New Boss Fires A High Performing Worker Without Realizing They Will Now Owe Him $200K — ‘His Face Went Pale’
His new boss was unaware of a stipulation in his employee contract and was blindsided by the amount of money included in his payout.
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock A new boss didn't quite realize the consequences that would ensue after firing a long-time employee.
Posting to the subreddit "r/MaliciousCompliance," the fired employee claimed he was terminated because the new boss coming in wanted to hire his own people. What the boss didn't quite realize, however, was that if he fired the employee, there would have to be a payout.
His new boss fired him without realizing they would owe him $200,000.
In his Reddit post, he explained that he had worked as an IT contracts and supplier manager at a fairly large company for over 25 years and had extensive corporate knowledge because of the multiple roles he worked at this company. Since he'd been there for over two decades, he was well-paid and tenured, making him a rather high-performing employee.
However, all that came crashing down around him after a new boss was hired. He proceeded to fire anyone he didn't like and hired people he knew into the various roles that were now empty. It wasn't long before the workplace culture took a sour turn, and the tenured employee knew that his time was ending since he wasn't in the new boss' "inner circle."
Unfortunately, this is a fairly common practice in various corporate organizations, which isn't fair in the slightest. It only perpetuates a cycle of favoritism, leaving hardworking, loyal, and dedicated employees caught in the crossfire and denied opportunities for advancement simply because they lack personal connections to those in power. Often, there is no recourse for the replaced workers.
"Seeing the writing on the wall, I started looking for and applying for other roles. The boss gets me in their sights and decides to get rid of me, looking to move one of his recently hired buddies to my specialized role," he recalled. However, the new people the boss hired to take over his role didn't even understand the tasks and projects he did since they would need extensive technical knowledge that only he knew because of how long he'd been on the job.
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The new boss told the employee that he would need to move to a different upcoming project, finish his current work, and not take on any new work afterward. Through his different contacts within the company, he knew there wasn't a "new project" or even a significant budget for one, but he did what he was told anyway. He wrapped up his work and informed his boss that he was ready for this new project.
"He says, 'Sit tight, it’s not far away,' and, 'Don’t start anything else.' So I sit at my desk, applying for other jobs and waiting," he continued.
He got an offer for one of the many jobs he'd applied to while anticipating his termination.
When his boss eventually told him that the supposed project wasn't happening and they'd be letting him go, it didn't even matter. He'd already gotten an offer from a company he'd applied to, and he would start relatively soon.
He explained that he knew there would be a backlog of work and things were going to take a nosedive soon when contracts weren't renewed, but he also knew his employment contract stated that he would receive a generous payout since his new boss told the HR department that his role wasn't required anymore.
"I say, 'Ok, I guess you will have to pay me a redundancy too?' 'Sure,' he says. Not knowing what he has agreed to. So, I go through the redundancy process and at the same time, accept the offer of the new job. Come my last day, I happily accept the $200k payout."
He recalled his boss' face going pale when he heard the amount that would need to be paid to a recently fired employee since it would come out of the team's budget. However, the employee enjoyed karma doing its thing and walked right out of the door with a pep in his step and into his new job. He admitted that he loves his new job because it's less stressful than his last one, and the workplace culture is amazing.
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A few weeks later, he hears from people at his old company that things are taking a turn, and they are advertising an open position for his old role since no one else knows how to do the work.
In the end, while this employee came out on the other side unscathed, this incident highlights the impact that bad bosses can have on corporate culture. This type of scenario is not uncommon, and in many other instances, employees are fired without a second thought and left scrambling to find jobs elsewhere.
It's a vicious cycle, and without proper protection in place, it perpetuates a toxic workplace environment where loyal and dedicated employees often go unrecognized, unrewarded, and disposed of without a second thought.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.