Boss sends worker to spy on woman's home because she missed his call on her vacation day
While they were on board with their vacation plans, their neighbor texted, saying a lady was standing at their door.
An employee working part-time at a private company was shocked when her neighbor sent her a picture of her coworker standing in front of her residence. The worker checked her emails, as she couldn't think of a way through which her coworker could've gotten her address. It turned out that her manager had, in fact, sent a colleague over to talk to her in person about an urgent task. The story was shared on Reddit in July 2024.
The employee was working part-time at an education company for three days a week. The manager had asked her to complete a task, but she couldn't finish it since her co-worker had submitted their work late. When she explained it to her manager, she insisted that the employee come in on her non-working days. The Reddit user denied the request, citing her prior commitment to another plan. "So, I didn't check my emails. Today, I took my annual leave. My manager was calling me on my phone, but I didn't answer as I was getting on a plane with my partner for our holiday. I wasn't looking at my emails either, obviously," the employee wrote. While she was enjoying her vacation plans, her neighbor reached out, saying a lady was standing at her door, constantly knocking. "We were not expecting any deliveries, and all of our friends and family know we are abroad. So, I asked my neighbor to take a picture of the person. To my shock, the person in the picture was my colleague," the worker recalled.
My manager sent a colleague to show up outside my house when I didn't answer an email.
by in antiwork
She wasn't friends with her colleagues, so she had no idea how the coworker had obtained her address. In an effort to find the answer, she opened her mail to contact HR, but found an email from her manager instead. "As I was not responding to phone calls or emails, she sent a colleague over to my home to talk to me in person about this 'urgent task.' My manager is now literally stalking me in my own property," the employee wrote. Replying in the comments, she informed, "I got in touch with my union rep, and they suggested going to ACAS (the organization in the UK that handles employee and employer disputes) to try and reach a settlement with my employer without going to a tribunal. I have started the process now and am waiting to hear back from them. My manager must have been informed that I planned to take this further and tried to apologize. I told them that any discussion between us on this matter will only happen with a union rep present. My manager has also now received a disciplinary."
This incident not only highlights a breach of privacy but also raises questions about how companies constantly try to bother employees outside their working hours. In fact, 88% of employees in India report being regularly contacted by their employers outside of work hours, with 85% saying that this continues even during sick leaves or public holidays. Now, what if the employees don't respond to work-related queries after their official hours? Well, the survey found that it may lead to repercussions such as missed promotions and even a contract termination.
Reacting to the Reddit post, u/unearthednj, who had a similar experience, wrote, "This happened to me as well. I had a tooth emergency, called to call out, and got no answer. I sent a text to my manager and got no answer. I had the tooth extracted, and while lying in bed with my mouth full of gauze, I heard a knock at the door. I open the door to a coworker asking me what's going on. The manager sent him to my house because I was a 'no call, no show.' This person did not know where I lived and was given my address by the manager who told him to go see what was going on. It blew my mind. I was younger and just accepted it."
Another user, u/canuckbee, suggested, "This is likely a privacy breach. Complain to HR, and ask for a justification in writing for why they gave out your home address to these people. This is all kinds of wrong." u/shipcompetitive100 said, "You find a lawyer who will take the case on contingency that you win; they get paid. This is definitely a breach of privacy."
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