Are You Allowed to Accept Thank You Gifts or Small Rewards in Your Workplace
In the News
I expect you have seen street cleaner Paul's story on the news. He always went above and beyond keeping his patch as clean as possible. The residents funded a holiday to Portugal for him but his bosses would not allow him to accept. This caused outrage and he was finally allowed to take his holiday having only ever been abroad once before in his 63 years.
When I worked in registration we too were not allowed to accept even small thank you gifts, bunch of flowers, box of chocolates. They had to go to the mayor's office making us wonder who actually benefited. Obviously I don't agree with bribes or one person singled out for a Ferrari but what harm in an office sharing a box of chocs which was usually the token gift.
It really makes me sick when the fat cats can't bear to see the little people receiving something and have to grab it themselves or stop it.
I did see the story and not really sure what to make of it. In my job we can accept gifts up to £5 but nothing above that. I think that’s right given i work with vulnerable people.
jms19 When I worked as a passenger assistant we also were involved with transporting many special needs and vulnerable children. WE were not allowed to give THEM anything as it could be interpreted as grooming. One dear elderly PA gave the children on her vehicle a Cadbury cream egg one Easter and nearly lost her job. She was being kind but it was also a risk because some may have had special dietary needs.
I did contact work for those in foster care and we didn't receive gifts from anyone. Was quite jealous of our colleagues who did regular school runs as they got Christmas gifts every year from grateful parents. They often had maybe a dozen kids on their transport!
I don't see a issue with it I wasn't allowed to take gifts from the people I cared for but I became very close to a lady and we got each other Christmas presents wasn't anything big
We were always allowed to accept small gifts at Christmas etc, but anything looking expensive such as real champagne had to be shown further up the chain of command. There were many kinds of drinks and it became a bit of a swap shop at Christmas if you had been given something not to your taste.
I am not allowed to accept gifts but I do accept them because they are given to me for my hard work and friendly less towards the guests. Its my perks for getting pittance of a wage.
In this cased I dont think the company were to blame and were not trying to be awkward but they felt they had to stick to the rules imposed the the council who they operated the contract for. They actually matched the money that the locals raised in the form of a donation to a cancer charity.
I do like how people got around the rules - a local travel company set up a competition with a very strict set of entry requirements so that Paul could then "win" his holiday ! all in all a nice story with a happy ending for a change!
didbygraham I am afraid I didn't see it like that as they refused point blank until the public and travel company got around it by doing the winner specific competition. Not wanting bad publicity they did a U turn. Veolia are in charge of rubbish collection in my town and it makes me wonder, do they forbid their workers to accept Christmas tips which has been a British tradition for generations, along with postmen etc.
Yes. Not anything silly. If asked I always say chocolate or wine is good for school staff because if the person doesn't like it they can put it in the staffroom for others to take.
Jerseydrew It seems strange to me that teachers can accept presents from children which could, and I stress the word COULD, be taken as bribery by parents hoping their kids will be looked upon more favourably. But it is a well accepted thing for teachers to get end of year gifts and I see nothing wrong with it until parents start trying to outdo each other. As you say wine and chocs are ideal as you can either share or regift and save yourself some money lol.
Yes we are allowed to accept small gifts in our workplace. It isn't often that we get them gifts but it is always appreciated when we do.
I’ve often been thanked with chocolates and see no harm in that. Obviously not all the time as that wouldn’t be right but if deserved why not? Also if it’s for me and what only I have done I just take it quietly and don’t shout about it. No one needs to know but me. Obviously if it was something high value I wouldn’t accept anything like that. I’d just think that weird and suspicious.
How often do people leave flowers or chocolates for nurses after a patient has spent time in hospital being cared by them
Its a lovely gesture and a great moral booster for the staff to be shown appreciation
I know this used to be the case, i hope things have not changed regarding gifts here also ?
telmel ...When our daughter worked in various West Yorkshire hospitals on her student Radiographer placement she was always telling stories of sharing the gifts grateful patients left the staff team..
Up to the value of £5 and had to be declared.So glad they found a way around this for Paul.
MelissaLee1 yes, me too. I wonder the difference between £5 and £6 though, but I suppose there has to be a limit.
I work in my daughters pub and we are allowed to accept anything the customers offers us. It is usually a drink but they bring in chocolates for the staff to share. One member of staff was given a hedgehog garden ornament by a customer. She loved it but unfortunately broke it as she was leaving the pub. We never told the customer!
eyeballkerry oh that's sad, hopefully it could be glued. I think in your own business it is up to you what is acceptable. When I did bar work we were allowed to accept drinks but not top shelf.
Lynibis Unfortunately it was unable to be repaired. It was one of those sad but funny moments, when you know you shouldn’t laugh but you do. That makes sense with the drinks, I wish my daughter would do something like that as the staff take the p… !
eyeballkerry do you mean they help themselves? We were only allowed to accept drinks customers bought for us. We had to pay for our own soft drinks. Maybe your daughter could offer 2 soft drinks per shift? (Pump only).
I used to work in a gambling environment (Merkur slots) and we were never allowed to accept anything, I still did though 
. If the customer wants to do it, that's their choice imo not the company
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter
