While workers face losing their job, and parties have pulled for everyone else, the company shelled out for a black tie celebration for a small group of what were understood to be sales team, senior management and partners to celebrate their successes
12:43, 16 Nov 2025Updated 12:46, 16 Nov 2025
The owner of British Gas has cancelled a Christmas party perk for its whole workforce while still hosting a swanky black tie do for a select few.
Centrica has written to its 21,000 staff to say it would not fund the £35 per person contribution this year. That is despite the energy giant raking in profits of £1.7billion last year.
Instead it urged staff to find “locally relevant ways to celebrate”, including sending “virtual messages of appreciation” and volunteering.
It comes after plans were announced for more than 200 redundancies at British Gas.
Yet while workers face losing their job, and parties have pulled for everyone else, the company shelled out for a black tie celebration for a small group of what were understood to be sales team, senior management and partners to celebrate their successes.
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The event, on Saturday night (15th), was at upmarket London hotel the Park Plaza, Westminster, a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament. It believe several hundred people - including their partners - were invited.
However, the celebrations have been very much cancelled for most of Centrica’s workforce.
A message seen by the Mirror from Jill Shedden, the group’s chief people officer, starts: “In light of the difficult decisions we are making to improve the efficiency of the organisation - particularly those involving valued colleagues leaving the business - we’ve taken the decision not to fund Christmas parties across the organisation this year.
“We know that festive celebrations are appreciated by many, and this decision has not been taken lightly.
She went on to recommend anyone who had made a booking cancel it.
The scrapping of the festive treat came even though Centrica made around £1.7billion operating profit in 2024, of which £427million came from its British Gas arm.
Centrica boss Chris O’Shea netted £4.3million in pay and perks last year, after £8.3million in 2023.
Mr O’Shea, 52, admitted during a BBC interview at the start of 2024 that it was “impossible to justify” his bumper pay packet, saying instead it was set by Centrica’s boardroom pay committee.
Andy Prendergast, national secretary at the GMB union, said: “It’s breathtaking a company like this can hold exclusive black tie events for some, whilst cancelling Christmas for everyone else.
“At a time when hundreds of staff are facing redundancy, the knowledge that others will be quaffing free champagne simple adds insult to injury. “The company needs to be putting all their energies into working with GMB to prevent compulsory redundancies, not spending huge sums to celebrate what can only be described as failure.”
He added: “With profits in the billions, it’s disgraceful to be cutting hundreds of jobs before, and cancelling hard earned Christmas dinners just makes it worst.”
A Centrica spokesperson: “We’re always focused on being more efficient to ensure we have resources in the right areas as we grow our businesses.
“That means we’re having to make difficult decisions to reduce some management roles.
“We need to ensure we’re respectful to these colleagues, and we think not having organised Christmas parties at this time is the right thing to do. The event this week is a not a Christmas party.”