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

A company has been branded “un-Australian” after it asked its staff to shell out $50 for an office Christmas party, angering thousands.

“I got a work email today about the staff Christmas party. They want the entire staff to pay $50 for lunch and buy themselves drinks,” a disabled person shared on Reddit.

The vast majority of the hundreds of responses to the post called for the poster not to attend the party, with the company’s move described as “ridiculous”.

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

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

The post sparked a debate over whether employees should pay for their own office parties and even amenities like coffee and tea, especially for those in the public sector.

“I don’t understand why government employment is seen as a poor charity,” said one user.

“They find funds for the most expensive things and can’t spare a quarter of a percent extra a year for a decent coffee and a Christmas party.”

“I’m literally going to take my old coffee machine so we can all have something nice to eat at work…we’ll of course supply our own milk and coffee but beware they might charge us for electricity , when they find out!!” – said another.