Farewell gift from work - best and worst

[Flashbackcringe]

Name changed as outing but what's the best/worst/cringe farewell gift you've received or contributed to for a work farewell?

Light hearted - hugs to those who haven't received, etc. Posting here for traffic.

Mine? Colleague worked at the place for 3 months and they asked for (and we duly delivered) gift voucher for the fancy bra shop next door 😆

This is a bit off-piste but I worked in a school around 15 years ago, just for a year temporary. At the end of the year, I left alongside a woman who had been there about 30 years, let’s call her Anna, but the head teacher had really turned on her and basically pushed her out, made her last year or so living hell.
No formal collection was done for us, but a couple of nights before our last day, we went out for tea after work with a bunch of staff who we got on well with, we’d all clubbed together to buy Anna a handbag, and they bought me some lovey flowers and wine. It was a really nice evening.
Anyway fast forward two days to our final day, and final assembly, where the head teacher wanted to do a bit of a leaving fuss for Anna. She went around all the classrooms asking who had done a collection for Anna and who had her gift, as she wanted to take it to present it to Anna in the assembly. One of the other teachers told her we’d already given Anna her gift at the pub the other night. I’ll just throw in here as well that the head teacher hasn’t contributed to Anna’s gift, or mine. Apparently the head was furious, saying “well what am I supposed to present her with in assembly? This is mortifying!” and the teacher she was talking to awkwardly pointed out that they didn’t realise that was the heads intentions, the collection had been done by the teachers and they wanted to give it to Anna in a personal setting, they hadn’t realised the head was going to make a fuss of her in assembly etc. Anyway in the end, the head went in another teachers room, saw a lovely bouquet of flowers that one of the pupils had bought (it was last day of the year so children often bring gifts for their teacher) and demanded she take the flowers and present them to Anna in assembly.
The whole thing was just a mess, she got Anna up in assembly and gave her the flowers that were meant to be for someone else, she said loads of fake lovely words about her, even though everyone knew she had treated her horribly over the last year and essentially pushed her out of her job. And even though I’d been there a year and it was my last day too, there was no mention of me whatsoever 🤣

I left my job almost 2 years ago. My team gave me a £500 John Lewis gift card. There were only 12 of them, so I thought it was really generous. I was also given several boxes of champagne and bunches of flowers. It was lovely.

The best bit by far was the card. The things people had written made me cry. And laugh - they’d printed out and stuck in some of my WhatsApp messages.

that’s a great gift

30 years ago I left my job in a nursing home, at 30wks pregnant with my first baby. ( lots of heavy lifting and no hoists then!) Money was tight. I was presented with....all brand new.... a beautiful moses basket, bedding, vests, nappies, baby bath and wash stuff, 10 gorgeous unisex outfits, hand knitted shawls and cardigans, hats, rattles, flowers, chocolates and much more! I was so overwhelmed and delighted and grateful. My colleagues and the management were amazing.

Worst a £50 Marks and Spencer gift card that had already been used - not a mistake, person who was responsible for buying it was a gambling addict and had spent the money .

Best was a hamper of items to take when I was emigrating, each person chose something that was of significance to us both. It was lovely.

Best was a suitcase when i was leaving my job to go and work abroad. Worst was a big fat zero from a company i’d worked at for 7 years, was really well known there by everyone and was usually the person instrumental in organising other people’s leaving, birthday, milestone gifts etc. Can you tell i’m still annoyed 🤣

When I retired, I was surprised that I got a few (very nice) individual gifts from some colleagues which were separate from the staff collection.

It used to be that when someone retired, they got a cheque. Our new HT had apparently decreed that it had to be a gift voucher - from Debenham's - and that was why some colleagues had opted to buy individual gifts.

I had intended to use my cheque to buy a piece of jewellery to the amount. D's didn't have anything that I liked.

I saw something in the press that made me realise that D's was going under. There was really nothing in the shop that I wanted or clothes that would have suited. I didn't want to buy household goods as my retirement gift. I used the gift voucher to buy my favourite Clarin's face cream etc and then I bought myself a bracelet elsewhere, using the money that I would have spent on the face cream etc.

One place I worked one of the seniors was leaving - he had a reputation for being mean and forever borrowing and not returning small items and never having cash or card for collections. His collection from about 40 odd people totalled about £12.

My best vouchers for the Ivy Asia and Scamp & Dude, same company, we’re lovely to work for and know I could go back at any time. Actually left for a career break so wasn’t moving on.

Worse, nothing from a firm I’d worked for, for 10 years and then tried to screw me over when I was on maternity leave. Very awkward as my then DP, now DH was also working there at the time.

My best- a gold bracelet and silver earrings. Not exactly my style and they lived in a drawer for years until I was a bit strapped for cash and sold them when gold and silver prices were high.

The worst - Bath salts. At the time I was the longest serving member of staff on the team.

You’d never get away with this now, but my first job after graduation was for a well known high street retailers Head office (Buying team), and when I left (aged 23 or 24) amongst other gifts my team gave me a pocket sized vibrator, presented in front of the whole menswear department 🙈

Worst one was my husband's first job out of uni in recruitment. They fired him after 3 months as he wasn't hitting their targets, but gave him an iron and an ironing board as a hilarious leaving present (clearly trying to make a point). Nasty and unnecessary.

My last job.... I only worked there 2 years, turned a global multi million pound project around so that it would finish 3 years ahead of schedule. Regularly worked 10 to 12 hour days 7 days a week for months on end.
Ended up leaving due to total burnout and deteriorating health.
On my final day of work my boss came down to London and 3 people from his other team attended (who I only knew in passing) I paid for my own lunch and at the end got handed a leaving gift and card. Gift was a novelty mug and the card was signed by two people! Honestly I would have been less insulted if they hadn't bothered!

My best was a free meal for me and a friend at a very nice restaurant (owned by the family giving the gift).
Worst was my husband who only got a £20 Amazon voucher from the whole company after working there for ten years including head of department. Shocking.

I made someone a big leaving cake once, sort of expecting them to share it with the team, and she took it all home with her!

A bit different, but something I’ve never come across previously. DH is colocated with a particular client once a week, has been for about 3 years. DH recently had a milestone birthday - client gave him 2 really thoughtful presents! One jokey (a lunch box version of his van) and one much pricier and very thoughtful
(Replica winner’s jersey from the Tour de France the year he was born; he is a lifelong road cyclist).

When I retired from the NHS (but returned part time) after nearly 30 years in the dept I was overwhelmed by people's generosity. I got a big bouquet of flowers, afternoon tea for 2, lovely earrings, expensive hand cream but best of all vouchers for my local garden centre (over £200). I cried, needless to say. My immediate team also brought in food & decorated the staff room & my desk. The only thing I hated was having to wear the I've retired sash!

Not for me, but I remember a whip-round for a particularly unpleasant employee (in a company of about 50 people) coming back with a single fiver and some coppers.

Obviously we couldn't give it to her, so it was put to one side in one of the directors offices until he could get to a cash point and top it up....

...until his assistant saw it and put it on the woman's desk 😭

Not leaving but going on maternity, they spent over £300 on baby items and decorated the communal space like you would a baby shower, I was so grateful

Best was a massive basket of baby products when going on maternity leave - we did the same for every colleague, but it was still a surprise exactly what you'd get, and they filled my whole car - baby bouncer, high chair, nappies, blankets, toys, everything!

Worst wasn't for me but for a colleague, only moving teams, but my boss said he'd sort a present if I did the card (did a personalised Moonpig one). He forgot and had to nip to Tesco's for a cheap box of Roses! I felt so embarrassed!

I got £100 JL voucher and… £150 space NK voucher! My colleagues knew me well! 😆

Did you contact the hotel? I am sure they’d have understood

How much had they collected @julietteoubliette ?!

I worked there for 10 years and left to have a baby. I got a plate with the babies details on it. Colleagues who had babies got car seats or carry cots. The difference? After 11 years of infertility and failed ivf, I was adopting a beautiful 4 week old baby baby.

Our 'lovely' manager also sent a beautifull teddy bear to all my colleagues when their babies were born. My son didn't get one of those either. Thirty six years on it still brings me to tears.

Worst: a colleague was given earrings but the horrible manager who chose them hadn’t checked she had pierced ears. ‘Oh well, you can return them.’

No. You can’t return earrings.