Economy & LaborOCT 30, 2023

New Employee Gets Paid A Laughable Part Of What’s Agreed, Deletes Their Work And Quits Immediately

When starting a new job, it is completely natural to expect to be paid fairly for it. Unfortunately, the Reddit user u/Chuawkuy’s expectations were not met. Recently they shared a story where their employer tried to scam them into getting a smaller salary than agreed on.

More info: Reddit

What do you do when your new employer suddenly changes the conditions of your salary?

Image credits: Ujesh Krishnan (not the actual photo)

Translator found themselves in a situation where the company cut their salary significantly, saying it was because they were on a probation period

Image credits: Chuawkuy

They decided to quit the company, but before doing that they made sure to destroy all the files they had worked on

A person was hired by a company that promised to pay them 35,000 THB (~$966) a month (Thai baht currency) to be a translator. But on the first payday, they received only 4,000 THB (~$110). The company’s reasoning was that the OP was on probation.

If until now you have never heard of Thai baht currency, which was mentioned in the Reddit story, we are here to enlighten you! The baht is the official currency of Thailand. In January of 2019, it was named the 10th-most-frequently used world payment currency.

There are few fun facts about this currency. For example, did you know that it was illegal to step on a baht? All money has a portrait of the king or a deceased royal family member. So, any abuse of the money would count as disrespectful behavior toward the king or any member of the royal family. And that is forbidden by law. And it includes more than just stepping on it - essentially, you cannot do anything besides using it as a currency.

Another fun fact is that it is made of a special cotton. This cotton is made to be extra durable. And every banknote value has a different thickness, so it’s easier to tell them apart.

Coming back to the story, the OP did not remember them mentioning a probation salary cut during hiring. So, they checked the contract. And there was nothing there describing that kind of condition.

So, the translator decided to delete every file they had translated from their computer. Some of them were very urgent. And then they left the job.

Later, the company called their ex-translator offering an explanation and asking for the files back, but the OP refused to go back.

To deepen the topic of the story, Bored Panda has reached out to the employment lawyer Milana Dostanitch and she agreed to share her insight about the probation period. Check out her Instagram and TikTok!

She told us about the typical legal requirements for pay during a probationary period. At least in the US, no rule states that an employee has to be paid less just because they are on probation. But she does not deny that there might be some exceptions.

“It is possible that your employer made you sign a contract of some sort, where they made you agree to lesser pay during a probation period. If you agree to that at the start, it may be that you will be paid less.

However, please remember that even during probation/training you still have to be paid the federal and local minimum wage, overtime for hours worked over 40 in a given week and the employer still has to follow other law protections that apply to your profession.”

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

Then she added that “regardless of what is written in a proposed contract or what you signed, it is always a good idea to check what your actual rights might be.”

Next she talked with us about what rights employees have regarding the disclosure of pay changes during probation. In reality, just a few employees are actually subject to probation policy. And for subjects of that policy, most if not all normal law protections apply.

“And while federal law applies to everyone, the State you work in may afford you even broader protections. For instance, in a pro-employee state like New York, employers are supposed to give employees a notice before any change in salary or pay. They can't just spring it on employees arbitrarily. If they don't provide such notice, they are subject to stiff penalties and sometimes have to pay employees their wages back.”

The lawyer added “I often hear employees say they don't have any rights because the employer told them they are 'at will.’ The truth is that the vast majority of employees in the US are 'at will.’ So when you hear this, disregard it completely. Almost all the employment laws and protections are written for 'at will’ employees and do, in fact, protect them. This is just another convenient fiction or turn of phrase adopted by bad-faith employers or HR to gaslight employees into thinking they don't have any rights.”

Lastly, we spoke about what employees should do if they believe their pay during probation is unfair. Milana said that these people could do a few things. They can reach out for free resources to the Department of Labor and file a complaint or get a consultation.

The second option is “to speak to an employment attorney for a legal consultation in your area. In this area of law, the consultation should be free for you. So you can get free legal advice and the employment lawyer will be able to tell you your options going forward.”

Then she mentioned that a person can ask their employer to pay and explain to them why they are entitled to the wages. “This may or may not cause them to retaliate against you. But if they do retaliate, it is likely a place you don't want to work at. And, their retaliation for you speaking up may give you legal claims against them that you can bring forward later and seek financial compensation.

Be careful with this option because obviously while having legal claims is nice, if you need a job and to pay your bills, you have to be smart in how and when you do it. So my first two options on getting informed on your rights first and speaking to someone in the employment law area come first.”

To circle back to the Reddit post, we can surely say that while the company did not disrespect the money, they disrespected the translator. Lying about salary is not a great look for them.

And some people online were of the same opinion. They cheered the OP’s decision to destroy all the files. Others were less cheerful and more anxious about the situation. They were worried that the OP might get into all kinds of trouble for their actions.