To think that if a workplace requires you to wear a poppy they should supply one?

[HaveIGoneMadHere]

Basically just that. My work group chat have had a text from our manager this morning to say that if we don’t have a poppy by the end of the day we could face disciplinary action. I don’t tend to carry cash with me and have no way of getting change as I’m now on my way to work. Would I be unreasonable to go back and ask them to supply one for me?

I have nothing against wearing the poppy, I just don’t tend to carry cash with me and don’t go to places where they’re sold that frequently. I’ve not seen a single poppy box yet this year.

Point taken, but I would argue that those on the - um - mainland who choose not to wear a poppy due to their unwillingness to support the British army in its current guise, are very much making a political statement. They can of course make this choice while still respectfully remembering those who participated in the two world wars.

I would argue that those on the - um - mainland who choose not to wear a poppy due to their unwillingness to support the British army in its current guise, are very much making a political statement.

Or it fell off seconds before you inspected them.

There is a QR code on the poppy box to enable payment by card.

Personally I wear the white poppy because it remembers those who fought on all sides and also civilians who have died but I've previously worn it as well as a red one or have worn just a red one. Whatever people choose to wear or not wear is basically not my business.

But the thing I have noticed in recent years is the increased enforced nature of wearing a red one - obviously particularly if you are a politician or appearing on TV in literally any capacity whatsoever but now also judgement if you are just Joe Bloggs and don't have one. At what point does enforced poppy wearing become meaningless rather than a personal act of remembrance ?

Is this even legal? Do you wear a uniform normally? If it's not in any dress code you were given...

I work in HR I'm horrified but this
Threatening disciplinary over this is outrageous over reach regardless 0f what people's views on poppy's are

If they going to mandate it they should pay for them.

Personally i give the kids money to get poppies or merch at school, I donate where I see a seller but i rarely remember to wear one - not wearing one doesn't mean you don't support or donate, doesn't mean you don't reflect on the sacrifices made either.

When did performative poppy wearing start?

Put in an expense claim? You were given so short notice that you had to buy this very expensive poppy and that is your manager's fault.

I agree totally with this - and I am a poppy seller for the RBL

"Poppies were never meant to be a symbol of your politics. They are just a "I remember, and thank you"."

Not really because to buy one you have to give money to the British Legion, which takes a particular stance on wars and army.

How bizarre to threaten this

Do you have an HR OP? If so I’d forward them them a screenshot of the message.

Your manager is on very thin ground with this one.

Nobody "should" be buying or wearing a poppy. Fair enough if someone wants to buy/wear one not everyone does.

I'm Irish so hell would freeze over before I would donate to a charity that supports the perpetrators of Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy etc

The soldiers may not have had a choice in where they were sent but they certainly had a choice before committing atrocities such as Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday.

Came here to write pretty much that.

They can't force you to wear it...

I am anti war, but have worn it at work where I would have caused disrespect by not wearing it because I didn't mind.

It is a sign of respect for those who lost their lives and loved ones, that's how I think of it.

However some people are very anti war or simply don't want to wear it for whatever reason - no one should be intimidated into buying one.

Stand your ground x

I'd refuse purely because of the demand. I'd love to see them take disciplinary action on that, assuming it's not a contractural requirement or in your uniform policy?

I've just bought some white poppies online. I'd be wearing a white one, it's still a poppy. 🤍

Asking or expecting an Irish person to wear one in Britain is just as unreasonable as asking/expecting it in NI.

Or what about British people who disagree with the atrocities committed by the British army? Should they be required to wear one just because they live in Britain?

If they want you to wear it, they supply it, simple as.

Manager being a bit silly throwing around threats of disciplinary, think they might need to get some more management training under their belts.

You have the freedom not to wear a poppy.

I wouldn’t, actually. I budget to the penny.

The serving personnel I know are embarrassed by people like you. Please don't presume to speak on their behalf like that ever again.

If work demands that you wear a poppy, then they should provide it.
Having said that, as a primary school teacher, I'm expected to purchase a costume twice a year for hallowe'en and world book week. Dressing up is compulsory but school refuse to help fund it.

In fairness, you don't have to buy a costume. You could cobble something together from stuff you already have.

Everyone is free to their own beliefs and free to express them how they choose. This freedom is what many service men, women and animals gave their lives for. I think that it would be very wrong of your company to enforce the wearing of the poppy, OP.

On a personal level, it feels that wearing a poppy has become much more political now, which is sad. I wear a poppy every year because I like to remember - in a very small way - the people that made a sacrifice so that I would have the freedoms that I do. In my youth I visited one of the large cemeteries from World War 1. Many of the beautifully maintained graves had no names and were simply marked 'known to God' because the young men that had died were so mutilated that they could not be identified. I want to remember these young men, and the sacrifices that they made. How we remember them is down to the individual.