‘Feels completely unreasonable’: IIM grad claims Delhi-NCR firm deducted 8 days’ salary during hospitalisation

An IIM graduate's account of joining a Delhi NCR-based MSME has raised questions about what young management professionals encounter after leaving business school and entering smaller, family-run companies.In a Reddit post titled “IIM Placement Reality Check: Are We Prepared for ‘Lala Companies’?”, the user said the organisation had promised autonomy, ownership and an opportunity to work closely with its leadership during the placement process. The reality, according to the post, was very different.The graduate, who said they had recently completed their studies at one of the top seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), claimed that around seven candidates from reputed business schools joined the company after being given a similar picture of the workplace.“Before joining, the company spoke about autonomy, ownership, bringing fresh ideas and working closely with the leadership,” the user wrote.The employee alleged that after joining, the workplace was marked by close monitoring of employees, strict rules and deductions for minor infractions.‘Micromanagement at every level’According to the Reddit post, the company monitored aspects of employees' work and conduct, including how they dressed, what they did during the day and how long particular tasks took.The user also claimed that the six-month probation period came with only three paid leaves, with additional leave being unpaid.The company, the employee alleged, was essentially run by a family comprising a father, son and daughter, along with a close associate of the father. The user claimed that questioning management or disagreeing with senior members was often treated as “disloyalty”.“Being 10 minutes late can result in salary deductions, while staying an hour late due to work doesn't attract any overtime,” the user wrote.They also claimed to have received a notice for using earphones while watching a video intended to help them learn about the company's own product.Dengue diagnosis and salary deductionThe employee said the situation became more difficult in August, when they were diagnosed with dengue and had to miss six working days after their platelet count fell.The user said they informed the founder personally after receiving advice from their head of department (HoD). According to the post, the response was a thumbs-up emoji. No ‘get well soon’, nothing,” the user wrote.The employee said they returned to work the following Thursday after recovering, only to discover that they had been marked absent for eight days under the company's “sandwich leave” policy. This, the user claimed, included the intervening Saturday and Sunday.The employee said they submitted hospitalisation and medical documents to the company but was told that the deduction was in line with company policy.“I understand that probationers may not be entitled to paid sick leave. That's one thing. But deducting Sunday's salary because an employee was hospitalised with dengue feels completely unreasonable,” the user wrote.The incident led the employee to question how smaller organisations are held accountable for workplace practices while young professionals are encouraged to join India's startup and MSME ecosystem.“We constantly talk about building India's startup/MSME ecosystem and encourage young MBA graduates to join such companies to create impact,” the user wrote. “But who holds these organisations accountable for basic employee welfare and professional conduct?”IIM placement and two-year service bondThe Reddit user also questioned whether getting recruited through an IIM necessarily involves a meaningful check of an employer's workplace culture.The employee further said they were bound by a two-year service bond under which the company was asking for approximately five months' salary if they left.What Reddit users saidSome users questioned why an IIM graduate had chosen to join the company without researching it further.One commenter wrote: “With all due respect to your skills, why is a top IIM graduate agreeing to join such a company? In today's age of the internet, it's hard to believe you just accepted whatever they showed you in PPT and didn't do any research by yourself.”The employee responded that this was not their first job and that they had previously worked at a startup. The user said they enjoyed the pace and scope for growth associated with early-stage companies and had viewed the opportunity as a chance to take ownership and stretch their boundaries.The employee also said the decision was not based only on a presentation.“Plus, it was not just PPT. It was a discussion with the founder for 2 hours,” the user wrote.Another Reddit user asked whether the employee was at least being paid well. The employee replied that the salary was being paid on the 12th of every month.A third commenter told the user: “Just to let you know employment bonds are never enforceable by law.”Another user said the situation was information that candidates could have checked before joining and suggested switching jobs.“This was basic info you all could have checked before joining... just switch now. The B-school appeal is going down. There can only be so many vacancies and that many recruits. Colleges don't care now where you are placed,” the commenter wrote.The employee replied that the point was “partially true”, adding that they had checked what they could and had been trying to switch since the first week.The post has therefore centred on the gap the employee says existed between what was presented during recruitment and what they experienced after joining, with the dengue-related absence and salary deduction becoming the main point of contention.Get the latest Education News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.