Sometimes the smartest move during a company’s collapse is to sit back and let failing systems work to your advantage.

One contractor found a clever way to turn management’s negligence into a boost for his final paycheck, and all he had to do was go on vacation!

All seemed well until he got back, but HR wasn’t too happy.

Read on for the full story!

Remove unapproved leave from the system

A few years ago, my job was on an 8-year contract that was nearing its end.

I was looking at redundancy, and rather than apply for another job, I worked out I was financially better off waiting for HR’s axe to fall and take the payoff.

But that didn’t stop the rest of the office from falling apart.

My boss, however, made other plans, started taking time off, and then left.

Admin tasks were being ignored, and gradually the offices were becoming empty as people left.

So while he waited, he decided to take a vacation.

I had a lot of annual leave entitlement banked and decided to book a holiday, as redundancy was likely still months away. I used the HR system to book 2 weeks.

I informed anyone who would listen, put it in the calendar, etc. Of course, as my boss was now absent, nobody actually approved my leave in the system.

I enjoyed my time off and came back to work, and all was okay.

As we approached the final weeks of the contract, I had to tidy up loose ends and asked HR about final payments, including any unused holiday entitlement.

HR then had a lot to say.

What I got back was a snide dig about how I hadn’t properly managed my account, as I had unapproved leave requests open that needed to be closed. This was the request for the leave I’d already taken…

So I did what I was told and cancelled the request, adding another 10 days back into my banked leave allowance.

Which the HR department then had to pay me for during redundancy.

Thank you very much for the time off and the extra cash.

Sometimes the best form of payback is just doing exactly what you’re told.

What did Reddit think?

It’s a great thing when you have a manager who actually vouches for you.

It’s possible HR was actually trying to help them.

This commenter concurs with this theory.

HR wanted to play by the book, so he let the book work in his favor!

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