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”

A quick google suggests that less than 20% of uk employers provide no contributions to the Christmas do

If my boss arranged this, but didn't say, "it's £20 to go." Then I'd assume he was paying as a Christmas bonus. I think this is what's happened with you, sorry.

It's your own fault OP, you should have been clearer:

"Hey everyone, I've seen this show, would be great for a team night out. Tickets are £20. If you're interested let me know".

And then:

"Thanks all for signing up. Here are my bank details to transfer the £20 cost of your ticket. If you can no longer make it let me know."

If you've just said "hey everyone I'm going to book tickets for us to see a show, let me know if you can't make it" then that's not clear enough!

Just ask them for the £20! They can always pay after Xmas. If you were a hospital consultant I could perhaps somewhat understand their stance but considering your salaries are similar they're being totally unreasonable (and rude!)

If a boss had sent the message I would (in their position) have clarified costs up front before asking for confirmation: not unreasonable staff might think it a treat?

does your banking app facilitate payment requests?
my (forrin) banking app does. I just enter the amount and reference and the banking app lets me chose between email or text message.

So you need to group message and remind everyone that payment for the theatre trip is due now and that you are looking forward to seeing them all. Don't be surprised if you get people cancelling left and right though.

Having to manage ANYONE on 25k is a piss take 😆

At Christmas and other times of year, when boss pays for things usually they either do it out their own pocket or expense it to the company as a team /staff event. Very unlikely that a team would decide to go out with the boss and pay for themselves. If anything they would sit it out and spend the money on something they chose...its not for them to pay for team building/bonding activities.

It really depends OP, I work in the private sector and would have assumed my boss was paying for us, but then we often have been on paid for 'team building' trips etc.

I would also assume the company was paying for it and my boss would be expensing it.

In this circumstance there is no way I'd assume this was a freebie & if in doubt I'd ask. I'd put an email around saying can those who have agreed to go to the show please ensure the cost of £20 per ticket is forwarded to me ASAP, thanks.

I would have assumed a Christmas treat fr the boss unless it was made clear otherwise

She can’t ask for the £20 if she didn’t make it clear that this was the cost when she booked it.

I've changed my mind. They are cf.

I thought there must be a big income difference.

I would assume it was a work do and boss paid, unless told otherwise.

Some would not necessarily go to something like that if they were paying for it.

They might have taxis to pay for too on top.

I think the wage thing is a red herring. OP still needs to make it clear what the cost is to the individual when booking these things. The staff could just think she’s putting it through on expenses.

It is her mistake sadly.

I’d expect my boss to send an email round to everyone saying here are my bank details. I wouldn’t sit quietly waiting for payment.

You also should’ve made the price clear and that they need to pay when you first suggested it.

Have you given them details to transfer the money to? If so, they must know you expect them to pay. If not, how would they transfer the money, they must be waiting for you to ask?

You say you assume they know the cost, but why? Don't theatre tickets normally carry depending on where sitting, if group discount etc? I'd expect the person who books to confirm cost

In our workplace the cost and deadline for paying would always be mentioned in the invitation email, and not usually booked until deadline passed and payments in. It sounds like you might just have arranged this in a slightly confused way. However, definitely no one should assume a manager on only slightly more money in a public sector organisation would be paying so just ask them now, let them know where to transfer money to etc

Would've assumed its a gift from work. In place of Xmas nights out etc which they'd normally pay for drinks etc on. Especially if you organised and booked.

I don't think the paying your way thing is the issue here at all, it's the lack of clarity. Have you actually reminded people to pay? Asked if they want you bank details or cash on the day/before? Has any asked or spoken about it since? It's very easy to forget things during the busy run up to Christmas, you could be assuming they won't pay while they are all waiting for information. The saying thanks thing is something I wouldn't expect until after.

What world do you inhabit?

Millions of public sector workers pay to socialise together.

Catch a grip.

I'm NHS and would never have expected it to be paid for. On the odd occasion that we've had a bung towards the Christmas party it is made absolutely clear what a massive favour they're doing us and how generous the hospital has been

(My line manager buys me a nice bottle of something at Christmas and I always, always say thank you.)

Every company I've ever been at has paid for work dos.

If a boss organised a theatre trip, I'd never imagine that they were expecting us to pay. I imagine far less people would have attended if you'd made it clear they had to pay

You needed to make your expectations clear from the beginning. When making the arrangements you should have told them the price of the ticket and asked for it to be paid to you by a certain date. You can’t ‘be sure’ they’d be aware of the cost of the ticket or ‘expect’ them to transfer the cash if you haven’t explicitly asked them to.
You should have provided clear instructions from the off.