Boss contacts HVAC technician's wife during week off, demanding that he come in and threatening termination

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Sep 26, 2024 8:00 AM EDT

If the horrible bosses of the world cannot respect their employees' vacation policies, then they should not be entitled to any vacation either.

Here, we have a seasoned HVAC technician who had been with the company since its early days and who always spent a considerable amount of his already limited PTO on the week after Labor Day. This was a time where he and his wife could send their kids off to school and plan for the fall. Unfortunately, when the company was sold to a larger monopoly, many of the benefits of the job were taken away and the new manager was less than respectful. This year, while he was off for the week after Labor Day, his manager contacted him to come in on short notice. He even went so far as to call the technician's wife, who shared this story, because he couldn't reach the husband. Talk about using the emergency contact information for the wrong purposes!

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions from folks in the comments section. For more, check out this story about a warehouse employee's revenge.

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  • 01
    LOW FAN LOW THERMOSTAT MAIN CONTROL
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Husbands boss contacts ME looking for him; husband is on scheduled vacation
    via [deleted]
  • 03
    A little background: my husband has been working for the same HVAC company for 15 years. He's been there since it was a fledgling company, now employs over 100 technicians. The pay is great,
    via [deleted]
  • 04
    double time on calls after four, they cover benefits, 100%. He has seniority, he gets five weeks of vacation a year. Bonuses out the wazoo.
    via [deleted]
  • 05
    One of those weeks he always takes is after Labor Day. It's a time to see our kids off to school, close the pool, basically get ready for the fall.
    via [deleted]
  • 06
    Now that the kids are older and away in college, and I am retired, we still utilize that week for a final summer vacation. In 15 years, it was never a single problem with this.
    via [deleted]
  • 07
    At the beginning of the year, the company was sold to a large monopoly. All bonuses were eliminated, no longer could you accrue vacation leave, maximum leave was two weeks now, cut down from five for those who have been there 10 years or longer. Seniority no longer matters.
    via [deleted]
  • 08
    My husband was off his usual Labor Day week. When he is off, he shuts his work phone off. Apparently they were extremely busy during the heat wave, they looked in his records for an emergency contact and came up
    via [deleted]
  • 09
    with my number and called me to tell him to report to work. He told them he was away on vacation and would be happy to report to work on Monday. He was told if he did not come in, then it would be assumed he refused work, he would face disciplinary action,
    via [deleted]
  • 10
    possibly termination. He has another experience to find a job immediately. Morale is in the toilet, and this just doesn't help. I wish he could retire early.
    via [deleted]
  • 11
    fatwoul 7 hr. ago You're your husband's emergency contact, not his employer's. You're the person they contact to inform of something if your husband needs them to (if he has a work accident or something).
    via [deleted]
  • 12
    You're not the person they contact because they haven't planned his leave and they are their These companies. Good lord.
    via [deleted]
  • 13
    RevRagnarok 6 hr. ago at work It's my understanding that that industry is always hiring. When they dropped his benefits he should've just laughed in their faces and walked then. What's keeping him there?
    via [deleted]
  • 14
    MediocreFisherman 5 hr. ago The problem is, private equity firms are buying up all of these mom and pop HVAC shops and consolidating them under bigger company brands.
    via [deleted]
  • 15
    Just like Camping World is doing to all of the mom and pop RV stores around the US. They buy them out, keep the name, but its now a "camping world" where they slash benefits to employees and jack their prices through the roof.
    via [deleted]
  • 16
    It basically turns into Walmart vs the small grocery store in town. No one can survive.
    via [deleted]
  • 17
    Foxglove_crickets. 5 hr. ago. edited 3 hr. ago My biohazard cleaning company is doing this. Buying up all the Competition, when the original owners had the company, we have benefits and days off. When they sold, all that went out the window, we were on call
    via [deleted]
  • 18
    24/7 365 no PTO, no benefits beyond the standard blue O and blue cross health insurance. Really frustrating, I left and came back when they said you get days off. Now when it's my day off, management is still blowing up my phone. They get
    via [deleted]
  • 19
    mad when I let them know I'll get to it tomorrow or the day after. (I'm guessing I won't be getting a bonus due to this, but whatever. Temp job until I get my certifications in order)
    via [deleted]
  • 20
    It's C cause I love the work, but this isn't work that you can set up a shop for on your own. Edit: I'm a dummy and didn't spell check lol.
    via [deleted]

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workplace-stories fired work stories toxic-workplace job work Horrible Bosses reddit thread Reddit company toxic-work-environment
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