HR tried to 'discipline' employee for missing mandatory meetings, until they exposed an embarrassing blunder

The corporate world is full of opportunities and also shenanigans. While poor management and toxic supervisors stand at the top of inefficient work systems, even HR representatives should be held responsible for errors and mismanagement. An employee who goes by u/Ornery_Lynx8610 on Reddit revealed that when their HR went out of their way to call them out for not attending an important meeting, they didn’t stand down. The worker confidently made their case and refused to take the blame for something that was not their fault. Sharing their actions on Reddit on December 2, the author revealed how it undoubtedly left the representative speechless.

The employee mentioned that they were called in for a “quick chat” with the HR and manager. They instantly knew it wasn’t good. “They tell me I ‘failed to attend a mandatory quarterly operations meeting’ and that this was my second ‘missed meeting’ this quarter,” the post read. However, the worker was confused as they were always punctual, professional, and mindful, especially when it came to meetings. “I’m that person who shows up 5 minutes early with a notebook,” they said. When the worker tried to clarify, the HR pulled out a meeting invite. That’s when the employee immediately realized the catch. 

“They pull up this mysterious meeting invite. Except, I never got it. Not in email, not in Teams, not in Spam, not in Deleted. It simply never existed for me,” they wrote. Despite explaining the situation and insisting that it was likely the HR made an error, management refused to own up. “I told them this nicely and HR gave me the condescending ‘Well, everyone else got it,’” they said. That’s when the user took matters into their own hands and asked the personnel to pull out the list to whom the meeting invite had been sent. As expected, the employee’s name never showed up because it hadn’t been added. 

The manager tried to cover up, stating that a mention of the meeting was made in a huddle. However, the employee knew they were in the right and left no stone unturned to prove it. “Nope. I wasn’t even in that huddle; I was at a client site that morning and he signed the field visit approval himself. So he absolutely knew I wasn’t there,” they wrote. Despite receiving clarification, the HR was bent on picking on the employee. “Well, it is still your responsibility to stay informed,” they said to them. Without missing a beat, the worker responded, “I’m happy to attend any meeting you invite me to. If you don’t invite me, you can’t discipline me for not attending.” 

According to HR strategist Sundar Raj, poor HR management has serious consequences for a company. It affects “employee morale, productivity, and the company's financial and legal standing” to a concerning level. It also creates a toxic work environment, a poor company reputation, and high employee turnover, among others. Unfortunately, the employee still received a warning for “communication gaps,” but was relieved to have put the facts out there. And the internet stood by them. u/jadanas wrote, “I cannot believe they had the hide to double down instead of just apologizing for the misunderstanding.” u/Otherwise-Cry4695 added, “Communication gap?? The gap is that you are communicating with them at all after that clown show.” 

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