What is Immediate Family?

Monday our HR organize to buy for us the tickets for the Singapore Fireworks Celebrations 2007 at the new Viewing Gallery at the Marina Waterfront. So I book 5 tickets for my family. $8 per tickets not expensive lah.

Today HR confirm that our company will sponsor 150 tickets for all interested employee & their immediate family(Spouse & children) ...first come first serve. So HR send me an email to check with me whether I am willing to pay for 4 tickets as my parents & sisters does not falls into the Immediate Family category. I need to pay for $8 each under the Friends & Relative category. Funny right?? Paying for 4 tickets is not a problem as I have intended to pay for all 5 tickets in the first place. But how come my parents = friends & relative leh?? Really do not understand how the management define Immediate Family.

In my reply email to HR, I ask whether they mean that for a single woman like me I DO NOT have family?? I sent them the definition of Immediate Family.

So, what is Immediate Family?

Immediate Family: A term that is generally used to refer to the smallest unit of a family that an individual lives with, which usually includes a father, a mother and siblings.

After some discussion, HR reply that there is some miscommunication. For married employee, spouse & children can go for FOC. For single employee, parents can get FOC. So I am entitled 3FOC tickets. So now I only need to pay for 2 tickets for my 2 relative sisters. I do not know this is the HR manager decision or the management decision. Or the management = HR manager who is the one deciding who can get FOC. Anyway my email was replied within half an hour so dun think got any management personnel involve in the decision lah. Or the management who is married with children does not consider their parents as immediate family. Maybe for some married couple, parents is just a relative who helps to take care of their children or relative which they can visit once a week/fortnight for a free dinner. (offcouse not all married couple are like that lah)

Than for those divorce one leh?? If they divorce and dun have children means they dun have family liao meh? Make no sense right??

In our current era, single are usually the lugi one. 36 yrs old than can purchase HDB some more is resales flat. Although now can purchase new flat but those new flat are either vacant for a long time or at a very remote location. Single are treated unfairly. Hey man we do pay for income tax one you know. Please do not forget that nowadays single are the one looking after their old parents.

This incident makes me wonder. If after you get married, your parents is not your immediate family liao.... they becomes your relative only....so why bother to take care of them?? Right?? With this kind of definition how can government encourage and teach the young to take care of their parents? How could one blame a married couple if they did not take care of their parents? How to blame?? They only relative wah.