Put in 2 weeks notice. Employer wants me to eat costs for nonrefundable flights booked.

[TexasCPA 102]

Actually this is related to the girlfriend (but no pics).  Summarizing below:

• 2 weeks notice was submitted.
• She travels a lot, and per their policy or some memo, they are supposed to book non-refundable flights a month in advance.  
• She has flights booked that will be after her resignation date, and the employer is asking her to pay for those non-refundable flights already booked, which is on a company provided credit card in her name.
• This is their typical process...the employee charges the corporate credit card, pays it, then asks for reimbursement through an expense report. 
• However, this time they aren't going to reimburse her for it.  She has other expense reports in progress from prior trips.  They said if she doesn't pay, they will just net those amounts owed to her for these non-refundable trips, and pay out the remainder, essentially forcing her to eat the cost.

Seems like bullshit to me.  Or maybe I am just pissed because it is impacting my wallet.  What do you think?  

[Grimas 669]

So... Wife? There is a thread for that...

Edited September 26, 2023 by Grimas

[FunDip 33]

Sounds like the employer is being a Petty Betty and are peeved she is leaving. Did she leave them in a lurch or to go to a competitor or any other explanation for the pettiness?

I'd probably ignore it and if it escalated take care of it.

[ztejas 43412]

Why didn't she just say she was quitting after her last trip that's booked?

[wild_turkey 3159]

Sounds like a shitty employer. How big is the company and what industry is this?

What is the total cost of the flights in question? What airline? Even though they are non-refundable, is it possible to convert them to airline credit for personal travel?

[TexasCPA 102]

18 minutes ago, FunDip said:

Sounds like the employer is being a Petty Betty and are peeved she is leaving. Did she leave them in a lurch or to go to a competitor or any other explanation for the pettiness?

I'd probably ignore it and if it escalated take care of it.

She had some disagreements with her supervisor, so maybe that had something to do with it.

13 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Why didn't she just say she was quitting after her last trip that's booked?

Based on the above, I think she was just ready to bounce.  I don't think she wanted to put in a one month notice, or whenever that last trip is booked.

12 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

Sounds like a shitty employer. How big is the company and what industry is this?

What is the total cost of the flights in question? What airline? Even though they are non-refundable, is it possible to convert them to airline credit for personal travel?

I think it's like $800 or something.  Yeah I had her check on that with the travel agency.  Apparently, she could get a credit for personal travel.  So maybe that is the best way to go and not worth fighting it.  Still doesn't seem right to me though.

[Updawg 2266]

She should let her coworkers know how it works before leaving. Sounds like a shitty company

[wild_turkey 3159]

I think it's like $800 or something.  Yeah I had her check on that with the travel agency.  Apparently, she could get a credit for personal travel.  So maybe that is the best way to go and not worth fighting it.  Still doesn't seem right to me though.

It doesn’t seem right at all. If she can keep the $800 for personal use, that’s probably easier than fighting it

Agree with letting her coworkers know the situation before she leaves so that everyone knows what kind of company they are dealing with.

[fattyflattie 4639]

Yeah that’s company wide memo right there.  

[Quagmire 2147]

Since your questions have been answered let’s see the nudes now

[Doc Sam Beckett 5792]

1 hour ago, FunDip said:

Sounds like the employer is being a Petty Betty and are peeved she is leaving. Did she leave them in a lurch or to go to a competitor or any other explanation for the pettiness?

I'd probably ignore it and if it escalated take care of it.

Really want to neg or posrep you for the way you talk, just please confirm or deny....are you my grandmother? 

[YGIFS 19449]

IF it's $800, get it over with and have her move on.  THe bullshit petty fight they'll put up before she takes on her next gig isn't worth the explanation to her next HR team.  They give her a hard time, post her employer name and two phones calls and a handshake later.  They never even heard of airplanes.  

[wild_turkey 3159]

If she had disagreements with her supervisor, is this coming directly from the supervisor or from higher up? If it’s from the supervisor and they are just being petty, I would go over their head and discuss with HR.

Otherwise, maybe best to take the $800 for personal travel and move on.

[TexasCPA 102]

14 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

If she had disagreements with her supervisor, is this coming directly from the supervisor or from higher up? If it’s from the supervisor and they are just being petty, I would go over their head and discuss with HR.

Otherwise, maybe best to take the $800 for personal travel and move on.

I think it’s coming from her supervisor. I asked her to call HR and explain the situation. HR apparently said they weren’t aware managers were making them book non refundable flights that far out. Said she would look into it and call her back in the morning.  Even mention that it didn’t seem fair. But we will see. 

[Viper 12104]

Is this something that could be handled in small claims court? or could it be reported to the NLRB or something?

 

Also this is the kind of question that gets asked in https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/ a lot, maybe try there too, just be sure to mention the state

[elfenix 34225]

kinda smells like a TWC claim. 

[FunDip 33]

2 hours ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Really want to neg or posrep you for the way you talk, just please confirm or deny....are you my grandmother? 

Sonny Jim

[StassneyHorn 6574]

Get HR on the record saying what the process is, not the supervisor. No reason the instructions should be for non-refundable flights because the company wants to save 30 dollars on future reimbursements or whatever the difference in that costs is to them. Then fuck them. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

2 minutes ago, StassneyHorn said:

Get HR on the record saying what the process is, not the supervisor. No reason the instructions should be for non-refundable flights because the company wants to save 30 dollars on future reimbursements or whatever the difference in that costs is to them. Then fuck them. 

Agree with the advice to deal with HR and not the boss. Termination/exits, final checks, expense reimbursements are their area.

Doesn't hurt to call the airlines customer support team about this. Explain the scenario and see if there is any way they could flip this to an airline credit. They don't have to do this but customer reps usually have some leeway in what they can do. Be especially nice to the airline rep.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10229]

If the company has an HR department I have faith they will take care of the expense. No way they want to spend time and energy when it's so obviously wrong and the message that it would send about their company.

[Dahobbs 17527]

14 hours ago, elfenix said:

kinda smells like a TWC claim. 

Yeah, this. If this employer is in Texas, I'd report to the Texas Workforce Commission. 

[Bevo 13569]

18 hours ago, TexasCPA said:

Actually this is related to the girlfriend (but no pics).  Summarizing below:

• 2 weeks notice was submitted.
• She travels a lot, and per their policy or some memo, they are supposed to book non-refundable flights a month in advance.  
• She has flights booked that will be after her resignation date, and the employer is asking her to pay for those non-refundable flights already booked, which is on a company provided credit card in her name.
• This is their typical process...the employee charges the corporate credit card, pays it, then asks for reimbursement through an expense report. 
• However, this time they aren't going to reimburse her for it.  She has other expense reports in progress from prior trips.  They said if she doesn't pay, they will just net those amounts owed to her for these non-refundable trips, and pay out the remainder, essentially forcing her to eat the cost.

Seems like bullshit to me.  Or maybe I am just pissed because it is impacting my wallet.  What do you think?  

You are a CPA - Just write it off.

[Incredulity 11655]

24 minutes ago, Bevo said:

You are a CPA - Just write it off.

MUST RESIST URGE TO POST KRAMER WRITE OFF GIF.....

[Firemans4Horn 18036]

Just have her email the review she is going to leave on Glassdoor (including her supervisors name) about what a cheap ass company they are to her supervisors boss, hr, etc…

[Texzilla58 4732]

Sounds like the supervisor is trying to reduce his Dept travel expense. Since supe is being a turd go straight to HR VP. They shouldn’t want any bullshit over that small an amount. It’s their ticket let them try to get a refund or credit

[Bevo&Pevo 5121]

Snitch off with equivalent of office supplies and TP.

[Pato del Muerto 52487]

Does someone else not have to make that travel in her place?  Wouldn’t they want the presumably cheaper fare that was booked weeks ago?  Wouldn’t retaining that travel by paying for it be the cheapest option for the company?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13509]

1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Does someone else not have to make that travel in her place?  Wouldn’t they want the presumably cheaper fare that was booked weeks ago?  Wouldn’t retaining that travel by paying for it be the cheapest option for the company?

Can you switch the ticket to a different traveler?

but on alternative strategies, I thought you could change a nonrefundable ticket perhaps even to a different location. Or perhaps you can switch it to a travel credit for the future. Therefore if you can’t get the soon-to-be former employer to reimburse the exiting employee, she can still use the plane fare for a future personal trip. It won’t be exactly be a loss for her but just prepaying future air travel.