To think they are all cheeky bastards

[Helluvawomen]

I booked to go to a theatre show for the team I manage for our Christmas night out. We all agreed on the show and I'm sure they would have all been aware of the cost when they looked and agreed on the show.

I was expecting them to sort the money out that night and transfer the £20.

not one person has mentioned the money.

If your boss had booked a show for a Christmas night out would you assume it was a present or would you have been like “thanks for booking, here’s the cash”

Hmmm, I would assume it is paid by the company credit card? It’s Xmas do?

I agree they should have thanked you, but it you weren't clear it's likely they thought the boss was paying.

It's also quite likely that a lot of the team might not have wanted to spend £20 of their own money on a theatre show (I'm guessing panto at this time of year) so would have made different decisions if they'd had to.

Hmm. Having worked for the NHS I wouldn’t have assumed you were paying personally. We always had to pay for our own parties etc

I’m a senior support worker they are support workers. I get £25k they get £23k

I definitely wouldn't presume you are paying. Just share your bank details with them and ask for the money

Also imagine your boss publically calling you & your co workers a 'cheeky bastard' online because you didn't pay them £20 less then 2 weeks before Christmas

Did you honestly expect these people to willingly socialise with you at their own expense outside of work hours ?

I have a feeling they might have been planning something you gate crashed into as the 'boss' or they went along with your plan as they thought it was funded but either way these are not your friends

Well a bit of a lesson learnt. You should have been very clear.
‘Who would like to go on a team night out to the theatre - cost will be £20pp - please transfer to this bank account’

Then to be honest you’d probably have had quite a few not so baying to spend that money and a work night close to Christmas.

They clearly thought it was a gift from you/company as you didn’t mention the cost.

You can't demand people pay £20 for something they never agreed to pay for!

If it was framed as a 'christmas do', unless it was mentioned, I would think that you/ the company was paying (as they should).

Chalk it up to experience, you can't ask for the money now. I'm NHS too and wouldn't expect the boss to pay anything for us, but equally if a night out is organised the cost is made clear from the beginning. You absolutely do not need to be buying individual gifts for your team - my boss is multiple bands higher and doesn't (and I wouldn't expect it! She has her own life to fund). Organise a secret santa next year if you want, and that'll do

Yeah I’d never expect it to be paid for within the NHS.

Coporate world I would - most companies pay for a Christmas meal or treat.

where on earth do you get paid to go on works do. I’ve always paid and never got anything free

I would probably assume it was on the company if boss paid.

Oh no! I would totally have assumed work was paying too. But then, we just had our Christmas night out and work paid for the three course meal, drinks and activity afterwards.

where on earth do you get paid to go on works do

In my 20 year career I've never paid for my Christmas work do. It's always been either on the company or the boss has treated us (and I worked for a decade in the public sector)

This is your miscommunication OP and unfortunately you need to own it. Your employees aren't cheeky fuckers

Everywhere I've ever worked !

Yikes I am also NHS, you wouldn’t have been booked a ticket if you hadn’t paid up by x date at my work.

Many work places have a budget for staff Christmas parties

Many bosses have paid stuff out of their own pocket for various events over the years

They probably thought you were being really kind

You can't seriously think that asking people to sign up to something without knowing the cost is ever ok ?

You left the cost off so of course people thought it was a gift because no one should ever not put the cost up front if you expect people to pay

In every job I've ever had, work dos have been paid for by the company. There's no way I would pay to go out with my work colleagues for a "Christmas Do" 😬

Entirely depends on whether you 1) made it clear everyone was paying for themselves and 2) confirmed final amount and provided your bank details for everyone to pay.

People are not mind readers and I would expect my boss to ask for payment if it was needed. Might be a good idea to seek assertiveness training if you are not comfortable addressing this in a straight forward way with employees that you supervise.

How did you word it. Did you day you wanted the money back. If not I cam understand why they'd assumed it was in you

I’d have assumed a gift

Yeah I think you can't have been clear otherwise chances are at least one out of 7 would have offered!

It's very rude of them to not say thanks though although it's not clear if you've already been or if you've already given them the additional gifts as well. If you haven't don't give them!

Tbh I don't really understand why you've left it so late, I a) wouldn't book until getting the money in advance and b) at the very least would mention the money before the event took place! If you've left it this late you're on a bit of a hiding to nothing sorry because in fairness to them if they did assume you were paying they would be within their rights to say "sorry I thought it was your treat, if you'd said we had to pay I wouldn't have agreed to come and can't afford to pay for it."

Also managing a team of 7 for only £2k more is an absolute piss take!

Private sector OP, sounds like it's a different world. I'm lolling at the PP baffled this didn't just go on the company credit card

And don't listen to people who say colleagues don't want to socialise outside work - it's not always the case, and certainly in healthcare there's often more camaraderie