‘Un-Australian’: Fury over request staff pay $50 for Christmas party

A disability worker has shared his employer’s “ridiculous” request ahead of their staff Christmas party.

A company has been slammed as “un-Australian” after asking its staff to fork out $50 to attend an office Christmas party, drawing the ire of thousands.

“Received a work email today for the Staff Christmas party. They are wanting all staff to pay $50 each for lunch and to buy your own drinks,” the disability worker shared on Reddit.

Others reported being asked to spend up to $100 on office Christmas parties.

The overwhelming majority of the hundreds of replies to the post urged the poster not to attend the party, with the company‘s move labelled as “ridiculous”.

“A Christmas party from the company is meant to be a thank you gift from the company to its employees,” one said.

“Staff get a much bigger boost to their morale when they don’t have to pay for it.”

Workers in the public service are expected to bring their own coffee and tea to work, while those in the private sector often have barista coffee provided for free.

The post sparked debate about whether staff should have to pay for their own office parties and even amenities such as coffee and tea, especially for those working in the public system.

“I don’t understand why public employment is treated like a poor charity,” one user said.

“They find funds for all kinds of expensive things and can’t spare a quarter of a per cent additional per year for decent coffee and a Christmas party.”

“I am literally about to take my old coffee machine in so we can all have something a little nice at work … we will of course supply our own milk and coffee, watch out though, they might charge us for the electricity if they find out!!” another said.