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Best way to collect for a leaving present

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  • It just seems like a pointless exercise if you're contributing to other people and people are contributing to yours to just buy some random gift, everyone might as well just keep their money and spend it on what they want.

    Merry Christmas, everyone!
  • Zanderman said:

    Who has tasked you with doing this?

    Maybe it would be best to just not do it at all because I don't think anyone really likes the thought of an expectation to give money just because someone is retiring.

    Really? I don't mind contributing to the retirement gifts of respected colleagues and I've never heard anyone complain about being expected to contribute. It is totally voluntary and it's mutual, you contribute but others then contribute to yours.   Perhaps it's because I work in the public sector so there is no gift from our employer.

    It just seems like a pointless exercise if you're contributing to other people and people are contributing to yours to just buy some random gift, everyone might as well just keep their money and spend it on what they want.

    Zanderman said:
    I work for a large organisation that operates from multiple sites. A colleague is leaving after 40 years with the organisation and I have been tasked with arranging a collection for a retirement gift. A few years ago this would have involved sending envelopes to various offices and asking that they be circulated around and returned to me. I can't do that now most people are working from home.

    I don't want to send my banking details out with the email asking for donations. Does anyone know of an alternative? I thought about getting a prepaid debit card and asking people to add money. I don't know if it is possible to set up a one off payment into someone else's prepaid card so need to investigate this further.  Is there an app or a website similar to gofundme but for gifts? Any other suggestions?

    Thank you

    Who has tasked you with doing this?

    Maybe it would be best to just not do it at all because I don't think anyone really likes the thought of an expectation to give money just because someone is retiring.

    Your thoughts are at odds with my experience. 

    Collections for colleagues leaving - for whatever reason - are (and always have been) common practice.

    Especially very long-serving colleagues.

    The very fact that there are online systems designed for such collections suggests this is still common practice. 

    It maybe a common experience, but personally I don't like the idea of going round asking people for money and I don't like people asking me for money (but maybe I'm in the minority with those thoughts).

    You seem to be missing the point of the exercise entirely!  

    Well, would you like to enlighten me what the point is?

    I would much prefer to receive a leaving/retirement card signed by my co-workers and the addition of some random gift/gift card from people i work with doesn't really add anything, so everyone might as well save their money.
  • JES_F1
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  • RetSol
    RetSol Posts: 553 Forumite
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    There is a system called Payit.

    You send a link which the recipient can use to pay money into your account.  They don't see your bank details.

    I can access it via the RBS app. 

    It is a bit cumbersome for a group scenario as you have to generate a new link for each payment. 


  • hugheskevi
    hugheskevi Posts: 4,486 Forumite
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    It just seems like a pointless exercise if you're contributing to other people and people are contributing to yours to just buy some random gift, everyone might as well just keep their money and spend it on what they want.
    I'm with you on this :) Especially when some people stay in an area 10+ years whilst others come and go regularly. Where I work we seem to have collections for everything, recent things include:
    • People leaving
    • People having children
    • Flowers for people with COVID
    • Flowers for people who have relatives die
    • Flowers for people who have in-laws die
    Surprisingly, we don't have any collections for people doing charity stuff though (not a rule, just doesn't happen).
    A far better arrangement (in my opinion) was an area I once worked in where the tradition was that everyone went out to lunch when a new starter joined, and everyone shared the cost of the newcomers meal. It cost very little and was a good way to meet new colleagues and was a good social activity.
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