Forced to attend customer entertainment outside of hours

[dadoftwins]

Hi, I’m hoping for some advice on a work issue that has cropped up today.

I’m employed in an office based sales role, and the expectation is that when we have visitors or customers that I take them out for an evening meal.

This is not paid, not detailed in my contract and not normally any problem.

I recently had twins who came quite prematurely, had an extended stay in hospital but are home now and doing ok. My 2 weeks statutory paternity leave (plus the extra holiday I took) has now finished and I’m back to the office full time.

My line manager is now insisting that I accompany another colleague and take a customer out for entertainment later this week.

I am completely exhausted from night feeds, and it’s enough of a struggle to go into the office normally, let alone extending that working day (as let’s face it, talking shop with customers isn’t exactly a leisure activity).

I’m feeling totally stressed and harassed at a really tough time, any decent company (and manager of people) would show a little understanding of my current situation, but I feel like I’m being backed into a corner and forced to choose between my job and my family.

Can anyone advise where I stand in terms of refusing to go out for a meal with the customer?

[efpom]

Can I suggest that you NOT post multiple threads on the same issue - ask the administrators to delete 3 of the 4

Unless your contract requires you to entertain customers, in your spare time, and without pay, then your employer has no legal right to insist that you do.

However, you might want to phrase your refusal a little more diplomatically than that. Something along the lines of " always willing to promote the firm's interests,old boy, but just at the mo, hands full with looking after my wife and our two newborn twins, and frankly, not getting enough sleep -heaven forfend that I disgrace the firm by falling asleep at the dinner table, in the presence of an important client. You do understand, old chap"

[dadoftwins]

Thank you, apologies I hadn’t realised it had posted multiple times over, having a few IT issues to add to my woes!

I thought that would be the case as it’s outside of my contract and in my free time, but wasn’t 100% sure.