My father and I worked together in our industry. He’s been there over 45 years and retired while I’ve been there 7. We work in an assigned territory and when he retired I was supposed to absorb his territory. He and I work/worked for a billion dollar company.
Well, I did take over but by chance I found out I wasn’t getting paid for it. All the work got shifted to me but the pay did not. I asked my boss what was going on and he told me it was getting sorted next week.
I was pissed cause I’d been doing extra work in that territory anyway with an understanding that I would inherit it and the commission related to the territory was going to my retired father, who wasn’t getting a check anymore. So the company was just absorbing it to the tune of about $7,000-$8000 and not telling me.
I told my dad about it cause we are close and he’s my dad. I told him not to do anything but he was too upset that they weren’t going what was promised. It’s been a long standing agreement that me, my father, and my direct boss all knew about and it wasn’t being handled as promised. I was actually hired because someone needed to take over what my father was doing because he is in the top 0.1% of his field and they had no replacement for him once he retired SO they’d lose all market share in an entire state of the US.
My dad emailed the president and “burned that bridge” cause he was “sick of these sick games” because they were playing with my income. I have a wife, kid, and we are buying a house so my dad cares because he thought he was helping me secure a great career.
Now, I’m getting stonewalled on random stuff by my company, my boss is threatening to quit, and I don’t know if I’ll have a job in a week. Also likely an issue that could only occur in the USA.
TL;DR I told my dad about an issue at work concerning about $8000 missing commission. He emailed the president and now idk if I will keep my job.
Comments
Well… at least your dad cares… maybe too much and overextended his reach but… he cares!
Might be time to consult with an employment lawyer
Parents who try and fight their children’s battles rarely win. Everything should have been put into writing before your dad left his role. Do you have a copy of your comp plan and commission structure? Are they claiming that all the existing accounts are now “house accounts” and ineligible for commissions?
It’s likely that absent written protection, you are better off leaving your employer and going to work for a competitor. Have your dad leverage his old connections and set appointments for you. Go convert the accounts to the competitor.
I hope this works out for you. Please keep us updated.
Sounds like nepotism. Are you really qualified for this role?
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If your boss is threatening to quit, that’s a good thing. It will give you more leverage.
You don’t think your boss threatening to quit is telling you a story?
Why would he quit?
I would suggest he’s pocketing the extra commission that you were expecting. Your dad retired, but with nothing in writing about who handles what it might be possible he filed paperwork that said he was taking over something and was receiving that pay.
Because, why would he quit? OP is upset he’s not getting a commission that wasn’t negotiated in writing but had an expectation. Well, ok. But that’s not a reason for someone else to quit.
The competition would likely love to have you and most non-compete clauses are unenforceable.
Simple, turn in your 2 week notice. Let them try to cover both your and your dad’s areas with nobody trained.
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you are worried you might be fired?
I’d be worried you would keep working there.
Look for a new job either way.
Yep, you’re fucked. Sorry to read about it but thanks for sharing. Ouch
This is some crazy white collar, upper class problems. Sounds like a TV show script lmao
Tell all the customers what’s happening and they should go to the competition. Then quit and join the competing company. If that’s a think that would work out
so from comments, etc, you’ve been in the role for basically 2 years; why is the lack of commission just coming to a head now? By my count you’ve already lost out on nearly $200k in commissions and counting.
Very weird for a kid to “inherit” a role in a non-family owned business. That strikes me as odd and a bit off. The handling of this seems nuts as well. An agreement between 3 people but no company contract? Your Dad calling up the president and telling him off? Y’all need to act way more professionally than you have to date.
OP, you need to set up a meeting with your boss and whatever stakeholder makes sense (the president?) and get things straightened out. Stay professional and unemotional, figure out what sort of compensation and go-forward relationship is on the table. OK to mention the pre-arranged agreement and ask if they plan on honoring it, but don’t get emotional defending it as you don’t have anything written and it sounds like the agreement wasn’t even with ownership, just OP’s boss. Based on the discussion, you can then plan next moves rather than being completely in the dark. You need and deserve answers here.
I think you’ll end up fine. I work for a company that has similar setups of territories and important multi decade relationships with key customers etc.
At my company, if someone is responsible for such an important territory, short of them murdering a customer’s employee on camera, we’ll likely find a way to keep them on.
Tell them either you immediately get the back pay with interest or you file with the Labor Board. Do it in writing so if they retaliate, you’ll have proof it was retaliatory
This is a canon event, regardless of how it turned out so far am defo glad you shared with your dad as not many folks are best buds with their parents plus he’s the ex-top 0.1% with you being the replacement, eventho hes retired i bet he still has some sway due to his past exploits, keep your head up!
What’s done is done, now fight for what you are owed better than keeping it in and creating a void within ya
time to start a company of your own.
if your role is that irreplaceable, they’ll have to hire you
Ya
So this company must have competitors. Wonder if they’d be interested in picking up a talented and experienced sales representative for this region? Especially one that has a strong report with a customer base?