Employee at a WITCH-firm berated by manager for sick leave, ordered to produce health certificate
The conversation, which lasted roughly 25 minutes, was described as a continuation of earlier incidents where the manager had issued similar threats.
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An IT employee at a WITCH company (Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant, and HCL) has described being reprimanded by their manager for taking a single day of sick leave, prompting widespread discussion online about workplace culture and employee rights. The incident was shared by Reddit user Practical-Trip-9309 on the r/DevelopersIndia subreddit, where they recounted falling ill over the weekend and being unable to recover in time for work on Monday. The user said they informed their manager by email that morning before resting and taking medication, but later received two calls on WhatsApp asking them to explain their absence.
The manager allegedly questioned whether the employee understood the significance of the day, stating that a key meeting with a European client had been missed and insisting the employee could not have been so unwell that they could not attend the office. Despite the worker repeatedly saying they were too weak to get out of bed, the manager reportedly refused to accept the explanation and became increasingly agitated.
Manager threatened me for taking sick leave today.
byu/Practical-Trip-9309 indevelopersIndia
According to the Reddit post, the manager demanded a medical certificate for the one-day absence and said the document would be reviewed by HR to assess whether the employee was fit to continue working with the organisation. The employee said they were warned that the absence would be marked as unplanned leave and would negatively affect their appraisal.
The conversation, which lasted roughly 25 minutes, was described as a continuation of earlier incidents where the manager had issued similar threats. The employee said they were left demoralised and unsure how to handle the situation, even considering asking to be removed from the project.
Other Reddit users responded with strong support for the employee. Many argued that the manager’s behaviour was unreasonable and urged the worker not to internalise the criticism. One commenter advised maintaining composure and sticking to the explanation that they had been unwell, adding that any further action from the manager should not be taken personally.
