Being made to go out for food after work

Sugar_Coated_Owl

Our company recently merged and in Nov. our place of work is being rebranded. In preparation for this the manager and one team member will be attending two training days. After each training day a we have to go out for pizza so that the two people who went to the training day can tell the rest of the staff all about what they learned etc The company are paying for both pizza evenings so money for the meal is not an issue. However, I am really not keen on going. I don't like eating out and I have issues with weight as it is and don't want to end up eating pizza (I like it but being thin comes first). Also I work with these people all day and tbh I don't want to go out with them after work has finished to talk about...WORK! As I've said the company is paying for the food but I just don't see why I should be made to give up my free time to go and eat pizza with work colleagues and talk about work. It's not like we are being paid our hourly rate to attend.

I have said to my manager that I do not wish to go but she just said you have to and also the area manager is coming along and wants everyone to attend.

So my question, can they force employees to attend such a thing?

Buttercup.x

I would say no UNLESS it states in your contract that if such events should arise you have to. I wouldn't if i was not getting paid for it if they were paying for the food or not. tell them you have family commitments and that is why you work the hours you do.

surreysaver

If they want to do something like this, then they should do it during working hours. They will also need to bear in mind staffs' religions, and food allergies (disability discrimination act) etc. e.g. does the establishmant sell alcohol (Muslims). What if you have childcare commitments (sex discrimination) or other leisure activies and cannot attend? Forcing people to attend these events does not improve teamwork. Infact, even if they do not force people to go, they can split a team up by holding such an event for those that do, making those that do not like such events feel like outsiders. Tell them to consider paying staff a bonus or something instead. That would go down better.

[Deleted User]

It's only two evenings, and you're complaining? Get over it, go eat some salad (they don't just sell pizza in pizza places) and be social with people

surreysaver

ringo_24601 wrote: »

It's only two evenings, and you're complaining? Get over it, go eat some salad (they don't just sell pizza in pizza places) and be social with people

Why? I'm sure the OP spends more time at work with these people than their family at home anyway. You should not be forced into social events. It is a contradiction of the term 'social'.

[Deleted User]

I've got to spend 2 weeks out of the country for work next month (and every night of those I will be eating with colleagues).. so I don't have a lot of sympathy - it can just be the part of a job occasionally

surreysaver

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I've got to spend 2 weeks out of the country for work next month (and every night of those I will be eating with colleagues).. so I don't have a lot of sympathy - it can just be the part of a job occasionally

But it is obviously a requirement of your job to do so - your employer must have business in that country or something? I am sure it is not a requirement of the OP's job to go and eat pizza. (Unless their duties now include pizza tasting - in which case it should be in working hours).

LittleVoice

surreysaver wrote: »

Why? I'm sure the OP spends more time at work with these people than their family at home anyway. You should not be forced into social events. It is a contradiction of the term 'social'.

But it's not a "social event" as such - it has been set up as a work event, as very clearly explained by OP.

It is after normal working hours because the poor people who are attending training are having to spend their time immediately afterwards in briefing their colleagues. It sounds as though this is important information to be communicated and the attendance of the area manager is another indicator of this.

I would recommend attending.

therealdessie

Why wouldn't you want to spend an evening being social with your colleagues? A lot of people make good friends that way - it will only be chatting and you'll get a benefit from it. Not going makes you look like a bit of a stick in the mud, doesn't it?

looby-loo_2

Personally I wouldn't use any of the politically correct excuses not to attend.

Zazen999

I'm 50:50 on these things, and it is really all about the Area Manager and the Manager. If this is the way they like to do things, and you really do not want to go then you have to decide on whether it is worth rocking the boat. Usually, the Manager has done this for a reason; ie the Area Manager [with clout] wants to do it this way and that's their style or because it is cheaper than the losses that they would get if they held the same session during work hours.

To be honest, this sounds like a rubbish way of training a team up; you are reliant on the team members who do attend coming out with the correct message and avoiding putting any spin on it. This would be my angle, but you have already told your boss that you don't want to go. It's difficult because in reality they should pay overtime for this, but I suppose they see you as getting a free meal being in lieu of that.

It really depends on whether you want to stick to your guns and refuse; which could mean that you will be seen in a negative light and this could affect the future relationship [your area manager will always refer to you as the one who didn't come to the pizza]; or whether you back down or come to a compromise with your boss. It is likely that if her team do not all attend then her relationship with the area manager will suffer; which could impact your relationship with her on a daily basis.

Having said that, people do have lives on the outside, and I don't like attending these sorts of things myself; and would not inflict it on a team unless it was an away day and we were paying for them to stay away. Even so, there was always one person with childcare issues and they would go home. Some bosses are more social [that's how they get to that level, being extroverts], and that's how they do things.

My tagline would be:
They can't force you but it might impact on the future if you don't go.