Money Moral Dilemma: Should we roll over absent co-worker's lottery win?

Ineedaservant

You could also have a secret ballot - each member writes yes or no on a slip of paper and put in box - this way no one will know how the others have voted.  Then you could go with the majority vote.  Alternatively, you could give the proportion of yes votes to the person - eg 10 votes, 4 yes, 6 no, = £160.

Bigfra46

Did someone have her number? When she was off work she could have been sent a text asking did she want to stay in the syndicate, if yes is she able to pay. If she cant pay until back to work you will cover the payments but if she wins they will be taken from winnings

WebbieMeister

Sounds harsh but if someone doesn't pay their entry then they aren't entitled to winnings. However lovely that absent member is, non-payment of entries would be open to abuse by less lovely members later on. Good Luck though, we all could do with a bit of that right now.

anneevo

lincroft1710 said:

Take the entry payments out of her winnings and give her the money, she may well need it!

I agree with this wholeheartedly.  If she's suffering from stress you can't add to that by asking her for the money she hasn't paid in, that'll be the last thing on her mind!  Give her her share, take out what she owes and perhaps let a family member know if  you amend the rules meaning she will no longer be in it.

connors07

Rules, regulations blah blah. After this by all means put some rules in place.

Sometimes the wrong thing to do is the right thing to do and vice versa.

Give her the winnings; deduct entry out of it if you so wish. Everyone involved will feel better for it. The gesture, compassion, decency and thought will be more valuable to her than the money; she may need the latter but she definitely needs the former.

She might even not feel comfortable to accept it; if she does let her nominate a charity/or a company nominated charity you might be linked with.

Hope she feels better soon and good luck.

maddogwoman

Id say roll it over. If she has not kept up to date with her payments then she is no longer in the lottery.  Surely your rules say this?  If she's not in it, then she does not get the winnings.  Just because she is off sick she could still have paid to keep her numbers going if she still wanted to be part of the lottery.

chriswa1

You can't go amending the rules, as its impossible to say when you should or shouldn't. What if the person is just lazy and not turning up to work, and the stress is just an excuse for time off? What happens if in fact they're working elsewhere? I'm not suggesting that either of these scenarios apply, but I know of people who have done both (albeit not with the lottery scenario). Stick to the rules and roll it over. Perhaps people should have been in touch before now with the person to make sure she is OK and wants to pay and play.

dc1606

I agree that you should give her the money and deduct her contributions. If she’s stressed then keeping up payments not likely to be high on her agenda and paying her shows you care and can only help.

Corbidgel

MSE_Sarah said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

 We run a lottery at work, and the prize money has rolled over to £400. The numbers that came out of the last draw were for a colleague who has been off sick with stress and hasn't kept up to date with her entry payments. We don't know how much longer she's likely to be off work or even if she'll return. We're split as to whether she wins the money or we roll it over again. 

Unfortunately the MSE team can't answer Money Moral Dilemma questions as contributions are emailed in or suggested in person. They are intended to be a point of debate and discussed at face value. Remember that behind each dilemma there is a real person so, as the forum rules say, please keep it kind and keep it clean.

  If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

  Got a Money Moral Dilemma of your own? Suggest an MMD.

Yes absolutely pay out and deduct weekly contributions.  

pete-20-11

I think give her the money, but deduct what she owes to others - if anything 

e.g. if she hadn’t paid in for three months and in that time Tom, !!!!!! and Harriette all won something- the three of them would be owed something from what the lady would have contributed.