A troubling workplace situation has unfolded in a Hyderabad IT company, where a manager allegedly borrowed nearly ₹4 lakh from ten team members before vanishing on “emergency leave.” One employee, who charged ₹2 lakh on a personal credit card, was left with ₹1.5 lakh in unpaid debt and mounting interest fees after the manager missed multiple repayment deadlines. Seeking workplace resolution, the affected employees approached their HR department, only to be turned away, with the claim that it was purely a personal matter. Unassisted by company leadership, the employee turned to Reddit to explore what action to take against the defaulting manager.
“My manager borrowed money from me and isn’t returning,” a Reddit user wrote, adding, “My manager in an IT company borrowed 2 lakhs from me 2 months ago, from my credit card and returned 50k.”
The individual added, “He isn’t returning the remaining 1.5 L, and it’s been 2 months. He also borrowed from 9 other team mates which totals almost 4L. He is not returning calls or messages and is in an ‘emergency leave’ from past week.”
The employee explained that they approached HR, who brushed them off, saying it was a “personal matter”.
“I approached HR for help and they said it’s a personal matter and refused to intervene. They also said they don’t see any wrong doing his part and it’s purely a lapse of judgement on our part.”
Sharing their story, the person further explained, “We are located in Hyderabad. He promised to return the amount in 3 days. And since then he gave 4-5 dates on which he would return and missed all of them. I’m incurring interest on credit card which is creating the urgency.”
How did social media react?
An individual suggested, “Better to loop in all others and engage HR’s manager, manager’s manager as well. Even though it was a personal transaction, the person was in a position of authority and influenced you and others. If they still do nothing, tell them that you wish to file a civil suit.”
Another added, “Get a jointly signed letter from other borrowers and send an email to your CEO while quoting inaction by HR and that everything is happening under their nose or maybe involvement or favouring him and see how HR takes action against him for his balance dues in case the manager is trying to switch jobs without repaying.” A third posted, “Consult a lawyer and send a legal notice demanding the money.”
A fourth wrote, “There must be some ethics/grievance committee,reach out to them, or you can reach out to the India HR head or chief people officer. Keep all communication over email and if no one helps you out, then go to the nearest police station and file a complaint, police will call your manager and ask for explanation, you probably will get your money back by this stage and if not then ask police to file F.I.R. Keep legal as the last option as organisations might take it as an attempt to malign their brand value.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Hindustantimes.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
