'Don't be cheap': Employee told by HR he can't use travel budget for tips, cue malicious compliance

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 20, 2025 8:00 AM EST

Traveling for work on a regular basis can be an isolating, soul-crushing experience. Folks who frequently have to endure the pattern of leaving one's family behind for several days at a time to hop on a plane to have face time with a few coworkers/colleagues/clients while spending lonely nights at a hotel are likely to understand that there are a few perks to work travel that make the experience slightly more palatable.

One of those perks is surely the food budget employees are given during said work trips. Depending on one's employer, this budget might not be much, but it's at least partially satisfying to enjoy expensing a meal on the company's dime. Provided that this budget is being used legally, one would think that managers and human resources have no say as to how employees spend that food budget. This employee, however, was told otherwise. Keep scrolling below for his story of workplace malicious compliance!

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    Cheezburger Image 10456308224
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • After his company was acquired by a larger corporation, the new CEO started to enforce stricter policies about traveling workers' food budgets. That's when this employee was brought into human resources and scolded for spending a good portion of his food budget on tips to servers and the like. Seriously, that's how this company was trying to cut down on costs. Unbelievable!

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    I travel a lot for work, and my company agreement is that I get a set amount for food everyday. I don't have a knack for fancy foods, so I typically just get what I get and tip heavily to maximize the dollar amount.
    via [deleted]
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    This was never a problem in the past until my company got acquired and the new company is aggressively cutting. costs.
    via [deleted]
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    Someone from HR emailed me to tell me I was financially on the hook for tips. I couldn't expense them anymore.
    via [deleted]
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    So now, I just buy the food I eat from. the grocery store, eat cheaply, and spend the rest on donuts and coffee for all of my co-workers everywhere I travel. There is a set budget for food
    via [deleted]
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    everyday. If you're going to be a penny pinching POS, I will find ways to spend that money within our agreement to give to others. Next time I think I'll feed. the homeless.
    via [deleted]
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    Need I remind my company that I'm doing them a favor by traveling because they don't want to pay full- timers in these areas? Don't be cheap.
    via [deleted]

  • What kind of example are these employers trying to set by refusing to cover tip money? It gives the impression that the people keeping employees well-fed do not deserve to be treated well, especially considering the known fact that these servers rely on tips for a living. In fact, this employee should have been rewarded, not reprimanded, for giving away a portion of his food budget to others.

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    CloneClem 18h ago . Is this a new item regarding expense accounts or is your HR playin god here? I've traveled for business some 30 years and never had any tips challenged or any other expense for that matter.
    via [deleted]
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    Candykinz 18h ago . Fantastic way to handle this stupidity. :). When I worked in hotels I had a guy who always got quarters to do his laundry in the available facilities in our hotel.
    via [deleted]
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    After one visit his company told him he couldn't do that since it didn't provide a receipt so he started sending his clothes out every other day. He got his jeans,
    via [deleted]
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    tees, socks, and boxers laundered and pressed at insanely high prices every visit after that. It usually added up to $50-60 per visit instead of $10 for a roll of quarters.
    via [deleted]
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    Ilitz 17h ago • Ask them to include the 20% gratuity as if you were on a party of 6, then you can tip 0 since that will be part of the regular line items.
    via [deleted]
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    TUGS78 18h ago • Lots of new management teams try to tighten per diem expenses and spend lots of time and money on it, until they realize that it's costing them more to control it than how much they were "losing" with the looser rules.
    via [deleted]
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    • CoderJoel 18h ago I worked for a company where I was allowed to tip maximum 20% on expensed meals. I travelled to a city and went to a meal with three coworkers, all of whom lived in that city. Therefore, I was the only employee due to expense my meal. The total bill came to $70.
    via [deleted]
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    We decided to add a $10 tip to bring it to $80. My three coworkers each paid $20 cash, leaving me with a bill of $10 and $10 tip. My boss had a fit for a 100% tip. I had to diagram the transaction on w white board before he calmed down.
    via [deleted]
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    . SlodenSaltPepper6 · 16h ago My boss told me once that "traveling is a privilege" after a disagreement over one of my expense reports. I didn't travel for three months and she was livid! I
    via [deleted]
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    simply explained that if it was a privilege, then certainly it wasn't obligatory. Cue stammering and backpedaling. Now it's mutually understood that it's a requirement for my role, but we're not going to argue over bulls like the cost of meals that are only slightly off the "daily guidance" and I'll pick my hotel.
    via [deleted]
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    Traveling for work is draining, doubly so if you have a family. Companies that find people good at traveling roles who are also happy in them need to shut up and be grateful.
    via [deleted]
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    derpmonkey69 · 18h ago Polar opposite of my company. Last year I was doing some traveling for work for the first time in ages and had to take a couple of ubers, so I asked my manager about tipping on those, and he was like yeah we definitely encourage tipping and reimburse it.
    via [deleted]
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    Food doesn't even need a receipt, just the fost rate. This is really silly and I hope it back fires and you get some vindication.
    via [deleted]
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    TIP
    via Sam Dan Truong

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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Tags

toxic-workplace malicious compliance work toxic-boss human resources Horrible Bosses workplace malicious compliance toxic-work-environment
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