For many workers, HR is seen as a safeguard, a department designed to support and protect them during workplace conflicts. However, a recent viral Reddit post has challenged this trust, highlighting the grim reality some encounter after reporting toxic behaviour. In a detailed account on Reddit, an employee at a mid-sized company shared how their HR complaint about their manager's misconduct led to severe repercussions.
The employee described their manager as increasingly micromanaging over recent months, monitoring bathroom breaks, scrutinising every email, and treating them as incompetent despite strong performance reviews. The situation escalated when the manager made inappropriate comments about their appearance in a team meeting, causing widespread discomfort.
"I decided to go to HR because I thought that's what you're supposed to do, right? Had documentation of everything, dates, witnesses, the whole nine yards. The HR lady seemed sympathetic, said they'd look into it, and told me not to worry about retaliation because that's illegal," the employee wrote.
However, three days later, they were terminated and pressured to sign an NDA. "Well, guess what happened three days later? Called into a meeting with HR and my manager. They said I was being let go for performance issues. Suddenly, I'm getting written up for things that were never problems before, and they're acting like my complaint never happened. They offered me two weeks' severance if I signed an NDA," the employee added.
See the post here:
Got fired after complaining to HR
byu/peainsea inantiwork
Now jobless and emotionally rattled, the Redditor is considering legal action. The employee concluded that HR prioritises protecting the company over supporting workers.
"Now I'm job hunting and wondering if I should talk to a lawyer. My friends are split - some say fight it, others say just move on because legal stuff is expensive and stressful. The kicker is my manager is still there acting like nothing happened, and I heard through the grapevine that this isn't the first time something like this has gone down at that company. HR is just there to protect the company, not the employees," the post further read.
Reddit users expressed sympathy for his plight and encouraged him to pursue legal action.
One user wrote, "If you're wondering if you need to talk to a lawyer, you need to talk to a lawyer." Another commented, "Absolutely, talk to a lawyer. Firing you for performance issues, with no established trail of performance issues, and trying to establish such a trail at your firing, days after you filed a complaint? A good employment lawyer could have a f**king field day with that level of bullshit.."
