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An employee with disabilities has called his company “un-Australian” after asking staff to pay $50 per head to attend an office Christmas party, sparking a heated online debate.
The Melbourne employee said on Tuesday that they had received an email asking them to pay $50 each for the Christmas lunch, plus the cost of the drinks they ordered.
‘Received a business email today for the staff Christmas party. They want all staff to pay $50 for lunch and buy your own drinks. It’s un-Australian,” they wrote.
Thousands of people responded to the comment on the Melbourne Reddit page, with many urging the original poster to “don’t go!”
A Victorian employee has called his company “un-Australian” after asking staff to pay $50 a head to attend an office Christmas party, sparking a wild online debate. Shown is a stock photo of a boss
The online discussion revealed a clear division between government and private companies over policies regarding paid Christmas parties and lunches
“Not me, I just went for the free food,” they wrote.
One person pointed out that a Christmas party is “intended as a thank you from the company to its employees.”
“Staff get a much bigger boost in morale if they don’t have to pay for it.”
The post sparked hundreds of responses to vastly different experiences with their employer’s generosity or stinginess.
Several people posted about their company’s generosity over the Christmas season.
‘[My] boss is quite nice. Usually we get a three course menu, unlimited bartab including spirits, then after party in a bar or wherever we end up. Plus, we get reimbursed for taxis, Uber, and so on, and everyone gets slices of beer and wine for Christmas.”
A paramedic (who is mostly private) said their company “takes us to a fancy dinner and drinks” plus “great gifts” for the staff.
One man said it was only fair that government employees were allowed to get drunk on tax money once a year
The incapacitated Melbourne worker posted on Tuesday that they had received an email saying they would have to pay $50 each for Christmas lunch, plus the cost of the drinks they order.
“One year we got Chanel jewelry, the next year we got embroidered Burberry scarves.”
Burberry scarves currently sold online in Australia cost between $860 and $1,650.
Another said their company flew staff in helicopters to Yarra Valley, where they did a winery tour in stretched hummers.
A Telstra employee said the policy in many of the phone giant’s departments is ‘free snacks and drinks until 8pm when an executive puts the company card on the bar, only for drinks until closing/stepped’.
Another incapacitated worker said their boss “gets out on birthdays, Christmas, Easter.”
“My boss owns the company, and she’s very generous… my Easter gift was a box of chocolates with 6 $50 bills.”
Many respondents indicate that government organizations do not give free Christmas parties at all.
‘That is quite common in government work. For some reason the public goes crazy when government departments spend money on food and drink for their staff.’
Several teachers agreed.
‘I am a teacher. We always have to pay for our staff party. We also contribute to the milk, tea and coffee in the staff room.’
Another teacher said their Christmas parties are usually “a BYO board to share, then wash your own dishes and vacuum before going home.”
However, their current workplace was different because of an exceptional manager.
“Our manager puts her pay aside to take everyone to a nice restaurant at the end of the year,” they said.
“The way she puts it, ‘I’m approaching 70, and the whole point of never having kids was to have money to burn, so eat up and for God’s sake and check your email sometime before February please’.”
One commentator claimed their company flew staff by helicopter to a Yarra Valley wine tour at Christmas
One person claimed their company paid a piece of Hummer to take staff on a tour as part of their free Christmas party
A man said his corporate job provided free coffee pods, fresh croissants for “team wins” and monthly beers and barbecue meals said his wife, who works in emergency health care, gets only cheap coffee.
‘My wife? Saving lives on the night shift with only International Roast.’
‘International roast!? Pure luxury!’ replied one person.
‘I’m a federal official, we don’t get tea or coffee. We have to pay for it ourselves through a staff club!’
“Working for the public service was so damn weird,” agrees another. “We weren’t allowed to have milk or sugar for the staff’s coffee.”
One person said the best Christmas party he’d had was when bosses gave staff a choice of how to spend $80 a head by saying ‘Do you want us to organize something or give you the money?’
“We all got the money and then went out to eat and drink without the bosses.”
Several people had their opinions on why Christmas parties are often not free – because the employer usually cannot declare them as work expenses.
“No accountant or bookkeeper will let you claim entertainment as a tax deduction.
You can’t claim a Christmas party as a tax deduction or GST unless you have to pay extra-legal tax (FBT).
“If the value is more than $300 per person, the company must pay FBT.”
Some also noted that public organizations worry that paying for staff parties could end up being a “bad face.”
But others thought it fair that public organizations should reward their employees the same as private companies.
“I think it should be allowed once a year for magicians to be cheated with the public dollar.”