Employee rushes to ICU for grandmother, boss orders pay cut for missing late-night meet; netizens erupt in anger

An Indian employee has claimed that their company deducted a full day’s salary after they rushed out of the office to attend to their grandmother, who had been admitted to the ICU. The incident, shared in a viral Reddit post, sparked wide debate on work culture, empathy, and boundaries. The employee said that although they were already logged in and working from home, a missed late-night client meeting led to an argument with a company director and the sudden salary cut.

What the viral post said

The employee wrote on Reddit that they had to leave the office urgently but had informed only a colleague in the rush. They admitted they forgot to notify the management.
“My grandmother was admitted in the ICU and I had to leave urgently, though I was already logged in and working from home. Because of this, I missed a late-night regular meeting at 9 PM IST, with the client,” the user wrote.
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The post went on to detail the director’s reaction.

“While I was still in the hospital, the director of the company starts shouting and yelling. And I wish that I were in the right headspace to reply to him, but I couldn’t because of the situation I was in, and we were already all stressed.”

Long shift, long mail

A few days later, the employee said they were pushed into a 16.5-hour shift. This reportedly prompted them to write a firm email to management to set boundaries.

“I worked a shift of 16.5 hours (from 11 AM to 3:30 AM) on 27th November 2025. Please let me know if that compensates for the day. If not, then I am afraid I won’t be able to work past my shift, even if there are meetings scheduled later in the night – the same goes for today,” the mail read.

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The employee added that HR later called them and tried to soothe the situation, saying it was not a big deal. But the employee wrote that they could not resign due to a bond and planned to “just do enough” while preparing a side hustle.

The viral moment

The Reddit post titled “Director asked HR to deduct a day’s salary because I was not available for a meeting” gained traction on the IndianWorkplace subreddit, turning into a talking point on unhealthy workplace expectations.

How social media reacted

Many users backed the employee for taking a stand. Some praised the email, while others pointed out that employment bonds may not always be legally enforceable.

One user commented: “Befitting reply! Be honest and work on improving your skills, and then you don’t need to be afraid of the job. Also, good thing to get all communications in writing.”

Another wrote: “Don’t leave abruptly, prepare well, get a backup up then leave, not to worry about the bond cheque and all.”

A third added: “Just work your regular shift and don’t take this additional stuff. In the worst case, they will fire you. So once you are ready for the next step, just chill and let them do the work.”

A fourth said: “You did the right thing. Just stick to your mail and ask them to respond on the mail only.”

The offbeat workplace dispute continues to stir conversation online, with many users calling it yet another example of the growing pushback against toxic work practices.