OK… Trying not to loose my cool at work, but, I’ll give a brief history… I work for a decent sized company in IT. I work in a distribution center, but we have a corporate office and 8 other remote sites. Well, seems these policies keep coming up from the company, but yet they don’t apply to us, because we are a remote site. Now I just find out that every body, apparently even at other remote sites as well as in corporate have been getting there Internet access paid for, forever.
I’ve been here going on 8 years and have never gotten re-imbursed for it. Well, I brought this up, and now we are getting re-imbursed for it… However… What about the rest??? I mean if everyone else has been getting this paid for, should I or shouldn’t I make a big deal about getting re-imbursed for years past? I mean, just for numbers sake, it’s about $600 a year X 7 years that’s $4200 that everyone else got re-imburssed for, yet I did not…
What do you think? What would you do? How far would you push it???
The other little tid bit here, is my boss’s boss, knew all the other remote sites where getting this paid for, but never came up with us… There’s company politics involved of course and don’t want to blemish my name or rep, but this really has me PO’ed…
That’s a tough one. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the oil - sometimes the squeaky wheel gets replaced.
It seems with so much corporate downsizing and benefit cuts these days it is best to pick your battles carefully. I would discuss it with my immediate supervisor, but absolutly not go over his head. I think your boss will be a good “barometer” of how the situation is going to be handled. I know you are pissed - but keep it to a dull roar :>)
You need to decide if the morality of the issue is really important. Would you quit due to your ideals in this situation? If you would you need to make it clear that you feel you have been unfairly treated and can’t continue under those circumstances.
Personally, if I could get another job lined up easily I’d let them know this is a deal breaker for me if I’m not paid what is owed to me.
[quote]LJ4174 wrote:
I work for a decent sized company in IT. Now I just find out that every body, has been getting there Internet access paid for, forever.
[/quote]
Are you saying you’ve had to pay for your internet access at work? How could you have been expected to do your job without having access to the internet ? Or, are you saying you had to pay for your home internet access, but others had it paid for?
[quote]sen say wrote:
LJ4174 wrote:
I work for a decent sized company in IT. Now I just find out that every body, has been getting there Internet access paid for, forever.
Are you saying you’ve had to pay for your internet access at work? How could you have been expected to do your job without having access to the internet ? Or, are you saying you had to pay for your home internet access, but others had it paid for?
[/quote]
No, had to pay for it at home, however… From home I do work, therefor needing the access… The others have had it and have known about it except our group…
[quote]GhorigTheBeefy wrote:
You need to decide if the morality of the issue is really important. Would you quit due to your ideals in this situation? If you would you need to make it clear that you feel you have been unfairly treated and can’t continue under those circumstances.
Personally, if I could get another job lined up easily I’d let them know this is a deal breaker for me if I’m not paid what is owed to me.[/quote]
Ultimatums are rarely effective in these types of situations. Beyond that, given his current state, it appears that they really do not give a rat’s ass about him anyway.
If you want a new job, go get one. But do not try and threaten your employer with your quitting. Odds are good that you will be told to pack your shit and go.
Go to HR and ask about the policy. It should be published. Along with the poilcy there should be the process to get reimbursment. If there is a policy and no offical process for reimbursment (meaning they say “well everyone just does it”) then you have a legitimate grivence. If there is a policy and a process and you signed the policy you are SOL.
They can not fire you for asking. Just be careful and above all think politically.
It is like a rebate. Companies bank on the fact that not everyone will follow the policy.
Are you saying you’ve had to pay for your internet access at work? How could you have been expected to do your job without having access to the internet ? Or, are you saying you had to pay for your home internet access, but others had it paid for?
No, had to pay for it at home, however… From home I do work, therefor needing the access… The others have had it and have known about it except our group…[/quote]
Have you been deducting this from your US taxes under home office expenses? The Feds might be onto you, now.
No, had to pay for it at home, however… From home I do work, therefor needing the access… The others have had it and have known about it except our group…[/quote]
Agree with Neph and Dday. Ask if you can get reimbursed, but don’t push it if they say no.
If it’s a company policy, it should be in writing and should have been provided to you at some point. If yes, you might look like more a dick for making a stink about it since it proves you haven’t read the company policies. If you were never given a policy handbook, then you have a legit beef.
Whatever you do, I wouldn’t push it, because in the scheme of things, $4200 isn’t worth losing your job over.
Hey, thanks for the all the responses… Here’s the deal… Apparently everybody in IT all 600, or 596 of us has had this paid for, for at least 3-4 years from all sites, except the one I work at… I just sorta ‘found out’ about it… Don’t want to seem like I’m on a playground and yell “that’s not fair…” however… It’s not… Especially when the company says stuff like they apply policies fairly and blah, blah, blah… I mean, it could of very well be an simple over sight or mistake, but I’m finding out people got their setup, installation and everything paid for… So basically everybody else has gotten this benie, I feel as if I’m entitled to it… I mean, I could do a lot with an extra $4K!!!
Oh, just to clear it up, this is for my home Internet access, however I use this for remote support… For instance, when I’m on call and there is an issue…
[quote]LJ4174 wrote:
Hey, thanks for the all the responses… Here’s the deal… Apparently everybody in IT all 600, or 596 of us has had this paid for, for at least 3-4 years from all sites, except the one I work at… I just sorta ‘found out’ about it… Don’t want to seem like I’m on a playground and yell “that’s not fair…” however… It’s not… Especially when the company says stuff like they apply policies fairly and blah, blah, blah… I mean, it could of very well be an simple over sight or mistake, but I’m finding out people got their setup, installation and everything paid for… So basically everybody else has gotten this benie, I feel as if I’m entitled to it… I mean, I could do a lot with an extra $4K!!!
Oh, just to clear it up, this is for my home Internet access, however I use this for remote support… For instance, when I’m on call and there is an issue…[/quote]
I’m no lawyer, but it seems to me that if it was a policy, it should have been in writing and you should have been privy to the information. If no one in your location received the benefit, it may be an issue that the company felt the compensation packages for your location were more than sufficient as it is without the beny. My company has branches worldwide and the benefits packages are different at each location, based on local market standards.
$4k is $4k and who couldn’t use it, but is it worth going to the mat over? If yes, do what you gotta do. If it were my job, the answer would be no. Take the beny going forward and move on being all the wiser about how your company rolls.
[quote]Petermus wrote:
4200 bucks is alot of money to be ripped off… its the same as giving everyone else a raise but not you for no reason.[/quote]
I second that opinion. Just be sure not to rock the boat. Specially in a work climate that is paranoid and hostile on cuts and cutbacks. Just remember the nail that sticks out is the one that gets hammered.
