In an expected turn of events, a travelling supervisor for a US-based cable and construction contractor was abandoned by the company after the employee submitted their two-week notice. The company declined to cover their return flight home from a remote assignment.

A former employee shared their experience on Reddit, detailing their three-year journey with a cable and construction contractor. Starting as a technician and eventually rising to a supervisor, they began with a smaller, employee-oriented company that was later acquired by a corporate giant. Following the acquisition, the company laid off half its workforce and drastically reduced support for the remaining employees.

After submitting a two-week notice in accordance with professional norms, the employee was shocked to learn that the company would not cover their flight home from a remote assignment. This decision left them stranded and angry. “I thought giving my two weeks would make a nice bridge in case they ever changed policies,” the employee wrote. “But after this, I hope the company goes belly up.”

Many Reddit users criticised the employee for quitting while on the road, to which the poster clarified that frequent travel was part of their job, with only a brief stint every four months when they were allowed to work remotely from home.

Posts from the antiwork
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Other commenters suggested the employee consult an employment lawyer, pointing out that they remained an employee during the notice period and were likely entitled to transportation benefits. 

“They've decided since you gave two weeks notice that they're not paying for your return voyage? You didn't quit immediately, you gave two weeks notice. You're still an employee for two more weeks. Call an employment lawyer and hr. Tell hr you're gonna sue the fuck out of them if they don't bring you home. This is like getting laid off from an oil patch in the field and told to walk the 200 miles home,” wrote one of the Reddit users.

Sharing a similar experience of a colleague, a third Reddit user wrote, “I was with a guy in Mexico on a service call for the company we worked for. His ticket home got cancelled first, and then he got the call. They fired him on the service trip. He has to get his own ticket home.”