SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee shared on Reddit the troubling financial practices within her company.
She wrote, “My company expects me to use my personal credit/debit card to pay for their disbursements (eg. ACRA search) and claim later.”
“I don’t think it’s fair and I’m annoyed, especially since I’m not paid very much. It seems like they’re doing business on my dime and it’s really getting on my nerves,” she added.
When she brought up her concern, she said her employers dismissed it and acted like “she had an issue with her credit card,” which she clarified she did not. She simply disliked the “pay first, claim later nonsense.”
She then asked the others on Reddit, “How do I raise this without making myself look bad?”
“I would love it if my company had such a practice lol. Imagine the miles and cashback I’d earn.”
In the comments section, several Redditors said that this was actually a “dream” and a “good deal” for them since they can claim free credit card points.
They also noted that this is a common practice worldwide and that her company is not being unfair.
One netizen remarked that if the company consistently pays on time and does not dispute the expenses, there shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
He also stated that the employee might let her emotions cloud her judgment regarding normal business practices.
He added, “If the amounts involved are small, then you will come across as unprofessional. If the amounts are large, you can argue that this is interfering with your personal cash flow and ask for cash advances for business expenses.”
Another Redditor commented that corporate cards are not as commonly used nowadays. He also shared, “I can use my boss’s card but it’s easier to just use mine and claim later. I get points too so I don’t see a problem.”
A third Redditor also told the employee that there was no way to raise this issue without revealing that she was a small-minded individual.
He then used the example of a hypothetical overseas trip, questioning if the employee would ask her boss to deposit money into her bank account before taking a Grab to the airport or booking a hotel.
He added, “This isn’t a battle worth fighting over.” Still, a few could relate to the employee’s concerns and expressed that they find this practice bothersome as well.
One Redditor said, “IDK why there are so many comments saying this is a good thing. My ex-SME boss had me make up to $2K in claims a month. I got paid back on time but this was as if I was giving him a free line of credit.
I suspect this is because he didn’t qualify for enough credit on the credit card used for his company expenses, which was actually, by the way, his OWN credit card. I imagine accounting was a nightmare.”
She then urged the employee to raise this issue with the company’s HR.
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