Informal Policy - Event Attendance

CheryllH · June 2016

Our company hosts multiple morale events each year. Some are for employees only but others like our bowling and company picnic we allow families. The company is growing and each year new questions come up over who can and cannot attend, who is eligible. As we've grown the policy has changed numerous times and I was recently given an update by a VP, I was not included in the discussion.

I understand the intention when the policy was updated again was simply to define eligibility. We have almost 200 employees and executive management was trying to come up with guidelines on attendance that made sense. They put an age on the children so adult children that are on their own, have jobs and families of their own don't attend our event. Also to specify who single employees can bring.

We have some older employees that are single and have adult children. Under the policy as it's written they could bring an adult child as a guest and that guest can bring their child but they wouldn't be able to bring the son/daughter-in-law. The policy specifically stated that single employees without children can bring a guest and the guests children. Question that came to me was why would a guest be able to bring their children? They aren't in any way affiliated with the company (the guest or the children). A bit discriminatory against the older single employees that want to bring their families that happen to also be adults with spouses and children.

I'd appreciate any input. I don't know how to word this to make this fair to all without opening another can of worms. This is the wording provided to me earlier this week:

Immediate family is defined as a spouse/common law/domestic partner and/or children (ages 18 and under, 24 and under if attending college but home/living with you during the event.) Relatives in town, children who no longer live with you, and grandchildren do not qualify as guests.

Single employees without children may bring one guest (and the children of the guest if applicable). See above for additional guest guidelines.

My husband thinks its ridiculous that there's even a discussion about this, where he works they just ask how many tickets the employee wants and don't care if they're bringing neighbors or strangers. But they only employ about 30 and they aren't catering for potential hundreds.