Two weeks ago I got a call from an employee. He said he had purchased tickets for a sporting event, and now he was unable to attend. He asked if HR would write a letter stating he had to work so he could get a refund for the tickets from insurance. I told him I'd never been asked that before, but I would check with the HR Director and let him know. I got the date of the event and the name of his supervisor before we ended the call.
I asked the HR Director if I could write a generic letter along the lines of "To Whom It May Concern, M. Ployee is scheduled to work on XYZ date" and have her sign it once I confirmed the employee's schedule with his supervisor. She said that would be fine.
I called the supervisor and asked "Is M.Ployee scheduled to work on XYZ date?" He checked and said he was not. Hmm, that's interesting. I called the employee back and said "You said you needed the letter for XYZ date correct?" He said yes. I said "I just talked to your supervisor, and you aren't scheduled to work that day." And that's when the conversation got blog-worthy. His response- "I know, but I need you to write a letter that says I am so I can get my money back." I told him "I can't write that letter because would be a lie." I was floored. I'm not sure if he thought I was an idiot who'd write the letter without checking with his supervisor, or if he thought I was ethically challenged like him and would write it even when I found out it wasn't the truth. Either way, he went away disappointed.
I told the HR Director and one of my HR colleagues about this situation. Both were incredulous. What's even crazier is that I am one of two recruiters for my organization. So the odds are at least 50-50 that I'll be a part of any interviews he has in future for positions within the company. I will definitely bring up this situation any time he's being interviewed as a reason not to award him the position.
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