Miffed we weren't invited to work Xmas do.

[YouAreTheEggManIAmTheWalrus]

So myself and another lady work PT self-employed for a large local firm. Regardless of being PT we have a role integral to the business and have probably saved them thousands of pounds in payouts due to complaints by taking preemptive/preventative measures. We also go over and above in the busy summer period, grafting our backsides off doing physical jobs that aren't in our remit to pick up the slack when other staff members are off on hols. We do this happily, without complaint because we know how screwed they'd be if we didn't.

Aaanyhoo, it became apparent last week that myself and other lady hadn't been invited to their Xmas do. No explanation, it wasn't even acknowledged at any point. All the FT employed staff went out to a party night at a hotel on an evening that myself and the other lady were in the office, so it's not like it happened on a day we weren't in. We all get on really well, there's no historical beef or anything, it's just totally unexplained and other than the fact we are PT and self employed I can't see any reason why we'd be excluded. AIBU to feel really miffed and to feel as though after the work we've put in this year it's a shitty way to treat people?
I made a jokey comment about us not being invited and everyone else in the office was really surprised that we weren't, so this is down to one of two managers or whoever organised it. I'm really pissed off about it and feel like I would rather work for someone who at least acknowledges our hard work and considers us part of the team. Am I overreacting?

Of course you can go to staff meetings as a SE person.

Of course a company can invite guests to a party, or a meal, or a launch event, or a "conference" in Monaco, or a trip on the company yacht, whether they are suppliers, customers, contractors or the man who lives next door. It happens all the time. And none of these guests is prohibited from attending.

True, the special tax loophole for employee christmas parties only applies to employees.

Your not an employee. Someone in HR will have ran a report off their system showing employees, you wouldn’t have been included. Nothing more to it. I wouldn’t overthink it.

You are self employed.
You were not invited to the employees Christmas do.
What’s not to understand?

If you’re self employed you need to consider the IR35 implications of going to the party - it would look like you’re an employee not a freelancer.

autumn I think someone's been pulling your leg.

I can understand you being upset because you feel left out but am rather confused about your status. If you are self employed then you must have several clients. Were you expecting to be invited to all their Christmas parties?
If you don’t have other customers, then you are not genuinely self employed. This can have negative implications for your tax status, entitlement to sick pay, pensions etc.
You need to get your legal status confirmed as a matter of urgency. This is considerably more important than whether you were invited to the Christmas party

I would have a night out just you two

What a bunch of rude people you work with! Even if the company could fund you they could at least offer If you wanted to pay yourself!

Am I the only person that would consider this a perk of being self-employed??

The tax rules on staff entertainment changed a little while back and are quite strict now. I would imagine that’s what’s behind it, or they may have used a list to invite people that you weren’t on thereby inadvertently excluding you.

YANBU. That sucks. At our staff do this year we have two former employees coming, one of whom I took over from when he retired. I’m really looking forward to seeing him.

@Lougle - nope! I’d have loved that reason not to go for most of the places I’ve formerly worked at.

I originally voted YANBU. Then I missed the fact that you are a contractor at the company. I can understand why it doesn't feel nice but I think the self-employed status explains it.

I organise parties at my company and we do have some contractors and interns.

These are not covered by the staff rules but we invite them but have to declare them as outside guests and pay differently.

In my opinion the right way, they are valuable additions and we have a good working relationship but HR was very clear about the rules and our record keeping when we do the headcount for events.

By contrast, at my OH's work do, there were a couple of people who had worked for the company as contractors earlier in the year - they'd had to lay them off partway through the year, but still invited them to the Christmas do - which I thought was a lovely way of saying they appreciated them.

If it makes you feel slightly better I'm currently on maternity leave and found out through Facebook that my work had there's on Saturday evening, I wasn't invited didn't even know they had planned anything. Everyone always pays for their place when going out so it wouldn't make difference money wise inviting me. I'm going in on Friday and will ask then. But surely not being invited could be classed as some form of discrimination?? Generally unsure.

Op just said she was self employed not that she was operating through a limited company, didn't she? So is that not higher risk for the not-her-employer if they blatantly treat her like an employee at staff events?

Oops. I think this was a genuine mistake and someone forgot to invite you.

You're not self employed though are you? Do you pick and choose your hours. For example i'm self employed and today got a call about working tonight and said no. Won't affect any other work and i just didn't feel like it (and i don't do anything I'm not paid for)

IR35 is a bit of a beggar.
Someone I know got clobbered because their name was on the tea/coffee list in their client's office and they regularly turned out for the client's quiz team.
Client had an HMRC visit and that's when they got nailed.

It'll be IR35. HMRC can question your employment status/tax status if you are seen to be getting too many perks which would be associated with being an employee rather than a contractor - christmas parties included.

DH doesn't get invited to christmas parties and wouldn't risk going either. It's not worth the hassle for a piss up.

I thought it was totally unfair when you said you were part time.
But then you said you were self-employed. I think it would still be better to invite you, but then I think sub-contracted cleaners and catering people should also be invited, but they're not usually.

Also, it sounds like you're fake self-employed if you treat this work as your job and you only have one main client whom you actually consider to be your employer.

When I worked for an agency, we did actually invite some of our main 'service providers' to some Christmas dos and they weren't even based onsite, so it is possible of course.

I think they should have invited you but made it clear you would have to pay for yourselves. I work in the public sector as does DH and we both have to pay for ourselves x

It’s because it puts your IR35 status into question. Both you and the employer run into problems if HMRC decide that you are employed and not a contractor.

The Christmas party is just the same as the pension plan, the health benefits, the gym membership discount, childcare vouchers and all the other perks which employees get and contractors don’t.