To expect staff to keep this day free, even if not contracted to work?

[Newyeargrinch]

Senior manager in a small business that has just paid out a considerable amount of money to sponsor a local event towards the end of the year (think Xmas fair). This could potentially bring in a lot of good publicity and business for us. The success of the event depends on having plenty of staff present to represent us. The event is on a Saturday. Some staff work Saturday anyway, some alternate Saturdays. Others are weekday only, some full time, others part time. I know full well that if we asked for volunteers or left until nearer the time, certain staff would come up with reasons why they couldn't help. Therefore an email has gone out to all staff, informing them of the date and saying we expect them to keep it free to attend this event (they will get an extra day off in lieu). Several staff replied to say they didn't know their plans that far ahead as yet but, if free, would be happy to help. We've replied that, if they have nothing planned, they can keep the day free and will be expected to help.

It has been fed back that many staff are unhappy and say that we cannot dictate what they do with their spare time.

I think it's a small ask, they've had 10 months notice and it could bring a lot of extra business our way, ultimately benefiting them!

AIBU?

What plans have you made for child care and pet care? Unless it’s an event where children are invited then employees will need to factor that in. Not all employees will be able to sort childcare even 10 months in advance as nursery and school are closed on a Saturday. It’s also peak time for school or activity Christmas events people won’t know about until nearer time.

I might say that I was going to tell management to fuck off with that idea while talking to a friend. What I actually mean is I’ll use professional language to tell them clearly that I won’t be doing the thing. I think that’s what posters here mean too…

It would be a no from me.
Why can’t you tell the people who usually work Saturdays to do it and if you need more than that, you’ll have to employ new people to work that day one off.

It's massively different when it's your own business.
As many have said who is paying for Saturday child care and a day off in the week when childcare is already paid

@Branleuse - you can only ‘just roster people on’ if they are contracted either to work that day, or if it is in their contract that they may be expected to work overtime/days outside their contracted days.

If the OP’s staff are not contracted to work Saturdays, even occasionally, or the odd extra day/hours, they can’t just roster them on, surely?

Yup exactly this !

Week-ends in December are stupidly busy and there are only 3 of them before Xmas.

OP, your mistake was to book this for December.

And not to offer any incentive for staff to work.

Incidently, how will the staff benefit from this in the long term? You don't say.

@Newyeargrinch

Have you framed this 'opportunity' to your staff as you have in the OP?

If so you really need to get your emotional intelligence levels up and maybe take a large dose of humility and admit you have handled this badly.

You should have opened with a plea for help and explicitly acknowledged that you realised this was a huge, huge ask.

There will be people who will be able to help and those who will absolutely not be able to. There will be a load of people in the middle who are genuine 'don't knows' - it's Christmas after all - you've probably really pissed that group off

I'm a small business owner too. I would NEVER put expectations on staff to volunteer their time. Way to alienate your team.

Have a meeting.
Request generosity of staff to attend special date but you also need to give them a reward of extra pay, a clown, Santa bearing gifts and child care for the children who have no option but to accompany their parent to work for the whole day. Inform your staff about how beneficial the day could be for their own security of work long term.
Have the Office Christmas Party carry on from the day.

Get them on board and with you, Ask for ideas.

Thank god I’m self-employed, with clients who book by the hour, so I can control my working hours completely. A Saturday in December, there’s a good chance I’ll be racing btw - I don’t know the dates that far in advance but I’d be mightily pissed off if my work tried on what you’re trying. I’d be job hunting right now if I worked for you - this sort of bullshit is normally a sign of a crap work culture and lack of respect for staff more generally IME.

Why don’t you pay them to work overtime?

Not everyone has a partner to just have the children or the partner may work Saturday eg if they are in retail they will be unable to book leave on a Saturday in December.
My dc will hopefully be away at Uni - early December will be pick up but I won’t know until August where she is going and dates. I won’t commit to something then just in case.

People are rightly not going to say they’ll work 10 months in advance that close to Christmas. You’re asking them to potentially put work before their families. You are replaceable at work, you are not replaceable to your family.

@Newyeargrinch Are those committing to a Saturday close to Christmas guaranteed to be in their roles by then?
If so, I could imagine a queue outside your door, if they remain on standard notice periods from now to then, unless you're offering double-time, it's not sounding like a Christmas bonus.
With the caveat that if you've treated ANYONE badly in the business in the past two or three years, you will be trying to push water uphill, you could add some additional benefit like identifiable vouchers handed out by staff, the three people with the biggest uptake winning a cash prize if you want to get engagement.

I guess they have different priorities from senior management? Like their families, friends, hobbies, pets etc.

You haven't been clear how exactly this fair is going to benefit the staff and I guess they're not seeing it either.

You do get single parents exist right?

Of course I do.......but not everyone objecting to this is a single parent.

Or parents where one normally works weekends so cant just suddenly drop everything to do childcare

Again, do you think everyone objecting to this has a partner who works weekends. I doubt it.

Ive got to love the utter privilege of saying "its not that big a deal, the DH can just have the children"

Yes, I am in a privilege position to be able to say this. Again, so are many others.

I can just imagine now what my widowed colleague who is also caring for two elderly parents would say if someone like you was as flippant to her about a situation like this

I'm not being flippant at all.

I fully understand that weekend work is a challenge for some people and this absolutely needs to be taken into account.

But most of the comments on this thread are not from people in this situation, they are from people who seem to think it's acceptable to tell their employer to 'fuck off'. For many, many people weekend work or being asked to work ONE Saturday TEN months in advance is not that big a deal.

It's one day......

I think it's a small ask, they've had 10 months notice and it could bring a lot of extra business our way, ultimately benefiting them!

Have you considered offering them (and bear with me here, this is going to be a radical suggestion)... actual cash money? Say, double-time? As an entrepreneur, surely you appreciate the need to speculate to accumulate? Or is "could bring a lot of extra business our way" just handwaving?

I'm sure when you proposed that they'll receive double pay and that you only need x number of staff, your little problem will be solved.

You can thank me later.

Not everyone’s lives are that simple and easy.

There is also the principle of a work place thinking they are entitled to any/all of your time as it suits them.

I would be happy to volunteer to work a weekend event for time back in lieu but like hell would I be so happy to do so if I was told I had to.

How do people manage to run a business without understanding of basic employment law?

By all means tell all your staff who are contracted to work weekends that they will need to work this specific weekend in advance. If they usually work a Saturday anyway you're only giving then advance notice it will be this particular Saturday.

But if your weekday staff have a weekday contract then no you can't make them work Saturdays, as a one off or not! You can ask them to volunteer to do it but unless you give them a better incentive than a random day in the middle of the week off in lieu (and don't describe it as an "extra" day unless you are actually giving them 2 days off) don't be amazed if most of them don't!

I wouldn't offer time and a half op, normal pay, a voucher and a day off another time would be a good incentive. If possible could people do half day each? So a morning crew and an afternoon crew?

But most of the comments on this thread are not from people in this situation

Im confused, where are the bios of the posters telling you what their personal situations are?