An employee has sought advice online after being questioned by HR for arriving 15-20 minutes late at work, despite regularly working overtime and weekends.
Things escalated after HR spoke to the employee’s senior. Since they live far from the office and have a commute of more than two hours each way, they began arriving around 11:15–11:20 am on some days instead of 11 am. They stressed that they are willing to work when required but do not want their overtime to go unnoticed while being questioned over arriving 15–20 minutes late on quieter days.
Because their manager had made it compulsory for employees to manually record their working hours, they also said they have a complete attendance sheet.
“Most Saturdays in July were working days for me, and there were also random Sundays where I had to work,” the employee wrote. They said their manager has told employees that if work demands it, they have to stay late or work weekends. The manager jokingly calls this “udya teer”, which the employee described as putting the work or event first and dealing with the consequences later. The employee said they did not mind working hard and enjoyed their job, but things changed when their workload decreased. The employee said they reminded HR that they had been working overtime and coming in on Saturdays throughout July. They also pointed out that their manager had told them employees could leave accordingly when there was less work. The employee said their manager then called them into a meeting and “shouted” at them. The situation became even more frustrating when HR reportedly emailed their senior saying they had been taking “too many leaves”. The employee said they had taken only two days off in August and one day in July, along with an additional day for an important festival. Despite their frustration, the employee said they do not want to turn the situation into a fight with HR or management. The employee also said they had been unemployed for around four months before getting the job and genuinely did not want to lose it. “I like the company, the people and the work I’m learning,” they wrote, adding that they would rather handle the situation professionally than create a confrontation.
