To think we shouldn't have to work the day before Christmas Eve?

[blinddoorshyt]

I work in a bathroom shop.
We are closed over Christmas and were lead to believe we broke up on the 22nd
Turns out now we don't
On the 23rd we have to travel to Manchester (3 hours each way ) to have a buffet and games with the company owner.
We have to listen to a presentation on how the company's done this year.
If we don't go we will have a day deducted from our salary.
It's the day before Christmas Eve and we have to drive to Manchester to have picky food with the owner and play Christmas games.
Aibu to think it's ridiculous?
And we have been repeatedly told if we don't go we won't get paid and it will halt any progression in the company !

I agree it's the cost that's the issue to me here

If some of the team are paid minimum wage or only slightly over it then surely the extra six hours needed to attend, plus the travel expenses, mean they are earning significantly less than minimum wage for that day which is illegal? Or does the travel time not count even if it is required?

Except the circumstances are not exceptional and it is not a business requirement, which in any case has to be reasonable

That’s terrible, 23rd is probably the worst travel day aswell.

6 hours of travel seems unreasonable. Are you in a union? They can often be useful to raise a challenge for the organisation without you having to do it.

Well what will they do if you're not there at 9am.
I don't know why you just don't take it unpaid and not go. You don't want to so just say you'll take it unpaid. Simple.

Christmas eve isn't a bank holiday.

But it's a shitty joke on part of the owner to make staff do this due to travel being so tricky on Christmas eve.

It's up to the business what they see as essential and expected

It's not Christmas Eve , it's the 23rd

Focus on the cost involved

Sounds like a pain in the arse and waste of time. They could have done it on one of the days before.

I work in the nhs and every Xmas is a lottery as to who gets which days off. It’s not great but it’s what I signed up to. Effectively berating the OP for working in retail instead of a hospital is crazy! Our shifts are irrelevant here.

It is like when women mention a wealthy ex for example only giving them £100 a week using dishonest means to hide their income. And posters jump in to say, ‘oh you should be grateful as I only get £7 a month. It is such a stupid argument.

The boss is wrong here. The short notice alone would annoy me. Many people have evening plans for the 23rd already.

OP if you really have to go, can you car-share with anyone at least part of the way?

And do you really want progression in this company anyway…

@Poppybob You chose to work in a field that you knew, before going into it, would require Christmas working. You get zero sympathy from me for that, and frankly, I despise reading these types of posts, bleating on as if you're hard done by for doing what you specifically signed up to do.

OP, however, was told at the shop would close on the 20th, and had the expectation that she would have the time off from then until whenever it opened again.

She is now being told that she has to travel 6 hours (right before Xmas so busy) to attend what amounts to forced fun and pay for the privilege as they won't reimburse her.

Are you seriously saying you'd be more than happy to spend however much it costs in fuel-during the most expensive time of year-to attend a work function knowing you won't get a penny of it back?

Crawl back up your managers arsehole-it's getting cold.

Mad Friday here

Not much sympathy. Sorry

This is the unreasonable part. They shouldn't be making you travel outside your working hours when there is no actual business need.

YABVU

YANBU. It's not the same as a day at work, because it's fucking pointless and the drive sounds miserable. I'd be annoyed too, and I say that as someone who is working that day and Christmas Eve.

We worked in retail, and at Christmas had Christmas day and Ny day off. Didn't mind as we made all oir profit for the year in December. However, I used to get really peed off with customers wingeing that they only got 2 weeks off, and all they were going to do, so I have no sympathy whatsoever.

The biggest meal over Christmas the French traditionally eat is on Christmas Eve. The shopping malls where I live are open till about 6pm Christmas Eve, poor shop assistants, there is no bank holiday on the 26 (Boxing Day). Only one day off, Christmas Day, and they work all the Sundays in December.

expecting you to drive 3 hours to get there for 9 and drive 3 hours back on the same day is unreasonable and frankly dangerous.
also the day before Christmas eve traffic getting out of Manchester will be an absolute shit show. I have to travel for work but wouldn’t be expected to do that type of journey there and back in a day. Probably would get a hotel the night before although that’s quite unreasonable so close to Christmas for something non critical.

I had to work on Xmas eve and if we were lucky we could go home around 3.30 instead of 5.30, it was just just a normal working day for us and if you didn’t like it you could book a day off. Book the day off or suck it up

Have you posted before about having to travel around regions for company updates and presentations? If so, it seems that attending these updates with a meal/Christmas fun tacked on is part and parcel of the job.

That’s hardly unusual in lots of lines of work. I do think they should pay your travel costs. And I also think that unless they rotate it so that for some updates you don’t travel (because it’s in your region) they should pay overtime.

You’re annoyed you aren’t getting a free day of annual leave?

Some of us have to work all of Christmas so suck it up and stop whinging .

That isn't the point. She was told the last day was the 22nd, that has now been changed to a 6hr round trip on the 23rd at the op's expense. Totally unreasonable.

What is the point of this? It's not 'fun' for starters so no 'fun' on the 'fun-day' will be had, and I should think it would decrease motivation, not increase it.

It's not like working in the NHS on one of these days which would have value, or as you say, even opening the shop and serving customers.

It's pointless and really just a power play by the owner- you all have to come here at an inconvenient time to do something rubbish because I say so, even though the sensible thing would be to give those employees a one day extra break.

I hate companies and managers like this and they don't tend to be good at retaining staff either, except in recessions where everyone hates them but has to jump.

Honestly, I'd be 'ill' on that day anyway, I would self-certify with flu, Covid or a winter virus that prevents you getting on the train. Everyone will have forgotten by January.