Christmas party/lunch/dinner thread
- Thread starter Marion
- Start date
We had our Xmas party last week. Drinks before dinner, meal & drinks at a really nice restaurant and then back to the original pub for the rest of the night. All free.
I think those working in the PS should be entitled to a Xmas party and have said so before. I'm sure the press would have a field day, but a reasonable contribution would be fair. It's all anyone should expect to thank them for a year's work.
I think those working in the PS should be entitled to a Xmas party and have said so before. I'm sure the press would have a field day, but a reasonable contribution would be fair. It's all anyone should expect to thank them for a year's work.
Bah humbug !
I have seen no information to suggest the 30% differential of which you speak.
30% is a wild exaggeration , as Santa says "you better check twice "
It doesn't matter , a Xmas party is just a token of thanks for a job done for the year. Considering how much money various organisations, private and public, surely squander every year, surely a few bob for people to let their hair down isn't too much to ask? The only reason it is as it is in the public sector is the press would have a field day.
I've learnt to avoid Christmas parties. But, I know some people enjoy them and long may they do so. Having worked most of my working life in the public service I've spent money on the annual Christmas party that could have been spent more prudently elsewhere. I've never attended a Christmas party that some uninspired manager failed to take the opportunity to ask for greater efforts in the coming year. With eyes rolling I have had to listen to that year after year and worse again I pay my money for the privilege.
I take my hat off to any employer, manager, supervisor who will show up and let the staff enjoy themselves and smile throughout and fully ignore anything untoward towards management. I know some management people have to listen to shop-talk too. Which brings me onto the employee who makes an eejit of himself/herself and I'm being mild here. In my sixties and having spent time at at least 44 work Christmas parties, I have the cop-on to keep my mouth shut. You see, there are those who go hoping that somebody will somehow leave himself down. I can't count the times I have had to play Henry Kissinger into the New Year trying to get people to apologise, forget, forgive etc.
So, if you are attending a work Christmas party, enjoy, take everything with a grain of salt. do not get offended, don't drink and drive, let and let live.
Happy Christmas to All, I hope you have a content and peaceful holiday and may the New Year bring nothing but Good to You and Yours
I take my hat off to any employer, manager, supervisor who will show up and let the staff enjoy themselves and smile throughout and fully ignore anything untoward towards management. I know some management people have to listen to shop-talk too. Which brings me onto the employee who makes an eejit of himself/herself and I'm being mild here. In my sixties and having spent time at at least 44 work Christmas parties, I have the cop-on to keep my mouth shut. You see, there are those who go hoping that somebody will somehow leave himself down. I can't count the times I have had to play Henry Kissinger into the New Year trying to get people to apologise, forget, forgive etc.
So, if you are attending a work Christmas party, enjoy, take everything with a grain of salt. do not get offended, don't drink and drive, let and let live.
Happy Christmas to All, I hope you have a content and peaceful holiday and may the New Year bring nothing but Good to You and Yours
As a real person rather than your imaginary one with multi-location capability, I think my opinion trumps your guru, Santa. Just check, once, with a real person or information source. We live in the connected digital age; the 30% figure is widely quoted, as is the 50% pay differential in the Irish Times in 2014 http://www.irishtimes.com/business/...higher-than-those-in-private-sector-1.1907313... I have seen no information to suggest the 30% differential of which you speak.
30% is a wild exaggeration , as Santa says "you better check twice "
Rather than relying on out of date figures I think the best reference point is the CSO report of the 27th April 2015 entitled a " Specific Analysis of the Public/Private Sector Pay Differerential , for National Employment Survey 2009 and 2010 "
For the first time , it provides a comparative analysis ( in as far as possible ) that takes account of the Pension Levy .
Overall the difference in pay across all Government & semi state bodies compared to the private sector was 1% in 2010 when analysis was weighted as compared to a gap of 4.9% in 2009.
As the analysis is out of date any pay gap in favour of private sector workers will have increased since 2010 with the introduction of longer working hours in the Public Sector & the imposition of of further pay cuts since 2010 & the fact that pay increases were granted to large swathes of employees in the private sector - the CSO were to publish analysis of more recent earnings later in 2015 but nothing has been published to date.
John Fitzgerald opined in his excellent article in the Irish Times dated the 5/5/2015 based partly on the CSO report alluded to above " that this evidence would suggest that , on average , pay rates in the public sector are now close to those in the private sector , with those on higher incomes probably earning significantly less than corresponding private sector workers and those on lower incomes probably still marginally better off than those in the private sector ."
The promised next report from the CSO will make interesting reading !
For the first time , it provides a comparative analysis ( in as far as possible ) that takes account of the Pension Levy .
Overall the difference in pay across all Government & semi state bodies compared to the private sector was 1% in 2010 when analysis was weighted as compared to a gap of 4.9% in 2009.
As the analysis is out of date any pay gap in favour of private sector workers will have increased since 2010 with the introduction of longer working hours in the Public Sector & the imposition of of further pay cuts since 2010 & the fact that pay increases were granted to large swathes of employees in the private sector - the CSO were to publish analysis of more recent earnings later in 2015 but nothing has been published to date.
John Fitzgerald opined in his excellent article in the Irish Times dated the 5/5/2015 based partly on the CSO report alluded to above " that this evidence would suggest that , on average , pay rates in the public sector are now close to those in the private sector , with those on higher incomes probably earning significantly less than corresponding private sector workers and those on lower incomes probably still marginally better off than those in the private sector ."
The promised next report from the CSO will make interesting reading !
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Lads, it's Christmas, park the Public -V- Private sectors for a while. If you're in good health, enjoy the Christmas and New Year periods. Spare a thought for those less fortunate and remember your thought will not supply a crumb of food or even a scintilla of hope, but spare a thought anyway.
. . . and back to the Christmas Party . . . a few years ago a Clerical Assistant gave me a little advice to get through December and January . . . "if you're not prepared to write it down and sign it and nail it to the office notice board, don't say it" . . . it makes working for the rest of your life much easier.
. . . and back to the Christmas Party . . . a few years ago a Clerical Assistant gave me a little advice to get through December and January . . . "if you're not prepared to write it down and sign it and nail it to the office notice board, don't say it" . . . it makes working for the rest of your life much easier.
I'm living in blissful retirement since I wrote the quoted post back in 2015. Christmas parties were shelved during Covid (except for a certain UK Prime Minister). This Christmas I understand Christmas Parties are in vogue again and started around mid November.
No doubt, some member of management or staff made an eejit of himself/herself and are not looking forward to resuming work in 2024. Things get said, body language might not have been friendly and even abuse thrown. If you were one of these who went OTT it's time for apologies and a handshake. For those at the receiving end I'd ask you to accept the apologies and move on. Letting matters fester is not good for anybody. I say the foregoing as a former union rep where I had to play Peacemaker nearly every January and beyond.
Staff party before Christmas. Kids Christmas party the following week with presents worth €20 for each child. All paid for.
Drinks and food the day we finish for Christmas. Open tab in local pub, no cap but nobody abuses it. All paid for.
€100 voucher for every employee plus €5000 in a prize draw (6 x €500 vouchers and 10 x €200 vouchers) the day we finish up. No fights, nobody drunk, everybody behaving well. Private sector.
Drinks and food the day we finish for Christmas. Open tab in local pub, no cap but nobody abuses it. All paid for.
€100 voucher for every employee plus €5000 in a prize draw (6 x €500 vouchers and 10 x €200 vouchers) the day we finish up. No fights, nobody drunk, everybody behaving well. Private sector.
thedaddyman
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Hated the Christmas party because as the manager, I was always conscious of my own behaviour so didn't drink, hoped no one made me the victim of their drunken abuse and more importantly, no one got hurt, assaulted or molested. There are always one or 2 people in any office who get leary after a few.
I do recall the PSNI being called to one in the North a few years ago, (not my org) after a bank party got out of hand
I always drink at mine and I'm a manager. No fights, no abuse, no molestation. Most of the employees are from "working class" areas of North Dublin or immigrants. It's a small business though, with around 70 employees.
thedaddyman
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I'm just over cautious. in 30 years I've only ever had 2 issues to deal with and both were relatively minor but I have heard some horror stories. Can'tr be as bad as a German company who managed to give food poisining to 700 staff in December last though!