“Resign by 2 PM or You’re Fired”: Techie Shocked by Sudden HR Ultimatum After Just One Month of Confirmation
"Resign by 2 PM or You're Fired": Techie Shocked by Sudden HR Ultimatum After Just One Month of Confirmation
Young engineer pressured to resign despite no work assigned; Reddit post exposes harsh HR practices
A Reddit post has gone viral for highlighting what many are calling a deeply unethical HR practice. A young woman, who graduated in 2024 and was hired through campus placements, found herself in a shocking situation when she was asked to resign by 2 PM or face termination, despite not being assigned a single project since her joining.
According to the post, she joined the company in November 2024 and underwent a standard six-month training period. Just a month ago, she was officially confirmed as a full-time employee. Since then, she has not been assigned to any client work and has remained on the “bench,” a term used in the tech industry for employees awaiting deployment. During this period, she continued participating in skill-building sessions and followed all internal protocols diligently.
However, she received a sudden call from HR early one morning, demanding her resignation by 2 PM the same day. If she refused, HR allegedly warned that the system would auto-process her resignation by 3 PM. The reason cited was her “lack of skills” and time spent on the bench, despite the fact that she had just completed training and had not been given a fair chance to prove herself.
The incident has sparked outrage across Reddit, with users condemning the company’s approach. Many questioned the legality and ethics of such practices, especially in cases where the employee has done everything required of them but has not been allocated actual work.
Legal and HR professionals on the thread have advised the woman not to resign voluntarily, stressing that a forced resignation could affect her ability to take legal or career recourse later. Instead, they recommend collecting all documentation of training participation and internal communication showing no project assignment.
“A voluntary resignation will not help if you want to take any action. Ask her to gather all evidence of training fulfilment and no assignment of work and let them forcefully terminate.”, said one.
If the company proceeds with termination, it should be on record that she was not given any work only then will she have a strong case if she chooses to escalate.
This case has become a lightning rod for discussions about how tech companies treat new recruits and “bench” employees, raising larger concerns about accountability, transparency, and the humane treatment of fresh graduates entering the corporate world.
