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Noida startup employee claims founder denied his sick leave request: ‘Mark this as leave without pay’
A Noida startup employee shared a founder’s response to his sick leave request on Reddit.
A man working at a startup has sparked discussion online after sharing what he claimed was his company founder’s response to his request for sick leave.
The post, shared on the subreddit r/IndianWorkplace, included a screenshot of an email exchange that the employee said took place after he informed HR that he was unwell and unable to attend work.
(Also read: Startup employee with ₹24 LPA package laid off despite strong performance: ‘I thought growth meant stability’)
According to the post, the employee wrote in the email: “Dear HR, I am feeling unwell today and will not be able to attend work. Kindly grant me sick leave for today. I will resume work as soon as my health improves. Thank you for your understanding.”
However, the response that followed surprised him. The employee claimed that the startup’s founder replied with a brief instruction to HR that read: “Mark this as Leave without pay. Don’t approve same day leaves. Thanks.”
The screenshot and the accompanying explanation quickly drew attention from users on the platform, many of whom weighed in on the situation.
Employee says it was only his second leave
In the Reddit post, the employee explained the circumstances that led him to request leave. He said he works at a SaaS startup in Noida and had been unable to sleep the previous night due to an electricity outage in his area.
“I work at a SaaS startup in Noida. We had an electricity outage in our area which caused me fatigue because I was not able to sleep the whole night,” he wrote. “I woke up and didn’t feel right, so I sent a sick leave mail to HR hoping I would rest today. Mind you this is my second leave in my whole six months with this company.”
The employee also said the founder called him after seeing the request. “He called me while I reiterated that I was not feeling well. He said ‘You sound just fine’,” the employee added, noting that his office typically starts at 10.30 am. He ended the post by asking fellow users whether the incident was a sign that he should consider switching companies and whether he had done anything wrong.
Take a look here at the post:
Internet users react
The post soon attracted several reactions from Reddit users..
One user commented, “If a company cannot trust employees to take a sick day when needed, that is already a red flag.” Another wrote, “Marking it as leave without pay for a genuine sick day seems unnecessarily harsh.”
A third user said, “Startups often talk about flexibility but situations like this show the reality for many employees.” Another added, “If this is only your second leave in six months, the response feels unreasonable.”
Some users also suggested that the employee should reconsider his options. “You did nothing wrong. Health comes first,” one comment read, while another said, “This might be the sign you are looking for to switch jobs.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
