To not want to go to a meeting that starts at 5pm on 24th December?

[dilemma456]

Message withdrawn

YANBU! What's the matter with him????

Tell him no. What a tosser!

Sounds like something that can be easily rescheduled. Do you normally finish at 5? What an insensitive twat/moron/scrooge to organise a meeting at that time! On xmas eve the boss makes a fried breakfast round our way!

When do you normally finish work?

Has your boss realised it's Christmas eve? I bet it's a mistake - surely they'd want to go home on time too??

Do you think he has just looked at his calendar and seen a space the afternoon without realising what day it is iyswim?

I would say to him that you are happy to do it earlier that day but need to get away on time as it is Christmas Eve. Or if it comes to it, say you were planning to book a half-day's leave that day?

Does your office not normally close a bit earlier on Christmas Eve anyway?

You need to write to him.

Dear Ebeneezer,

Are you aware that the 24th is Christmas Eve ?

I will need to get home as Little Tim will be waiting for me.

So whilst I do that, may I respectfully suggest that you use the unexpected time to go out to the shops and get yourself a life.

That's crazy. He is obviously a bit mad.
Say that you have to be at Church, or something like that !

Maybe your boss just wants to do a very "personal" review...

Hmmmmm. I made an assumption boss is a man. Am I right?

YANBU AT ALL!

Can you book the whole day off as annual leave?

I love E45s suggestion !!!!

We used to leave the office at 12pm on Christmas Eve, shitfaced.

Ooh, I reckon he wants you to pull his cracker (or possibly depending on your boss)

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He's a knobhead. YANBU.

We shut at 12 as well, very odd thing to do indeed. Do you have a good relationship with him? Can you have a chat to him about it informally and suggest the 23rd?

Maybe he'll have an odd dream and you'll be delivered an enormous turkey on Christmas Day...

He sounds like a twat.

Even though our office is officially open on Xmas Eve, the MD usually tells everyone to go home some time about 2 or 3pm.

Hmm, (inappropriate) joking aside, he does sound a right twunt. What is your company's usual policy about finishing work on Christmas Eve? I know wherever I have worked in the past we have knocked off at midday and either had nibbles & drinks in the office or gone to the pub (or buggered off home of course).

It is totally unreasonable expecting you to be in the office until gone 6pm on Christmas Eve when you would normally finish at 5.30pm on a 'regular' day. Did he send you the invite via Outlook or something? Are you able to counter it with a more reasonable date/time?

Seriously, can you book a half day?

If not, I would go into his office (not do it via email) and say with a smile "Is this right that my assesment is booked for Xmas eve?"

If he says "yes" I would have to spit in his look him in the eyes and say "That's not going to be convenient for me unfortunately"

DO you have a HR dept? This is starting to sound like bullying to me.

YANBU. Unheard of.

Tell him you have to leave dead on 5 as you are doing a soup run for the homeless / singing carols at the old folks' home / giving out presents at the children's ward.

Longer term, can you speak to HR about the unreasonable expectations he has? Doesn't seem on to me to expect someone to put their kids in childcare early enough to be at work by 8.15 all the time, unless you are a City trader or have a very unusual work contract.

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I remember your other thread....

It does sound like he is deliberately trying to arrange meetings etc at times that will be awkward for you as a parent. I would start documenting all of this and take it to HR if it continues and he refuses to compromise.

Can you say what sort of work you do? Unless it is something like teaching/ambulance driving/somewhere where phones need to be manned at all times, etc most good managers will know that as long as the work is done and hours are worked the actual hours that people are in the office is irrelevant.

I agree, it sounds like he is 'playing games' of a nasty kind here.

I had a boss like this. He had a wife at home to look after the kids, whereas DH & I muddled through with nursery and after school clubs.
I was convinced he would try to 'test' me by coming up with ridiculous 'breakfast meetings' at 7.30 in the morning, and last minute 'rush jobs'. I had asked for a 4 day week and had been refused .
After a restructure I was made redundant, and his comment to me was, "I thought you'd be pleased - after all, you wanted to spend more time with your family didn't you?"

I should have sued him/the company, but of course most of the time people just don't have the energy/ inclination.

Defintely say something - keep it short and firm - "sorry, that time isn't convenient for me - how about one of these alternatives?"

I think you just need to rise above it gracefully and say:

"No, I can't make that, sorry, how about 3pm on the 22nd (or something)"?