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”

It has happened. It was last Sunday.

Sadly, your fault for not making the arrangements clear from the outset.

To be honest a boss offering... I think anyone in there right mind would think of this as a works night out so therefore the boss/company to pay.

If you did not intend for this it should have been made very clear at the start.

I think you needed to be clearer when you booked. They may well assume work paid for it.
In future if organising anything be clear the cost per person is £x and needs to be paid to x by 20/11 etc. Then people can make an informed decision to come or not.
I don’t think you can ask for money now.

Honestly, it was entirely your own fault. And a visit to the theatre on a Sunday night a couple of weeks before Christmas? I'm surprised anyone went!

On a salary of £25k I'm not surprised you're annoyed, I would be too but I think you have gone too far since you barely earn above what they do. There really is no need for presents at all.

So have you given all of them the individual gifts yet or not?

It's already happened.

I would definitely have assumed a treat - have never had to put my hand in my pocket on a works night out! Across various office jobs (private sector) and when I was a waitress.

How did you expect people to pay? Wouldn’t you give people your bank details at the time of booking? Most people don’t pay with cash nowadays.

So it's been and gone? You're not their boss surely? Don't you have managers? I've worked with seniors and know they don't get much more wage. I wouldn't do it for a king's ransom.

They're cfers

Just send a message:

Hope everyone had a great night and enjoyed the show.

For those who haven’t yet paid, please can you transfer £20 to account number 1000865 sort code 30-40-50.

Many thanks
op

(Imply others have paid and they won’t question it)

No it's just whatever is the norm for your workplace.

Abiding by corporate norms doesn't make you "an entitled scrounger."

If you work for a big corporation or somewhere where it's the norm for Christmas events to be paid for by the company (which is very very normal - I've never heard of employees having to pay for their own Christmas party before) then of course you're not going to psychically know to dig your wallet out.

My old company organised everything and paid for taxis home for everyone as standard, I wouldn't even know who to pay even if I wanted to.

At £20 I'd have also thought it was a gift, like the equivalent of a staff dinner

I don't think you can do this to people who've already been to the show, assumed it was paid for, and are on £23K a year - just before Christmas. I know that's hard on the OP but it sounds like everyone thought this was covered, seeing as not one of them questioned it.

God, please don't do this.

Many people may not have agreed to go if they knew they'd have to pay for it.

Its nhs.... don't even get free tea

This.

send the message now to the team and get your money back from them all. In future, be clear and upfront on costs - and get the money upfront!!

When I was the boss any trips/parties like that was paid by the head company.

Why would you think they would assume they are paying for a Xmas work outing booked by the boss?

At my work they always make it clear from the outset if a social event is to be 'self-funded' and say how much it costs if so. If you didn't mention the cost when informing people about it then yes, it will be natural to assume it's on the house.

If you want a pissed off team by all means send that message. You’re the boss. You should have communicated this better. I’m sure many wouldn’t have agreed to come if they had known they would have to pay for it. On a Sunday night before Christmas..

Lesson learnt

Sorry but do you have direct line management responsibility for these people? Responsible for their appraisals etc?

As for demanding people pay, if you did not clearly specified payment in advance you cannot force them to pay after the fact. It doesn't sound like anyone entered into an agreement of owing this money.

Its an expensive mistake but that doesn't mean you have legal recourse to back charge people for something you booked without clarifying payment terms. It was not a loan.

It's all a bit late in the day now if the event has been and gone.
They assumed it was paid for, you haven't been clear with them and got the money up front. You either bite the bullet and ask now or you write it off. Take it as a lesson learned and don't offer to book anything in the future.

I should have elaborated on that point, yes, you may like your colleagues but it is not very sociable for a Christmas party and as it is with the boss and the price suggests some kind of local panto, as a colleague I would think it was a joke, almost going to see it ironically and therefore certainly can see why they would think they were not paying. If it was the local NCT group and you were taking children in that context you'd definitely know you were paying as not going ironically. Don't adults want element of food, drink and entertainment but entertainment where you can speak to each other? Equally, you may like your colleagues but I don't know many people who are best buddies with their boss despite what you may think when you are knocking back the Daiquiris with them!