Read the alarming (and illegal) message my boss sent me when I told him I wouldn’t be in the office

A frustrated employee has shared the shocking text message he received from his boss. 

The Sydney man informed his employer he would not be coming to work on Monday morning as he never received his most recent pay cheque. 

His boss retaliated by making the worker take the whole week off without pay and ominously arranged to ‘discuss his employment’ upon his return. 

The man said he also hasn’t been paid superannuation since he started the job and will be taking his employer to the Fair Work Ombudsman. 

‘We were meant to be paid last Friday, the boss comes in on Friday morning and tells us all our wages will be delayed this week and we’ll be paid on Thursday this week,’ the worker explained on Reddit. 

‘Our wages have been consistently late this year due to the business’ cash flow issues. Late wages are just one of the many symptoms that we’ve been facing as a result of this.’

He said there was ‘no chance’ he was going to go to work while being owed his $2,200 pay so messaged his boss to let him know he wouldn’t be coming in. 

In response, the worker received a message from his boss’s assistant. 

‘You will have this week off and it will be not paid, you will be coming back next Monday, the 6/05/2024. And he will discuss your employment situation on that day,’ the text read. 

He was also advised not to call his boss during the week-long absence.

‘I’ve been looking for other jobs already anyway, and the big kicker is the boss is f***ed without me. It’s a tiny company (three staff in office) and I’m relied on for absolutely everything,’ the employee said. 

‘I’m primarily a technician but over the past two years, I’ve had to do all sorts of s*** because of the lack of competence with other staff and the boss himself. ‘

He asked if the move was legal and said he plans to raise the issue with the Fair Work Ombudsman as he has a ‘whole stack of evidence of unethical/illegal business practices the boss engages in’. 

The exchange has hundreds up in arms who slammed the boss for his ‘illegal’ and ‘unprofessional’ conduct. 

‘Not paying you in a timely manner is already illegal. You’re doing the right thing, but it won’t help you. Start looking for a new job,’ one user said.  

‘Kind of them to put it in writing,’ another quipped and a third said: ‘Better get a lawyer, son. You shouldn’t need a particularly good one’.  

‘Wages, super and leave liabilities are a current liability. If your employer cannot pay these then they are insolvent,’ someone pointed out. 

Some sided with the employer saying the man should have given more notice he wouldn’t be attending work. 

‘Without your backstory, texting at 8:57 is poor form and if you had a history of similar, I’d be on the company’s side,’ they wrote.