Dealing w/ Relocation Package Bait and Switch?

An anonymous reader asks: "I got a R&D job offer with a large company in Philadelphia area last week. It includes a relocation package that they told me was standard for my position. After I accepted the offer and made plans to terminate my current job, the recruiter handed me off to their relocation department, where I was told that my relocation package is significantly less than what I was promised. The relocation manager tells me that whenever there is conflict between their relocation policy and the offer, their internal relocation policy supersedes. Is this type of switch-and-bait common practice in corporate America? If you have gone through this nightmare before, any advice on how to respond to it?"

Comments

You do

[mattboston]

what anyone else would do, and post the name of the company on Slashdot.

Re:You do

[avronius]

Always [that's ALWAYS] get your COMPLETE offer in writing first. Ask for a couple of hours to review it [not unreasonable]. If the relocation dollar amount is not there, get it added. Accept NOTHING on faith where money is concerned.

Re:You do

[lcsjk]

Talk to the HR manager, and tell them the problem. If the recruiter is not part of the company, then he/she can say anything and the company has no control. However, an honest HR manager will stop using the recruiter, and may even intervene on your behalf if company policy permits.

Sometimes your new manager will intervene, but the main thing is to make sure the person you are working for is given a chance to help.

An external recruiter may possible have mis-interpreted the information, or may be using old information.

Finally, were you so interested in a new job that you did not hear or read? It could be your own fault if you were listening and not reading the information from the company.

Re:You do

[rutledjw]

I heartily agree with this. I've never had a company back-off from a request to get everything in writing prior to acceptance.

The other thing I'd do is bring this up with the manager/director/whoever that hired you. As a manager, and I am one, I would not be amused with an internal bureaucrat who underminded a legitimate offer with the result of a new hire coming in the door angry. That's no way to start things off. Give this person a chance to address the issue.

Another point is that his/her reaction will likely give some idea as to what degree they will support thier team. It may be that he/she can't do anything, but give them the chance and make them aware

Re:You do

[PCM2]

When someone says "get your offer in writing," that doesn't mean an e-mail from Joe Department Manager saying, "Hey guy, it was great talking to ya, and guess what? We want to give you the job! Isn't that cool?"

An employment offer in writing is written by the HR department, not the person you interviewed. It has a signature at the bottom. It will probably arrive at your home via FedEx or registered mail. The package might also include other materials, such as a brochure describing the company's benefits package. The letter itself might also have a space at the bottom where you put your own signature, and you will return that copy of the letter to the HR department when you accept your offer.

The other posters are right when they say that recourse for a hiring bait-and-switch is tricky ... why start off a new job in an adversarial position? Even if you sue them for the compensation they didn't pay you, you'll be out of a job. But I agree with the GP: Get it in writing anyway.

It's odd to me that anybody would have reached the point where they quit their previous job and were actually planning to move out of their home without getting the terms of the relocation deal in writing. If an offer letter showed up that didn't include those terms, I'd send it back and ask for them to be spelled out. No HR department should refuse that request. If they did, that would be a big, huge, three-alarm red flag to me that the company is not on the level.

The point is that a real offer letter is not an offer as in "hey how about this" ... it is a formal proposal. It's not exactly a contract, but for all intents and purposes both parties should expect to treat it like that.

Look at it this way: In any kind of situation where you are considering taking a new job, don't think of yourself as a supplicant asking a company for work. Think of yourself as a supplier who has something to offer that company. What you're offering the company is your work.

Now, suppose you weren't just one person -- suppose you were a different kind of supplier, like a concrete company that owned some cement mixer trucks. If your local municipality offered you a job pouring concrete on a few work sites, wouldn't you want to get the terms of that offer in writing? Where and when are your guys supposed to show up, how long is the job expected to take, and what are they offering to pay you for that amount of work?

Taking any other kind of job, even if it's just a job in an office, is no different. If they don't want to spell out the terms of the deal for you, then you should view that deal exactly the same way you would if you were the boss of a cement company and the customer didn't seem to want to negotiate in good faith.

Re:You do

[Mattcelt]

Absolutely right. Why would someone work for a company which would do such a thing in the first place? Face the fact that if they can't get the sales pitch right BEFORE you come on board, it's not going to get any better once you're on the payroll!

ALTHOUGH...

As I understand the law (not being an attorney myself, of course), you do have some legal recourse... anyone that makes an offer (written, verbal, or otherwise) that you have accepted and relied on (to your detriment if they don't hold up their end of the bargain) has entered into a legally binding contract, and you are entitled to hold them to the terms of the original agreement. The person who first made you the offer was acting as an official representative of the company, and you were negotiating in good faith relying on their promise. They are obligated to give you what they promised, or you can sue.

But really now, do you honestly want to work for a company:
-that can't keep its hiring practices straight?
-where one hand doesn't know or care what the other is doing?
-that has to lie to you just to get you to accept the offer?
-is willing to renege on even the most simple of promises?
-thinks you're not worth dealing honestly with BEFORE you're an employee?

If you answered "yes" to any of the following questions, you should just accept the new offer and accept your honorary 'Dilbert' pin.

Talk to the person who offered the package

[oneiros27]

Before you peg yourself as someone who's unreasonable to work with --

Contact the person who originally told you about the relocation package, and tell them that the 'Relocation Manager' isn't offering the same thing. Ask them to deal with the issue, or make a counter offer and tell them what you're willing to take in exchange for the lower package (eg, higher pay, alternative benefits).

I've gotten the bait & switch on jobs before (my second day on the job, job responsibilities changed dramatically)-- my suggestion is deal with it as soon as possible, but don't become adversarial with the HR department -- have the person who hired you deal with them.

Re:Talk to the person who offered the package

[oyenstikker]

Good advice. Remember, the HR department works for the company, not for you; and by HR's name alone, they are putting you in the same category as servers and office supplies.

Why don't they call it personnel anymore?

Re:Talk to the person who offered the package

[mollymoo]

I second that motion. While this certainly smells bad for the company as a whole, it's quite possible you've just got a jobsworth or jackass in HR dealing with you, so don't write the whole company off just yet. HR never made a penny of profit for any company, their job is to save money by ensuring staff retention and quality recruitment. In this instance, they are not doing either and are just getting in the way, so bypass them. Speak (as in phone, not email - practice what you need to say and make notes if you're not great on the phone) to whoever actually wants you to work at the company - the person who gave you the technical interview. Let them know you're unhappy with the situation (you evidently are) and how significant a factor the relocation package was in your decision to take the job (it evidently was significant), then give them some time to deal with the situation. Expect to have to negotiate to some extent - the person who hired you will likely be negotiating within the company too (it may have been their screw-up giving you incorrect information or exceeding their power).

I'm assuming, as you've posted to slashdot, that this is a technical job. If it's HR or admin take the job anyway - you'll have more power than you deserve and will enjoy weilding it! But let us know where it is your new job is, so the rest of us can avoid it :)

Speak personally to someone senior

[currivan]

Call the VP or Human Resources and tell him what happened. Chances are he'll be furious that this is happening and straighten out the recruiter or whomever gave you the wrong information. He'll probably also be able to arrange an exception to give you what you expected, or at least a compromise. No large company would do this as a matter of policy. No one wants employees who feel cheated; they don't work hard and might steal from the company.

There's more to this:

[Gr8Apes]

Even if you have it in writing, this first taste of the job is already quite sour. If you do have it in writing, do you really want to work for this company?

If you don't have it in writing, talk to the person that extended you the original offer. Depending on what they do, you may or may not decide to take it/stay. Make sure whatever you agree to is in writing. Basically, any company that did something like this would be way in the hole and would have to work to keep any reasonable person.

If you haven't quit your old job, or you gave notice but haven't left and they're really sorry to see you go, indicate you might be interested in staying. This would involve playing the "what can you do for me" game. You certainly don't want to be honest about why you're reconsidering. Say something to your boss along the lines of "I would have liked to have seen project X to completion. It is going to be great!" or something like that. Perhaps they can sweeten your current job and you can both save face and your sanity by "accepting" the offer.

... and COMMUNICATE this to them!

[mr_luc]

First, you describe it as a 'nightmare'. Is this a deal-breaker, or not, for you?

If it's not, and you'd honestly take the job even without the better relocation package, then your goal is just to try to negotiate, right?

If it IS a DEFINITE deal-breaker, call them up and tell them that, bluntly but softly: "I'm sorry, but that's what I was promised. I don't want to cause any trouble, but for me right now this is definitely a deal-breaker. Please talk to whoever you need to talk to," get info on how long it will take them to make a decision and arrange to call back, and then call back.

If it's not a definite deal-breaker but you want to negotiate, the procedure is the same, but use softer wording.

"Bob, you told me that there was [blah] to help me get there and get going, and they're telling me [blahrg]. I'm just really concerned, and I wanted to let you know where I'm at with this. I'm really excited about coming on board with you guys, and I'm really looking forward to it, but my situation right now is that without an adequate relocation package like the one you described, it just might not make sense for either of us."

Also, mention to them that there are two ways that this is bad -- first, that the financial hit you'd take from the lower relocation package is enough to make taking the position a lot less attractive. But second, that taking that hit -- a substantial financial penalty -- is enough of a negative for you that it just might not make sense to start off what you *had* hoped would be a long and mutually rewarding career by being asked to take a big financial penalty.

You didn't quit your job yet, right? You haven't yet taken a dump on your supervisor's desk, right? So you can survive. If your prospective new bosses react to these kinds of reasonable concerns unreasonably, you're better off where you are, so expressing your concerns can only help you.

Best approach...

[pegr]

Take the job, learn all of their internal systems and processes, steal them blind. Bonus points if you can frame the guy who hired you.

If you get caught, insist on a management position. You'll likely get it.

Uh, Hanlon's Razor?

[jalbro]

Uh, did everyone forget Hanlon's Razor?

Make a polite phone call to the person who made the original offer and tell them what happened. Maybe they can straighten things out. If they can't fix it, or they don't admit they promised it, you have learned something useful about a possible future employer with no risk to yourself or reputation.

-Jeff

You forgot to add

[passthecrackpipe]

That you quit. Right now. They may promise you more money, more women, more booze, anything to make you accept the offer while look for someone else that is "less trouble". Trust me, you don't want to work for them. If they screw you around before you even start, then they will be even worse when you actually turn up. You will probably be miserable there anyway. If you are still unsure what to do, go out for a beer with you new co-workers. After a few drinks, you will be in a much better position to gauge the mood of the workforce. Something tells me it won't be positive.

Better Than Offered

[airship]

About five years ago I actually got a relocation package that was BETTER than offered.
I accepted a promotion with the company I had been with for two years, but in a different city. They offered full moving expenses, days off and travel expenses to look for a place to live, etc.

Turns out that my wife and I decided to split at that time. Since she got the majority of the household goods (which was totally okay with me), the company agreed to move her to a town that was actually 100 miles further away than my destination, AND reimbursed me for a self-move rental truck for my stuff.

While the split (and subsequent divorce) were tough, my company's compassionate attitude made an unpleasant experience much less stressful.

So then don't take the friggin job.

[timepilot]

Listen, if they're screwing you before your first day of work, they're going to continue screwing you once they get you into the job.

Unemployment does suck, but relocating to a new city with no support system (family, friends, etc.) and into a job where they are doing this kind of thing the first day sucks more. You think you're going to have any kind of job security there?

-j

Why are you even asking this?

[DrVomact]

I'm surprised you're even bothering to ask advice about this situation--it seems like a no-brainer to me.

Moving across the country to accept a new job involves significant risk. You are taking a leap into the unknown. You might decide that you really hate your new location, or that you can't find a place to live at a price you can afford. You might find that the job is not to your liking, that your boss is an abusive jerk, or any of a long list of other possible negatives. Plus there is the possibility of financial loss, and the certainty of high stress involved in making any geographical move. If you have a family, the risks and stress become much greater.

The only factor to counterbalance all these negatives is your faith in your new employer: you are trusting them to deliver on the promises they made to you with respect to your job duties and working conditions--and with helping to compensate you for the financial cost of moving, as was promised to you.

The key word here is trust. Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut instincts, and trust people. But trusting people whose actions show a lack of good faith is a dumb thing to do; it's like asking to be abused.

It may be that the headhunter knowingly made false promises to you so that he could get his commission. But the headhunter represents the employer, not you--he is their agent. Depending on exactly what happened, the employer may very well have a moral obligation to keep the headhunter's promise to you--but even that isn't the heart of the issue. The bottom line is this: if these people really wanted to hire you, then they would go out of their way to make you happy, to make you feel good about taking this job. They haven't done that, have they?

As for legalities, like "get it in writing, stupid", they're irrelevant in a situation like this. A deal is a deal, whether it's written on paper or spoken. If the other party breaks the deal before you've made any real investment in it, walk away. It really doesn't matter if the law is on your side or not. The law won't buy back wasted time, suffering or broken marriages. This is not a legal matter, it's a matter of common sense.

I hope you don't feel any moral obligation to take this job. You have been released from any such obligation by their show of bad faith. Write a letter to the employer's HR department telling them politely that you are refusing their job offer and why; be sure to cc it to the CEO and the headhunter.

I hope you haven't already given notice to your present employer. If you have, do anything you must to get them to let you stay. Chances are that you are a valuable employee, and they will be glad you're not leaving.

reflections

[Gary W. Longsine]

Yes, it does reflect badly on them. In fact, it's a huge warning sign. If this company treats prospective employees this way, imagine how crappy it will be to work there.