EVERYONE taking advantage of my staff discount

[LadyGarcia]

I work for a luxury British brand, and we receive a very generous staff discount. When I first joined the company, I kept this discount between me, my mum, sisters, and sister-in-law. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law couldn't keep it quiet and told her sisters. Soon enough, I started receiving shopping lists from them (SILs sisters) with all the things they wanted to buy using my staff discount, this is ongoing and I still get requests from them every now and again - just to add instead of asking me directly, they go through my sister-in-law, which is frustrating and rude.

My mum nor my sisters have ever asked me to use my discount - probably because they know anything I gift them will be from work, haha!

With my sister-in-law's loose lips, she let it slip to my cousin one day who then asked to use it, so I agreed because it was a present for her daughter. Recently, this cousin and her sister who are travelling abroad soon, asked me separately to use my discount so they could buy gifts for their friends. This really irritates me.

I'm sick a tired of people wanting to use my discount and I'm angry at my SIL for telling everyone about the discount and I get nothing in return from anyone for it.

Am I being unreasonable?

This.
Although I do chuckle when I remember the time a new starter at my old job somehow found out that my DD had a weekend job at Argos and presented me with a list of Christmas toys she wanted my DD to use her staff discount on. I had literally said hello to this woman ONCE.
The look of absolute confusion on her face when I told her no was priceless.

How haven’t you been caught OP?
Surely this is against your company policy…

Just say it’s been flagged with management you’re using your discount too much so you’re now being monitored.

Ultimate responsibility for this lies with you @LadyGarcia

These people will all disappear into the woodwork if you lose your job over this. You don't owe them anything. Stop doing it.

"Sorry I can't share anymore it's immediate family only and they've really clamped down on the checks"

People have the right to ask you for discount.

Whether you give it to them is another matter.

BIL works for a large British company (not luxury) and he's definitely had to sack people for misuse of staff discount.
However you can just say no to people!

Well they should be aware of it. You can't track people without telling them. It should be transparent - " we have a fair use policy and if we find you are abusing it, there will be disciplinary consequences".

Any employment tribunal would find against the employer if they simply did this without telling anyone they were doing it. Any IT department tells people their email/web usage etc can be monitored and this is no different,

Of course he has, it's something that comes up in conversation all the time.

Sigh.

.... because you are letting them.
Just. Say. No. You're an adult.

Who shit on your cornflakes this morning?!

It's a perfectly normal conversation when someone works in retail management!

I work for a British luxury brand with a hefty discount, and we are capped at how much value we can get in discounted purchases. It's 'frowned upon' but not banned to use it for anyone other than close family/best friends. We then also get a value in 'free' product which is done via a gift card system, and is intended just for us.

Remember 'no sorry, I can't do it this time' is an ok answer.

I’ve ticked YABU because you just need to say NO. What’s the big deal about that? You don’t even know some of these people? Would they go out of their way for you? Stop being a doormat and say no, to everyone.

I'd be careful and not over use it, so say there is a fixed maximum amount or something. We get a good staff discount on own brand goods at work(nothing luxury, just supermarket). They are very strict with it and we had a form to sigm recently saying noone else can use it or you will be fired, many people have already been fired over it. They are saying If too many people keep abusing it, they will stop it. I'd be awful if it was stopped just cause people are too greedy.

You must say no. I would expect it’s tracked to a degree and no one can be buying this much for personal usage so I wouldn’t be surprised if you got pulled up if it carried on. I imagine there’s something in your contract about abusing it and you could be sacked

Most brands only allow a certain amount to be spent using staff discount. Just say the rules have changed.

They're not worried about being cheeky fuckers so don't worry about telling them you can't do it any more - with immediate effect

Just say no more. You need to tell them that you will lose your discount, quite rightly in my opinion, if you continue to misuse it.

I expect the poster meant " they are unaware of it" because they didn't bother reading their employment terms properly and haven't twigged that their usage is quite legitimately being monitored- not that they were never told it would be monitored.

Why do you agree? Just say no, not doing it.

I second this and just say they’ve cracked down on the discounting.

A lot of large companies have a friends and family discount they might be able to access instead.

I'm guessing that the staff discount is only applicable when you're the one doing the buying and not by the individual family members/friends of family, so you'll just have to hoike up your big girl pants there and tell them that it's no longer possible.
Rule have changed. Your employer is cutting back on the volumes that staff can buy at a discount but it's not possible.

"No, sorry, no can do. Not possible anymore."

That's all you have to say, but you do have to say it.

What is your company policy for staff discounts?

We can buy products (with a monthly limit) but we are not allowed to buy for others or sell to others. Gross misconduct if we do. We can gift/give away if we purchased but cannot accept money for them.

If your company policy does not allow widespread use just tell your whole family you cannot do it anymore as they are cracking down on it and it is clear it your purchasing is not for personal use only.

Don't worry, they are made fully aware, my point is they choose not to be aware. It's in the employee handbook (which employees sign as 'read and understood'), it's spoke about in length at induction and communicated regularly through meetings/emails. I don't know what to tell you, people either don't pay attention or 'forget'. Or try to plead ignorance?