People rally around nurse who confronted her 'millionaire' client over the $32,000 fee he owed her

One may think that being an independent worker might be quite convenient in terms of flexible working hours and better pay. But every working model has its own challenges. While getting clients is a challenge in the first place for independent workers, getting a good client who pays on time is much more difficult these days. One such worker, Keren Whitney (@abcimhappy123), shared on TikTok her work woes as an independent nursing practitioner. In her video, she called out a "millionaire" client who often made late payments for her services and decided to confront him.

Whitney is a registered nurse based in Ottawa, Canada and she worked at a spa owned by a millionaire where she provides cosmetic injections like Botox and fillers. She provided her services on demand and usually got paid at the end of the month. But recently, she noticed that her "supposed millionaire" employer was delaying her payment for over 3 months. "As an independent contractor, you're not really protected by labor laws in Ontario, Canada. So, we basically just bill for the services we provide and it's on the person who contracts you to pay you on time," Whitney clarified.  

Whitney had been working with the spa owner for over 2 years and there were previous instances of delayed payments from his end. But this time he was 3 months late and also the amount he owed Whitney came out to $32000. The nurse said that she had tried every way to contact him - called him, texted him and even booked a Zoom meeting to talk about the payment. But the spa owner simply ignored her or postponed the meetings. "The craziest thing is that he will boast about how much money he makes and how he's selling different companies in the same meetings where he says he needs a little longer to pay us," said Whitney.

As she was almost about to lose her apartment and finding it difficult to make ends meet, Whitney decided to show up at the millionaire's office and demand her payment. "He knows nothing about the beauty industry and the spa is closing down," said the nurse. She added that the employer also owned a roofing franchise in Ottawa and confronting him could get him in trouble but she didn't care. Whitney was supposed to meet with him that day but the millionaire tried to postpone the meeting to the next day. But the nurse went ahead with her plan anyway. In a follow-up video, she said that her confrontation worked out and that she would receive her money in a couple of days.

With over 2,3000 views, the video garnered huge attention. Many other employees shared similar experiences they had at work. "Once you get the payment start charging upfront for services! I've had to do that in the past with clients who don't respect my business," suggested @amandamaex. "There would be 3 attempts then a lawsuit. Especially since his business is closing. Go talk to a lawyer," wrote @skysgran. "It's ALWAYS the wealthy ones that you have to hound for payment. Ridiculous," commented @mothergoods.