Revenue staff get paid to eat Xmas dinner!

nhojegan

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Would your manager allow you to have an Xmas party "on the clock"?

The managers here have allowed the party/meal "on the clock", so it's counted as work; they are getting paid to attend. If they are getting paid to attend this function then they are entitled to apply for any expenses that they incur as set out as per IT54 on the Revenues own website.

You are trying to fit legislation into a scenario that isnt going to happen.

MagicSean

ScumLord wrote: »

Yes, the last day where I work isn't really a working day, there's very little that has to be done but it wouldn't be a party, we can't really have alcohol on a factory floor. Any partying would have to be done outside the factory.

The only cost to the employer of this christmas lunch is the few hours work that will be missed. How is it any different to your last day where you do very little for the entire day?

charlietheminxx

We always take an unoffical half day for our Xmas lunch (private sector). We get someone in to cover the phones, and off we go. I really don't think this is a big deal - they're even paying for lunch themselves!

Yeah so people who get a "free" half day are lucky, and I appreciate that, but we're a small office and we all put in unpaid overtime over the year so I think it balances out.

BigGrayKettle

I'm just waiting for the next news story: "Civil Service pays for employees' toilet paper when taking a sh!te on duty".

Chips Lovell

By your own interpretation of the tax rules, then every employee, be they public or private, would be entitled to file expenses if a Christmas lunch takes place during the working day. That clearly doesn't happen now, does it?

davet82

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

The managers here have allowed the party/meal "on the clock", so it's counted as work; they are getting paid to attend. If they are getting paid to attend this function then they are entitled to apply for any expenses that they incur as set out as per IT54 on the Revenues own website.

freedom of information act...

if you are so concerned use it, see how many lunches have been claimed for

dvpower

goodie2shoes wrote: »

your response reveals the mentality of the public sector in this country.

I'm private sector myself.

goodie2shoes wrote: »

see the money they are wasting 'er i mean investing in "team building" is not their's.

The Revenue were voted money to run their Office at the start of the year and they have a management to decide how best to deploy those resources.

You are free to complain about every little decision that the management make, but on this one, I think you'd have to accept that very few people agree with you.

goodie2shoes wrote: »

i know these concepts, profit, wastage, bankruptcy will be difficult for you, but you must try.

You know very little.

goodie2shoes

charlietheminxx wrote: »

We always take an unoffical half day for our Xmas lunch (private sector). We get someone in to cover the phones, and off we go. I really don't think this is a big deal - they're even paying for lunch themselves!

Yeah so people who get a "free" half day are lucky, and I appreciate that, but we're a small office and we all put in unpaid overtime over the year so I think it balances out.

nonsense!

Solair

While there are big wastes of public money going on, this clearly isn't one of them.

It's totally counterproductive to start targeting people doing a normal Christmas lunch as part of work and getting everyone's backs up in the public sector, rather than actually going after some of the real cases of slashing the cash that go on / have gone on in the past.

There are plenty of examples that could be chased up.

I mean, for example, let's take a look at the tens of millions being slashed down the drain due to all the endless bickering over the location of the National Children's Hospital.

Seriously, I mean where do you even start with that? It's just a complete fiasco and mind-boggling waste of public money.


The damn thing should be built and ready to roll by now, instead we're looking at moving the site and slashing cash down the toilet.

As much as I dread the annual tax bill, I have to say that dealing with Revenue is actually pretty easy and non-stressful (apart from the bit where you have to write the cheque) compared to a lot of agencies, particularly the HSE!

charlietheminxx

goodie2shoes wrote: »

nonsense!

Why?

MagicSean

goodie2shoes wrote: »

your response reveals the mentality of the public sector in this country. see the money they are wasting 'er i mean investing in "team building" is not their's.
it is PUBLIC money, not private generated profits.
we the public, ie Ireland inc. is bankrupt.
i know these concepts, profit, wastage, bankruptcy will be difficult for you, but you must try.

Someone aware of those concepts must certainly be aware of the benefits of high staff morale as it relates to increased efficiency.

goodie2shoes wrote: »

personally i think this story goes to the heart of the problems we have within the public sector, especially their cavalier attitude towards taxpayers money.

in any private sector organisation i ever worked in, Xmas parties were organised outside work hours, and where the company was not performing they were curtailed or cancelled.

Personally i think your comments go to the heart of the rising level of depression in Ireland.

Madam_X

What's nonsense? The fact it doesn't suit you? I've worked in private companies that do plenty of this kind of stuff. Your irrational hatred of the public sector is your emotional problem, but resorting to lies is of no use.

DavyD_83

goodie2shoes wrote: »

i've been saying for quite some time that we live in a banana republic, but this sort of thing belongs to Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/revenue-staff-get-paid-to-eat-christmas-lunch-3282204.html

Are you currently being paid to post on Boards OP?
I know I am

ScumLord

MagicSean wrote: »

The only cost to the employer of this christmas lunch is the few hours work that will be missed. How is it any different to your last day where you do very little for the entire day?

Not exactly true.

For those not on the clock, it will of course be counted as being on-duty and hence leave does not have to be taken

So it's not just a case of staff getting paid having a doss on the last few hours. They're bringing everyone in for a paid doss evening. That goes into willfully wasting taxpayer money which we supposedly don't have to waste.

While this story isn't that big of a waste it still goes to show that waste is systemic in the public sector. They're just not trying hard enough to save money throughout the public sector and not just on big stuff.

dvpower

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Would your manager allow you to have an Xmas party "on the clock"?

Yep - it'll be a short day with most people leaving early except for a skeleton staff to cover the support desk. And the xmas party will be paid for by the company. It's not that abnormal.

I think you just happen to be in a job that doesn't have any of these little perks around Christmas and you're feeling a little bitter about it. Am I right?

Luca Brasi

Are we getting a bit too self righteous? Why not cancel the entire Christmas season abd chain people to their desks between 9 and 5 ?
Sure the Trocadero and all the other eateries dont need the moeny

Luca Brasi

dvpower wrote: »

Yep - it'll be a short day with most people leaving early except for a skeleton staff to cover the support desk. And the xmas party will be paid for by the company. It's not that abnormal.

I think you just happen to be in a job that doesn't have any of these little perks around Christmas and you're feeling a little bitter about it. Am I right?

Probably one of Joe Higgins socialists who want to drag us all down to their level of miserable living.

MagicSean

ScumLord wrote: »

Not exactly true.

So it's not just a case of staff getting paid having a doss on the last few hours. They're bringing everyone in for a paid doss evening. That goes into willfully wasting taxpayer money which we supposedly don't have to waste.

While this story isn't that big of a waste it still goes to show that waste is systemic in the public sector. They're just not trying hard enough to save money throughout the public sector and not just on big stuff.

There will still be no cost other than work hours for those who attend. I ask you again how is a few hours set aside for a christmas party any different from your day of doing nothing?

Odysseus

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Would your manager allow you to have an Xmas party "on the clock"?

The managers here have allowed the party/meal "on the clock", so it's counted as work; they are getting paid to attend. If they are getting paid to attend this function then they are entitled to apply for any expenses that they incur as set out as per IT54 on the Revenues own website.

Let's see last year I had a X-Mass lunch with my manager and the rest of my team. We had to go back to work, I think I had a client at 15:00 so I got paid to eat if you look at it that way.

What I could not do was claim for the cost of the meal or the cost of travel to and from the party.

However, it posters like you that really make me laugh when I see watse in my service. So I guess in a way I should be thanking you and the other guys. Gues what I just did there, I threw six brand new paper clips into the bin; look at that for waste. It might even keep you awake at night.

ScumLord

MagicSean wrote: »

There will still be no cost other than work hours for those who attend.

It's additional hours that wouldn't have been paid out otherwise. It's not the same as the people that were on that day doing less work, it's paying the rest of the staff to come in and do nothing as well.

If a company can afford to do that, that's their business. The state can not afford to be wasting money like that. A business that was in the financial position the state is in simply could not do that, money doesn't magically appear to allow that to happen and the bank would be seriously pissed if you showed expenditure like that.

knucklehead6

goodie2shoes wrote: »

nonsense!

This should be good.

Go on goodie.... explain how your in depth knowledge of where charlietheminx works allows you to call her assertion that the below quote is, in fact, nonsense.

Originally Posted by charlietheminxx
We always take an unoffical half day for our Xmas lunch (private sector). We get someone in to cover the phones, and off we go. I really don't think this is a big deal - they're even paying for lunch themselves!

Yeah so people who get a "free" half day are lucky, and I appreciate that, but we're a small office and we all put in unpaid overtime over the year so I think it balances out.

BigBrownBear

Misunderstood the thread cos of title.
I thought the staff were being told ' here's X amount of cash if you eat your Christmas lunch'

MagicSean

ScumLord wrote: »

It's additional hours that wouldn't have been paid out otherwise. It's not the same as the people that were on that day doing less work, it's paying the rest of the staff to come in and do nothing as well.

If a company can afford to do that, that's their business. The state can not afford to be wasting money like that. A business that was in the financial position the state is in simply could not do that, money doesn't magically appear to allow that to happen and the bank would be seriously pissed if you showed expenditure like that.

They arent getting paid extra for it. They will get time off. So again, the only cost is the four and a half work hours for each person who attends, as opposed to the 8 hours of doing very little for everyone in your company.

knucklehead6

BigBrownBear wrote: »

Misunderstood the thread cos of title.
I thought the staff were being told ' here's X amount of cash if you eat your Christmas lunch'

It's like a reverse of the spur steakhouse challenge!

They'll serve up something totally unpalatable, and watch as the revenue people have to eat it.

ScumLord

MagicSean wrote: »

They arent getting paid extra for it. They will get time off.

That's not what the quote in the article says.

For those not on the clock, it will of course be counted as being on-duty and hence leave does not have to be taken

I take that as those that wouldn't have been working that day will be paid to attend the party. That's an additional expense.

martingriff

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

They are.



You're talking sh!te.



And that's from www.revenue.ie

You are talking bull and you know it. Those allowances are for when they are off doing work for there work. Care to explain how they will get pay for there lunch and whatever they do after. Pure laughable

MagicSean

ScumLord wrote: »

That's not what the quote in the article says.


I take that as those that wouldn't have been working that day will be paid to attend the party. That's an additional expense.

That quote makes no sense. Why would someone need to take leave if they weren't on the clock anyway? The author all but admits they have no clue what the arrangements mean. Typical of the Indo.

What it likely means is that people who attend and were not due to be working that day will be allowed treat it as working hours and take the time off on a future date.

martingriff

goodie2shoes wrote: »

your response reveals the mentality of the public sector in this country. see the money they are wasting 'er i mean investing in "team building" is not their's.
it is PUBLIC money, not private generated profits.
we the public, ie Ireland inc. is bankrupt.
i know these concepts, profit, wastage, bankruptcy will be difficult for you, but you must try.

What are they wasting the money on?
Lunch being paid by the workers

2ndcoming

They are all on salaries. They would be paid the exact same either way whether it's done this way or they all have to take a half day's leave for it, in which case most wouldn't bother attending and they might as well effectively cancel Christmas.

They will receive no Christmas bonus and they won't shut up shop for a week or 10 days like most companies, they will be off Christmas Day and Stephen's Day and anything outside that will come from their annual leave.

As the sole recognition outside their salary of their work for the year (award-winning work, in this case) I think a half day to go and buy themselves a restaurant lunch is meagre in the extreme.

I think the poster who keeps (imp-)lying they can claim it back as expenses is well aware he is talking absolute pony as well, as many have pointed out previously so I won't bother addressing it any further.

Benny_Cake

martingriff wrote: »

What are they wasting the money on?
Lunch being paid by the workers

In his opening post he compared getting 2-3 hours off once a year to have a meal with other employees at their own expense to something that ZANU-PF would do, so I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a sensible answer.

I work in IT and I've worked in both the private and public sectors. In the private sector, we'd split at lunchtime for dinner and drinks, at the company's expense. In the public sector, it's really down to local management, but there is no free dinner. Some years we went for dinner without going back to work, one year we had a release going in so we just stuck around for the dinner and went back to the office for the afternoon. It's a local decision, based on workload. At no time were we able to claim expenses for this, and I've no problem with that at all. Someone said in an earlier post - let managers manage. I couldn't agree more.