it for full time staff and I am zero-hours) but it's 'bring food to share'...

Never had one where we didn't have to pay for ourselves. This years is £25 for three courses and a drink, so yours seems expensive to me

I think it is quite expensive. I'd say £30 for drinks was quite enough for a works do. Say oh dear what a shame that coincides with something else I've agreed to go to. No point in moaning about the cost or anything because it will get you nowhere.

I'm public sector and we always pay for ourselves. Having said that it's an option to join in, not mandatory and people can see the menu and the price before they decide to come or not. Generally we pick somewhere in the £25 for three courses price range.

If I was paying £40 plus, I'd want some kind of entertainment like a band. Or at the very least a good themed disco with dancing.

Ours is free, apart from a £10 deposit which we get back in January.

3 course meal and half a bottle of wine each. Plus I've sat myself with my favourite senior managers who can always afford a few bottles of champagne.

Seems really stingy of your work to make you pay. Is that really the norm some places? I’ve never had to, it’s always prosecco on arrival, three (festive) courses, crackers and novelties and wine on the tables and there’s always a free bar too. I do appreciate that is on the generous side but it means it’s much more inclusive. No money worries for juniors and support staff so practically everyone goes every year. It’s fab for morale and how we all feel about the company so I think it is worth it in the long run.