Professional boundaries should always be respected, especially at work.

The following story is about a man who was surprised when an acquaintance used his name as a job referrer without asking him first.

He chose to let it slide, but things escalated after the acquaintance got hired and kept asking about referral incentives.

Let’s take a closer look!

AITA for not giving half of the referral bonus?

I have an acquaintance from college. We are not that close, but we are not on bad terms either.

A few months ago, he reached out to me out of nowhere. He asked if the company I am working for is hiring.

I told him I would let him know if there was a job opening that fit his experience.

This man was put as a “referrer” by his acquaintance.

After a few weeks, he messaged me again. He said he applied to a job posting he found on our company site. He put me as the “referrer.”

I was surprised by this as he did not ask for my consent first. I did not really want to be tied to his name because I do not know his behavior at work.

I tried to be understanding of his situation even though I was a bit annoyed at him at the time.

Maybe he just really needed a job, but nonetheless, he should have asked me first.

The acquaintance asked if he had received any referral incentive.

It is important to note that there is a referral bonus. It is given to employees if they refer someone.

After a few months, he messaged me again. He told me that he got hired.

Here is the part that annoyed me even more.

Instead of saying thank you or showing any gratitude, the first thing he asked was if I would receive any referral incentives.

He refused to split it with him.

I brushed off his question.

In the following weeks, he kept messaging me about the incentives. He even found out how much I would get. Then, he started asking for half of it.

In a professional way, I told him no. I said I would not split it with him. I also told him to never use my name again without my consent.

Am I the jerk for being so mad at him and for not sharing the referral incentives I got?

Let’s check out the comments of other people on Reddit to this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Here’s a valid point from this person.

Short and simple.

This person advises reporting him to HR.

That’s not a friend, says this person.

If you didn’t ask for permission, you definitely shouldn’t ask for a cut.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who refused to keep giving his coworker rides to work because he left a mess in his car.