To think I shouldn't have had to chip in?

[feelingrobbed]

So basically, some dude at work has done long service. Really long time. Decades!

Good for him. Anyway my boss insisted on minimum £2.50 donation for his gift and chased us for it.
She also made us send the money to her bank account.

Am I being unreasonable to think she shouldn't have made us do this and also made it mandatory? Properly pissed off!!!

That's appalling of the manager. Really coercive, especially since you've only been there 3 months and have no protections against unfair dismissal.

And asking other employees for money for a gift thanking someone for their long service to the employer? I don't care if it was for my best friend, that's something for the damn company to buy, not their staff.

I disagree with the others about it not being a hill to die on.

If you’ve done it I would let it go. If not I would just take your manager aside & say I appreciate if you won’t put pressure on me to contribute. You’ve recently joined and don’t feel you have a close relationship with this colleague.

If she/he grumbles I would say it’s a cost of living crisis and people from all walks of life are struggling with mortgages and rents sky high. Childcare and travel costs all ridiculous. Not everyone is in a position to contribute and it should be voluntary without pressure.

I'm more concerned with the money being sent to her bank account. That doesn't sit right with me.

If it's a business expense the company should pay for it. It's it's a personal gift then it can't be mandatory.

It's not worth the fight over £2.50 but it's cheeky AF. If it becomes a routine just say you'd like to opt out of collections.

She made you send the £2.50 to her bank account?!

It's quite hard to get someone added as a trusted payee. Did she get everyone to add her as a trusted payee so they could all send her the £2.50 each?

Batshit! 😜

Anyway, if this was me I would just pay the £2.50. And as a pp said, it reminds me of a Friends episode too, where Ross refused to chip in for someone who was leaving the apartment block he was moving into. But he had moved in like, an hour ago. You have been at your workplace for 3 months.

Pick your battles @feelingrobbed Also £2.50 is fuck-all. Stop being so tight-fisted!

You've not been there long so it wouldn't be wise to approach your manager and explain that a DONATION is something given freely, that if you chose to donate to long-service dude then you would do so, and give an amount you chose to give and would do so privately.

Since you've only been there 3 months, come and vent here. After you've passed your probation, speak up. Others will thank you.

It would piss me off too.

It is 2.50

I see your CF and offer you this:

a friend was once asked to give a fiver at work for the manager's mum and dad's big anniversary (someone they'd never met!) .... They gave it They weren't the only one to donate either...many did! I think they were afraid as being seen as mean or in fear of being negatively targeted by the boss!
I shit thee not! Top that!

Absolutely.
It doesn't matter whether the amount is £2.50 or £250, it's the principle of the thing that's at fault.
Not everyone has a spare £2.50, seriously.
If boss wants to stump up for a gift, then that's on her; it's not up to team members to be steamrollered into contributing.

I dont contribute to any collections, but i wouldn'tdie on this hill if i were in your position. I think it's very cheeky of her to ask you as you've been there 3 months, plus the company usually buys the long service award.

you are lucky... we recently had a whip round at work for one of the 'favourites' as they were getting married.... the collectors suggested a minimum 'gift' of a tenner (if we didn't give a tenner we didn't get to put our names on the card!).

a bit cheeky to be honest.. there was no forcing though

No she couldn't have forced you to pay and you could have said no. But why be a miserable meanie.

"Sorry, boss, I've already bought my own gift for Bob" - and bung him a box of chocolates on the day.

I'd have ignored her demand request out of principle.

The amount is irrelevant. The fake "mandatory", and to the personal bank account are a step too far. Anyone that tells me shit like this is mandatory, is an automatic fuck off from me.

And before anyone calls me tight-fisted, I happily donate to collections and give to charity, on my own terms, just not when forced.

Yes you are 1000000% correct it's wrong, and the principle is wrong.
BUT
It's £2.50.
Life is too short to worry about that. If it turns out to be £2.50 every other week, different story.

Oh for God's sake, it's the price of a takeaway coffee. YABU.

Not round here! Maybe half a coffee

£2.50 is hardly going to break the bank

was going to ask.. where do you get a decent coffee nowadays for £2.50

I think it's a nice thing to do for someone and would not make such a fuss over £2.50.
If i wanted to go on a date with someone and they mentioned something like this to me, I'd never see them again, people being tight is a bad quality to me, wether you know them or not it's a nice thing to do and everyone else was asked to contribute too.

You can get a nice caramel latte at Greggs

Try not to let this take you off balance. The important thing to pay attention to is that you all showed gratitude to the man you chipped in for his gift. It’s understandable you have different expectations; you want the company to pay for a gift instead of asking its employees. (I’ve intuitively channeled this message. It’s what I do. Love it.) But what are the standards with this company? If there is a policy then you must respect that, unless you’re willing to challenge it. In this case, then let this situation be leverage for a conversation with someone in charge of policy. Otherwise, let it all go and look at it as an opportunity to show loyalty to someone that you respect. It will help you feel better in the long run.

i actually think its quite sad that the OP might be in a position where £2.50 really is a big deal? its all well and good, all of us calling people 'tight' and joking, but it makes you stop and think that actually, there are people out there where £2.50 IS a big deal.. and that really is upsetting

Greggs!!! no comment 😳

What sanctimonious BS.
First of all 'long service' by itself isn't something worthy of gratitude. Some people are basically unemployable , yet no manager has the balls to fire them.. so they end up staying around, being shuffled from department to department.

Secondly, OP doesn't even know the guy. Why would she respect him? She doesn't even know if he's actually competent at his job, or someone in the above mentioned category. Also, how exactly is 'she' supposed to be loyal to him.. It's him that's loyal to the company.

YANBU OP. All of us agreeing with you is probably going to make you feel better not some fluffy fake positive thinking