To consider a team lunch to be a meeting, not my unpaid lunch break?

[realteal]

Prompted by the ‘is it ok to arrive at work at 9am’ thread.

We have fortnightly team lunches where we all bring in a plate and eat it in the staff room. It’s not optional.

AIBU to consider this a work meeting, and not to consider it as my unpaid lunch break?

The team lunch isn’t optional. Everyone does bring in some kind of food, it would be a bit awkward if you didn’t.

What's the pay range like? Is this affordable for everyone?

@Oblahdeeoblahdoe

Is it just social or do you have to discuss work? If they're not paying you they can't insist you do it.

It’s billed as a lovely social thing but inevitably it comes round to talk about work as really we are very much at the ‘colleague’ level of acquaintance!

What's the pay range like? Is this affordable for everyone?

Good point. We have some apprentices!

if its a "lovely social thing" then it can't be compulsory. If its a proper work meeting where bringing lunch is allowed then it can't be your lunch break.

Are you hourly paid and you don't get paid for your lunch hour?

The place I used to work had a shared lunch that work paid for and we took turns to organise. It usually lasted 1.5-2h, rather than the usual half hour, and you could wander off back to your desk if you fancied it.

It was "compulsory", but everyone was happy with the arrangement.

@hibbledibble

It sounds like a lunch break to me. You are eating lunch and socialising. Do you resent spending time with colleagues?

Yes if I'm forced to do this. It sounds like a nightmare.

Fortnightly seems a bit much, but with these things any dissent is going to get you branded a troublemaker. Unless you're near retirement, leaving soon etc, no point being "that guy".

Enforced social time with colleagues is not fun.
If it's not paid, it should be optional.

@GoogleWhacked

Enforced social time with colleagues is not fun. If it's not paid, it should be optional.

Oh that reminds me that Christmas parties will be coming up soon..eek

Sounds horrific OP 🤣

How is it compulsory? Also do you have to share food? Sounds awful.

I wouldn’t care so much about the ‘unpaid break’ aspect (as a salaried professional) I just wouldn’t want to be forced to eat lunch with whole team !

@BlusteryLake

Depends how senior you are. Above manager level, then stop whining and step up, below then you could probably get away with asking for an extra half hour to get personal stuff done.

Now I am a SM and to be fair a bit of a workoholic but when I choose to.

I don't expect my staff to work any more than their paid hours. If they need to work overtime regularly then we're understaffed or people aren't performing. If it's mandatory it is during paid working hours.

At the very least if I suggested a working lunch the company would be buying the lunch, not having people bring it it (although I wouldn't do this).

Former colleague used to say “It’s that enforced thing, isn’t it. Never works”

@KhoshkaKatya

Former colleague used to say “It’s that enforced thing, isn’t it. Never works”

yup, this ^^

Had a team lunch the other day and was told we can all take back the hour at our convenience. Yanbu.

They tried this in my work place, people would eat and then those that wanted to would wander off, those who wanted to stay would stay. How could they stop you leaving the table? Do they have an agenda? If it's just polite chit chat, 10 minutes is enough to play the game.

Exactly how mandatory is it? What if you said ‘sorry I’ve got some urgent errands I need to run today in my lunch break, I won’t be able to make it’ - what would happen then?

This is tricky. If it was once a month I'd say suck it up, but once a fortnight is quite a lot.
Who's driving it ? Do the other staff members seem to enjoy it ?

Technically, you are probably right. I wouldn’t be impressed with the attitude if you were in my team but it does depend on the job and rest of the work culture. What’s the approach more generally to flexibility?

I worked somewhere where there were ‘compulsory’ meetings scheduled at lunch time - around once or twice a week. They were scheduled over lunch because it was NHS and it was the only time there were no patients to see. It drove me mad. Quite often just made excuses why I couldn’t attend, it was made to seem compulsory but obviously they couldn’t enforce it. YANBU.

Do you talk about work stuff?
Is there a formal meeting bit?
Or just chit chat, what you did at the weekend etc
If it’s the latter I’m not convinced anyone would notice if you weren’t there would they? For example if you had “an appointment” for your lunch hour

That’s work op. Not your lunch break.

If I’m not getting paid, the. The time is my own to do with as I please, even if that’s sitting in my car in peace.

If it's an unpaid lunch break then they can't force you to attend surely. If it's not optional then yes, it is a meeting.

Yanbu.