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Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

theguardian.com

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Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#41

Post by Eumenes »

jffry wrote: post #9
jvanderbot wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people getting weird things like corporate food stamps when they are being paid 400,000 anyway?

> Meta [...] usually feeds staff for free from canteens at its larger offices, including its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters. But those at smaller sites are given daily credits to order food through delivery services such as UberEats and Grubhub. Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner. So probably a perk they decided was worth it or necessary for morale at some point

> Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner.

Dayum, I could make a weeks worth of meals with the daily allowance of each of these.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#42

Post by potato3732842 »

jffry wrote: post #9
jvanderbot wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people getting weird things like corporate food stamps when they are being paid 400,000 anyway?

> Meta [...] usually feeds staff for free from canteens at its larger offices, including its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters. But those at smaller sites are given daily credits to order food through delivery services such as UberEats and Grubhub. Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner. So probably a perk they decided was worth it or necessary for morale at some point

I suspect this is a result of acquisitions.

They buy some startup, bring them all under Meta's HR umbrella with all the rules and perks that comes with. Since these recently acquired guys are running out of random offices in random places they just give them a stipend rather than force them to all relocate to a campus with dining.

The $400k employee was probably a higher up (or key SME Meta felt they needed to put in golden handcuffs) at one of these acquired companies and was probably already on his or her way out.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#43

Post by jcgrillo »

dustyventure wrote: post #37
jcgrillo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether or not they intended to send a message, if I work at the facebook the blaring loud message I just received is "do not under any circumstances try to expense anything, ever."

And given that I don't work at Facebook the message to me is even clearer.

Exactly. Although tbh that message has been clear for a long time.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#44

Post by xghedrr »

Joker_vD wrote: post #26
jayantbhawal wrote: post #2

Description: Facebook and Instagram owner reportedly dismisses about 24 workers for abusing $25 meal credit system

Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food, so... what? It really irks me that this level of pettiness comes from the corporation that itself uses every single tax "optimization" scheme on earth (and also probably invented a couple). Apparently, quod licet Metae non licet famulo. This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage, not a "we ration out your…

“Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food”

Yes. This is called fraud. Even if you feel mega corp X is bad, defrauding mega corp X is… also bad.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#45

Post by dgan »

I still remember.As clear as day: I bought raw eggs and raw meat with my French equivalent "tickets resto", as well as a couple of beers. I am a horrible person. Granted, I was only being paid 2300€/month at that time. Poor international companies providing me generous perks, and I.. I occupy the position of someone else who would be strictly abiding the rules. I should have been fired on the spot. If only the world were run by law abiding individuals like the ones running those generous companies

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#46

Post by mrtksn »

jvanderbot wrote: post #8
echoangle wrote: post #3

> That included one unnamed worker on a $400,000 salary, who said they had used their meal credits to buy household goods and groceries such as toothpaste and tea. I bet that was really worth it...

Why are people getting weird things like corporate food stamps when they are being paid 400,000 anyway?

People love free stuff just as much as they love spending money I guess. There are deals even in upscale stores for brands used by people who don't know how much money and how many properties they own.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#47

Post by SanjayMehta »

I found this behaviour at Google fascinating:

> The company had also reportedly become more stringent on office supplies including staplers and tape, with staff having to borrow items from their reception desks instead.

I’m sure Google can compute the cost of a $400,000/- a year employee traipsing down the hallway to borrow a stapler. Pretty sure the stapler will pay for itself in a few trips.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#48

Post by xnickb »

Joker_vD wrote: post #31
xnickb wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> stealing from the company Do you imply the person didn't eat that day or what? The company compensates employees food expenses. The employee's partner made the food and thus the food can't be expended, so they bought something else at the equivalent price to compensate for what would otherwise be covered by the company. I can't find a logic by which this is "stealing". Please clarify.

Something along the lines of "they could've said the company that amount of money, instead they've spent it on themselves!"

I get my salary every month. I hope they don't find out or else I'll be fired for not saving the company that amount of money.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#49

Post by beepbooptheory »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #39
jvanderbot wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people getting weird things like corporate food stamps when they are being paid 400,000 anyway?

I, for one know, some people like this. They grew up in struggling families where food and resources were scarce at times. My impression is that's created a deeply rooted sense of need. That sense of need stays, even when you clearly have great salaries.

I have only worked at pretty bad startups I guess, but for me I could get paid well but if there is some strong sense of job insecurity (as there always seems to be in this world), I will never leave a certain level of survival/hoarding mode. I have savings and everything but to this day I will still only buy a car I can potentially live out of. Every day I am ready to go back to the kitchen, but until then every morsel must be collected and appreciated.

Re: Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods'

#50

Post by mikeocool »

Joker_vD wrote: post #26
jayantbhawal wrote: post #2

Description: Facebook and Instagram owner reportedly dismisses about 24 workers for abusing $25 meal credit system

Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food, so... what? It really irks me that this level of pettiness comes from the corporation that itself uses every single tax "optimization" scheme on earth (and also probably invented a couple). Apparently, quod licet Metae non licet famulo. This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage, not a "we ration out your…

> This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage

The IRS doesn’t view it that way — if people were just given an extra $70 a day for expenses not related to their job, it would typically to be taxed as compensation.

If they allowed this to happen unchecked and lots of people started doing it, the headline would be “Meta facilitates tax avoidance scheme for employees making $400k”

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