Sometimes, the way a problem is handled causes more issues than the problem itself.

So, what would you do if you found out you’d been given money you weren’t supposed to accept, and your manager began pressuring you to give some of it to a coworker, or they would take it away from everyone? Would you do as they say? Or would you stand your ground?

In the following story, one employee finds herself in this situation and doesn’t know how to handle it. Here’s what’s going on.

AITAH for refusing to give $5 to my coworker after my manager pressured me & threaten to take everyone $100 because of me

I work in a care facility where we are explicitly not allowed to accept financial gifts from residents or their families.

Recently, a resident’s family handed out cards to some staff members. I received one, not knowing there was money inside. I didn’t open it at work or acknowledge it on the floor. Later, I found out the card contained $100.

What really bothers me is that my manager already knew the cards contained money and did not inform staff, even though accepting financial gifts is against policy. He allowed the situation to happen and only addressed it after the fact.

Her manager called her after hours.

One coworker didn’t receive a card or money. Instead of handling this professionally, my manager told me I should give her $5 out of my own pocket to “make it fair.”

I refused. I don’t believe I should be financially responsible for a gift I didn’t organize, didn’t know about, and technically wasn’t even allowed to accept.

After I said no, my manager called me after work, demanding that I give money to this coworker. He then said that because of my refusal, everyone would lose their $100 and that it would be my fault.

Now, she’s being pressured.

There is no written policy requiring staff to share gifts, and none of this was documented—it was all verbal pressure.

The coworker who didn’t get money has a history with me. She has been openly mean, has harassed me, and previously falsely accused me of elder abuse. Management is aware of this history, which makes it feel even more targeted that I was singled out to “fix” the issue by paying her.

Now I’m being treated like I caused the problem, even though: Accepting money is against policy, I didn’t know there was money in the card, my manager knew and didn’t warn anyone, and I was pressured after hours to give my own money.

AITA?

Wow! This whole thing sounds very messy.

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit would handle the situation.

The whole thing sounds sus for this reader.

This reader thinks it’s time to report it.

Here’s someone with experience in the field.

This person would give the money back.

The best thing is to give the money back and then report the manager to HR or a higher-level manager.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.