Collection for the boss... inappropriate?

[Littlejuice]

Always, always buy my whole team Xmas gifts. Just a bottle of wine or something but to say thanks.

As a senior manager however, and in my view well paid despite long hours, I do not expect or wish to receive one (public sector)

We've had a new director for TWO MONTHS who has recruited one of his previous employees into team, this month. Email from new starter yesterday sharing his Bacs details to all the staff (many of whom on a quarter of the director salary) saying it's nice if we do a bit of Xmas appreciation and collect for the boss...

I have contributed and said to my team I'll put their shares in as team contribution as I am so conscious many of them struggling - but isn't this just really not recognising the situation of some people? Dear people on 20k please donate to buy someone on 120k a gift?

Clearly followed his boss into his new role because his nose is stuck so far up his/her arse that it was impossible not to.

Go get your donation back, OP, and don't be contributing on behalf of your team. Send a new, email - including brown noser and his dear leader - suggesting an office wide secret santa, max spend 3 quid.

I really am a bit puzzled by all this gift giving at Xmas even downwards at work.
I go to work to earn money. Not primary to make friends ( ok, nice if it happens) . I’m not there for my own pleasure- it’s nice to have fun while your there but fgs in most cases we’d ,all be elsewhere if we didn’t need the money.
The whole Xmas present from bosses to subordinates stuff reeks as virtue signalling or a misguided attempt to be “ recognising your reports effort”. Recognition in monetary or gift values is what the organisation should be doing, not me as their boss. Sure, I absolutely thank them verbally and , recognisetheir contributions but that’s ongoing and my job is to ensure I put my effort of thanking them into ensuring they get a good salary rise or promotion or helping them identify tasks/projects they’d enjoy doing. that’s the hard work associated with coaching and mentoring my teams and helping them to succeed. A box of chocolates or tacky gift at Xmas is not going to pay their bills, or allow them to spend a better time with their family at Xmas. It’s not going to improve their pension, or even if it applies, improve their bonus. That’s my job as a boss to ensure their pay and rewards are reflected properly by the company . I should not have to be subsidising that with my own wage. Companies who think I should, or encourage that culture need to take a long hard look at themselves. Some years ago I worked for a company that gave all its employees a Christmas hamper each year- it wasn’t massive but had a good mix of foods Xmas treats, , but it made one heck of a difference for employees to know that the company appreciated their efforts enough to spend money form the profits they employees helped to create on a proper gift that the employee and their family could all enjoy.
Yes, I have always encouraged and organised secret santas (where the team want to) with a very low price cap as a fun thing within a small team where everyone knows everyone- but it should be just that..a bit of festive silliness, a couple of hours of downtime (which I have had to justify to my bosses in the past) for a social natter, some nibbles and some non alcoholic drinking…just festive fun and an acknowledgement that it is The run up to Xmas and end of year which is always a bit stressful in businesses I worked in, and a good time to just pause and reflect on what’s gone on that year and have a bit of a laugh about it where possible. It was also always a time when my team knew they could take the Micky out of me for my cockups during year
Why are people on this thread so attached to this giving and getting presents from the boss? Someone earlier said presents “should” flow down- no they shouldn’t, they just need to stop. You’re all just subsidising the organisation and it’s them that should be handing out rewards and recognition.

Agree with everyone else. Xmas gifts flow downwards unless it's a secret santa or similar. I can't believe a director would be this tone deaf?

Makes me wonder if the 'toady' is related to the manager!!!

Or is greasing the wheels for their own reasons.

I would report this to the 'Conflicts of Interest' manager or 'Counter Fraud/Anti Bribery' or whatever similar in your org - you can report this anonymously. NHS workers are not allowed to accept anything worth more than a promotional pen, so to hear that a new manager is (indirectly) asking for money from his staff is way out of order.

It's inappropriate and tone-deaf, yes, but it's not fraud or bribery and it doesn't actually contravene any policies for this person to start a collection for a senior colleague.

NHS workers aren't allowed to accept gifts from suppliers or disproportionate gifts from patients (although chocolates etc. from a patient is fine), but they are definitely allowed to accept gifts from their line manager, colleagues or their team. Why on earth would you think they weren't?

I'm an NHS senior manager. When I got married, it was one of my team who held a collection for a lovely wedding gift for me. I didn't ask for it (although I was very grateful when I found out), but it wasn't it against the Trust policy for them to do so.

Public sector - this would be a disciplinary offence. Blow the whistle.

@BertramLacey "Toady" was my first thought as well.

I'm also public sector, and would also be raging about this. It's just not how it works. You seem a lovely boss, but please take this further. Speak to someone at a higher level to deal with it if needs be?

@Warblerinwinter

I really am a bit puzzled by all this gift giving at Xmas even downwards at work. I go to work to earn money. Not primary to make friends ( ok, nice if it happens) . I’m not there for my own pleasure- it’s nice to have fun while your there but fgs in most cases we’d ,all be elsewhere if we didn’t need the money. The whole Xmas present from bosses to subordinates stuff reeks as virtue signalling or a misguided attempt to be “ recognising your reports effort”. Recognition in monetary or gift values is what the organisation should be doing, not me as their boss. Sure, I absolutely thank them verbally and , recognisetheir contributions but that’s ongoing and my job is to ensure I put my effort of thanking them into ensuring they get a good salary rise or promotion or helping them identify tasks/projects they’d enjoy doing. that’s the hard work associated with coaching and mentoring my teams and helping them to succeed. A box of chocolates or tacky gift at Xmas is not going to pay their bills, or allow them to spend a better time with their family at Xmas. It’s not going to improve their pension, or even if it applies, improve their bonus. That’s my job as a boss to ensure their pay and rewards are reflected properly by the company . I should not have to be subsidising that with my own wage. Companies who think I should, or encourage that culture need to take a long hard look at themselves. Some years ago I worked for a company that gave all its employees a Christmas hamper each year- it wasn’t massive but had a good mix of foods Xmas treats, , but it made one heck of a difference for employees to know that the company appreciated their efforts enough to spend money form the profits they employees helped to create on a proper gift that the employee and their family could all enjoy. Yes, I have always encouraged and organised secret santas (where the team want to) with a very low price cap as a fun thing within a small team where everyone knows everyone- but it should be just that..a bit of festive silliness, a couple of hours of downtime (which I have had to justify to my bosses in the past) for a social natter, some nibbles and some non alcoholic drinking…just festive fun and an acknowledgement that it is The run up to Xmas and end of year which is always a bit stressful in businesses I worked in, and a good time to just pause and reflect on what’s gone on that year and have a bit of a laugh about it where possible. It was also always a time when my team knew they could take the Micky out of me for my cockups during year Why are people on this thread so attached to this giving and getting presents from the boss? Someone earlier said presents “should” flow down- no they shouldn’t, they just need to stop. You’re all just subsidising the organisation and it’s them that should be handing out rewards and recognition.

In theory I agree but it’s not always boss subsidising org. Sometimes boss can claim expenses. In the Big4 firms partners pay, but they’re literally owners of the firm. Other times for example when I went back to office to help with a dreary task my boss bought lunch/drinks as a small thanks.

I don’t think pp are saying that employees must be rewarded but , if anything is given it should flow from boss to employees not the other way round.

You are this employees immediate boss,you tell him not to be hitting up your team for cash and that's final.

Someone earlier said presents “should” flow down- no they shouldn’t, they just need to stop. You’re all just subsidising the organisation and it’s them that should be handing out rewards and recognition.

No bonuses or rewards in the NHS. Token gifts are just that - a token of appreciation for a team that goes above and beyond. If my team had been a nightmare I suspect they’d have had a tin of Quality Street between them.

I've worked in contracts in public and private sector over the past few years and never have we (in public sector) contributed to a senior boss' collection, unless they're retiring or maybe leaving job.

Certainly not contribute towards a Xmas collection for them. The Director (or more senior staff) should discourage and not allow this, more senior staff usually got involved in matters like this. It is grossly unfair on members of staff who are much lower paid but especially with rises in costs of living.

Also @Warblerinwinter IMO giving gifts isn’t just about reward. As a boss keeping your employees happy makes your job easier.
Giving them a little something out of your own money can get goodwill.
Of course overworking them for example and then trying to make it up with a box of chocolates won’t cut it but orgs aren’t perfect.
We currently have a travel ban for example so boss is buying train tickets for a team member in a different location to travel to our Christmas do. He’s not going to achieve anything by not doing so

Wow, never heard of such a thing. If it were for a leaving present maybe, but not for Christmas.

I'd be nipping this in the bid this year or it will set a precedent? There's a reason this isn't the norm, those with the smallest salaries shouldn't be handing over pay to (often much much much) better paid seniors.

@RobinPenguins

I’ve worked in the public sector for 15 years and have never been expected to contribute to a Christmas present for the boss. It’s not a thing in places I’ve worked (and rightly, it is a ridiculous idea, tbh).

Never a thing I've heard of either!

We got bonuses (Eden Red ones) which were team wide and based on merit but even they 'flowed down'.

The only sort of 'gift' I can imagine a senior boss getting (and even then they'd often pass it on, is an Amazon gift (cocktail making set with booze was popular last year) if staff won a departmental quiz. I think if our boss accepted that, it was a one off too.

I can’t believe you paid in anything let alone a contribution on behalf of your staff?

Just because the other Team Leaders are spineless wankers, you don’t have to join them in this nonsense.

@AfterSchoolWorry

Makes me wonder if the 'toady' is related to the manager!!!

Or is greasing the wheels for their own reasons.

@AfterSchoolWorry - wondering where toady has come from? Private sector?

Regardless, I'd be flagging up my concerns within HR in public sector as this breaches so many public sector rules and is wrong on so many levels.

@FrappuccinoLight

The previous employee (‘friend’) that new boss recruited into team should buy his own personal gift for the new boss. Both of them on team less than 2 months and the junior one is being allowed to,dictate Christmas gift policy for the whole established team. Someone should have politely whispered in his ear the second the email came out and stopped him in his tracks. Very bad taste idea IMO.

This!

It should have been stamped on very quickly.

Very strange indeed.

Gifts should go down the chain, not up the chain.

You should post this on;

www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/

This topic comes up almost every day. No yanbu!

It's a shame you didn't post here before contributing.

You really shouldn't have accepted this. Or donated 50p per person (please tell me that's the amount you donated on behalf of the team).

If a quiet word/email to your manager about how inappropriate this was went unheard, then an email to his boss would have been my next move, something along the lines of 'Please can you clarify - John has asked my team to contribute to something for him. I was under the impression that culturally this was not how Smiths treated their employees. This request has made my team incredibly uncomfortable as many find themselves struggling financially at this time of year. If we are expected to do this each year for Senior Manager please could you let us grade 7s know so our teams can save during the year. Regards.'

You shouldn't have paid in for others. You should have let the silence speak for itself.

This could easily be construed as corruption, as the director is able to influence the future career prospects of the staff who do/don't contribute.

You can just see it now - director sits down with toady at annual review time, those who contributed get a good mark and those who didn't are marked down. The fear of this type of behaviour will ensure that anyone who wants to progress in their career will contribute, as boss can make their lives hell if they want (voice of experience from a similar though non-financial situation)

What would happen if no one contributed? Just ignore and let it go empty I would think.

If it's flowing both ways, does the director have their purse out?

That is pretty shocking! Are you going to say something to the person requesting the gift?
I absolutely would not expect the lower paid team members to contribute to their bosses present. Its pretty gross.
You sound wonderful though, thank god they have you otherwise sounds like this little runt would get away with thinking that's ok!