‘I have never heard of this policy’: Boss freezes employee's pay after he returns from vacation but 'fails to report back to work', leading to a dispute when he is not paid for weeks

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 11, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

Apparently, some workplaces are so out of touch with their employees that they sometimes fail to notice when employees leave for a vacation and never return to work. How do these workplaces deal with this situation, you ask? They 'freeze' every employee's pay once they go on vacation, until said employee returns and declares to HR they are back to work.

This means that if you came back to work after a vacation, and weren't aware that you had to call HR and tell them personally that you were back, then you might not get paid for any of the work you did in that time, which is exactly what happened to the employee in this Reddit story. OP (original poster) was left livid after a conversation with HR in which he learned that despite him physically being at work for the past couple of weeks since returning from his vacation, he is not getting paid for those weeks. All because he 'failed to report back to work' with HR. And you know what? We smell wage theft.

Scroll down to read the full story. After you are done, click here for a story of a Karen who got banned from a charity shop because of her behavior.

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  • 01
    COMPANY INC. 123 Street Name City Name, CA 90000 Pay against cheque To City Dele
    via AndreyPopov
  • 02
    Livid after having my paycheck frozen because I went on vacation
    via notmydayJR
  • 03
    I took 5 days off in August for a vacation holiday from work. I found out two weeks ago that my company FREEZES your pay if you "fail to report back to work" with
    via notmydayJR
  • 04
    HR. This an actual policy that I have never signed or reviewed in the time I have spent with this company.
    via notmydayJR
  • 05
    This happens despite: 1. Logging into my work computer from a work location 2. Speaking with my manager on the day of my return
    via notmydayJR
  • 06
    3. Attending mandatory team meetings and regular scheduled required meetings
    via notmydayJR
  • 07
    HR had the to admit that this policy is due to the number of "people who go on vacation leave and fail to return". Seriously, my company managers
    via notmydayJR
  • 08
    are so bad at managing their teams that they fail to notice when someone has not returned from scheduled leave. So bad that these managers require a company wide policy that puts.
    via notmydayJR
  • 09
    the onus on the employee to report they have returned to work, not the people actually hired to manage and lead a team.
    via notmydayJR
  • 10
    I am beyond p , and almost lost my when our HR lead for the region had the to say "Well we called you before regarding this matter..." Oh this did happen, but HR called me at
    via notmydayJR
  • 11
    6:00pm, 2 hours after I had left work. Sorry, not sorry, don't call me after hours unless you are willing to pay me for the "After Hours On-Call" response.
    via notmydayJR
  • 12
    Deepthunkd • 20h ago What state are you in? Who you should report this to in the penalties differ, depending on the state.
    via Deepthunkd
  • 13
    notmydayJR OP • 19h ago I'm in Ontario Canada. Pretty sure its against the employment standards act but I haven't spoken with a lawyer or filed a complaint. Too frustrated to process logically.
    via notmydayJR
  • 14
    LetsGoBubba6141 • 19h ago Sounds like a violation of the law. Check your states laws as paychecks can't be held as ransom.
    via LetsGoBubba6141
  • 15
    EvulRabbit 15h ago This sounds like wage theft. It should be reported. Even if you did take off and never come back. You are still entitled to the pay you have already worked for.
    via EvulRabbit
  • 16
    LowerEmotion6062 • 17h ago Sounds like time to file a wage claim with either the state or fed DOL.
    via LowerEmotion6062
  • 17
    Nishnig Jones • 15h ago Did they leave a voice mail when they called? Sounds like they didn't really try very hard to get in touch with you. Also, HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE JUST DISAPPEARING FROM VACATION?!
    via NishnigJones
  • 18
    Like, if it was people just using their vacation on their way out then freezing pay is just illegally withholding pay with extra steps and false concern. And if it's really happening so often that they felt the need to enact this policy, that's several more layers of crazy
    via NishnigJones
  • 19
    crunchyfrogs • 18h ago Employment lawyer here. We see this all the time. Call them and they will fix it. Unfortunately this is much ado about nothing.
    via crunchyfrogs
  • 20
    Big-Smoke7358 • 17h ago I don't think they're forgetting to check if people are back. I think it's for people that take vacation then give notice/quit without notice.
    via Big-Smoke7358
  • 21
    Noneerror 7h ago • Everything that everyone else here said condemning this, AND... If someone left and never returned, they'd still have to pay them what they are owed. Which would be even more money since it is all the extra stuff like annual vacation pay etc. In Ontario:
    via Noneerror
  • 22
    Regardless of whether you notify your employer ahead of time that you're quitting, your employer must pay all wages owed to you through your last day of work. This includes annual vacation pay, statutory holiday pay, and overtime.
    via Noneerror
  • 23
    Your employer has systematic wage theft as policy.
    via Noneerror

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Tags

boss workplace-stories wage theft employee hr manager job tales-from-the-workplace wages reddit story overworked-employees workplace paycheck Reddit company vacation
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