Some companies implement rules very strictly.

This man gets to travel for work.

He’s not fond of it, but he makes sure to make the most out of it.

He shares that he prefers to skip lunch during travel so he can get back home early.

He would just then buy food near his house and eat it at home.

Apparently, HR doesn’t approve of this setup.

Read the story below for all the details.

Boss tells me to not buy lunch locally when I’m traveling

I still work for this same company.

But I used to do a different job.

A few years ago, part of my job was to travel around.

And install/repair equipment that we either leased or sold to other companies.

This man prefers to have his lunch near his home.

I enjoyed the traveling.

But I didn’t want to be on the road for longer than necessary.

If I were driving and within a couple hours of home, I would drive through lunch.

I prefer to get close to home, and get some fast food locally to take home and eat off the clock.

I did this for a long time and no one ever said anything to me.

HR told him he couldn’t buy food in the same city where he lives.

Until one day, I was called into HR with my boss.

I was asked why I bought food on the company credit card in the same city where I live.

I told them it was because I skipped lunch to get off the road sooner.

And get off the clock as to not waste their money or the customer’s.

They told me that I’m not allowed to do that anywhere close to home.

He decided to comply.

So I asked how far out was not considered local.

They gave me some vague description, but I had an idea.

Since I got paid the entire time I was traveling, I decided to comply.

I would not eat near my city.

He now stops at restaurants and takes time to have his lunch,

Rather than get fast food and eat at home, I would stop at restaurants.

Sometimes fast food and sometimes a sit-down restaurant.

I’d take my time, eat, and then get back on the road.

This made it so I was still using the company credit card to pay for my food.

While still on the clock the entire time.

The company never mentioned it again to him.

It probably added an hour or so to my traveling.

Counting getting off the road, finding somewhere to eat, ordering, eating, and getting back on the road.

I don’t think they ever noticed.

But they never mentioned it to me again.

Let’s see what others have to say about this.

This person clarifies why companies do this.

Someone who worked in the government speaks up.

It was really nice of you, says this one.

This one shares a similar experience.

Finally, here’s a plausible assumption from this user.

I guess you just have to make the most out of your company’s perks and benefits.

But sometimes rules aren’t as arbitrary as they seem.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.