Dell complaints

[dukeydu]

First I want to start by saying that after reading through this site that I feel bad posting this question simply because there are people out there a lot worse off than me.

I was laid off on March 11th of this year after 11 years of service. In my separation agreement I received 4 payouts.
1) Compensation Payout
2) Benefit Payout
3) Severance Payment
4) Incentive Plan Payment

Last week I received a call from Dell asking if I wanted to return to Dell for a position that they had open. After interviewing they made me an offer and sent the paperwork that I signed and returned.

[u]NOTE: The only reason I am going back to Dell is that I have a wife and 4 kids that need to be housed, clothed and fed.

After the offer was made HR called and notified me that I would be required to pay back $14,000 of the Severance package. I asked what of the 4 payouts that included and it includes all payouts. Trust me, I understood what I signed in the Separation agreement and that some of the Severance might need to be repaid if I returned to Dell.

My grip is that they are including the Incentive Plan Payment which was my bonus for last year - 2008. If that amount was not included in the calculations I would not owe Del a penny.

My question is two fold;
1) If you have gone back to work for Dell after being laid off, were you dealt with the same way?
2) If you received the same package as I did, do you feel as though it is fair for Dell to request re-payment of your Incentive Plan portion.

Thanks - and again, I know I was very luck to have received a package based on what I have heard from others. I wish you the best and hope you find something soon.

[Tailmon]

Unless your totally desperate? I'd never ever go back to Dhell!
As for your payout? Do not pay them back one cent! You had to use that money to survive while being laid off! If you pay it to them you will loose it period! Trust me!
_________________
Former employee of Dell and can say that they
definitely Suck!

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

If you pay them back, they're just as likely to dump you again within a week WITHOUT any package.

I'd say that's their motive in calling you back. 1) Make you desperate. 2) Offer you a way out that YOU have to pay for. 3) Take your money and dump you on the street.

Be aware, that if you're eligible for unemployment, refusing their offer will disqualify you, for at least that 2 week reporting period. And they will be CERTAIN to report your refusal to the UI agency. Put that into the equation, if applicable. But at most that's 2 UI checks. (I think. It could disqualify you from that point on. Find out before you finally decide.)

After 11 years, you should well know who you're dealing with and what subterfuge they're capable of. Seriously, I would expect nothing else from Dell but an offer to hire you back contingent upon you paying them $14,000, then PIP or surplus you immediately with no package at all.
_________________
Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[dukeydu]

UPDATE:
The hiring VP tried working with HR to get the 14K payment nulled. Unfortunately, he did not have any luck. At this point I called Dell back today and told them I would not be taking the job and returning to Dell. The recruiter was somewhat taken back as if no one had ever told him this before.
He asked why, and I simply told him that I would not pay the 14K back, it would be easier to wait 2 months and reapply for a different position. I do not have any intention of re-applying at Dell. As with most of the people on this site, I have had enough.

I have to say that after reading the comments to my issue, I am totally freaked out "freaked out is the right term" by some of the stupid, ridiculous, uneducated comments made to my post. I was really looking for some intelligent advice to my issue, instead I got responses that seem to be from people that seem to have so much hate that they dream up all different kind of unrealistic, ridiculous advice that is not even worth posting . I have to say that it is my belief that the people that responded to this post were let go simply due to the fact that they were idiots. The phrase “its not rocket science” seems to be a very good way of describing the posts from a Rocke_T_Sinetist.

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

We don't call each other idiots here, mate. Don't do it again. I'll offer that you haven't much class.

WTF did you expect, "sure, do it, it's a great place to work and they never screw their employees over"? Now THAT'S idiotic, besides being just plain wrong.

FYI, I was a C2 engineer and consistently in the top 3 production metrics in a group of 15. All 15 of us routinely saved the company $1M a month in warranty fulfillment by solving problems before 100,000 of them got shipped. I saved them $1M in three days on one issue alone. These days they just ship the problems and let Foxconn crank out 5 BIOS revs trying to solve it (Inspiron 530 fan).

As nobody responded as you wished, "did this happen to you and what did you do and what did they do", you gotta take opinion. Or leave it. Or if you have no class, diss it.

One person in our lab did get hired back and moved to Nashville. There was no 'payback of package'. In fact, there was a hiring bonus and relocation compensation. They laid him off again after 2 months. They rehired him again back in Austin. Then laid him off again after 2 more months. The two people they retained were fired on phony PIPs within 6 months, with no package at all. Now that's "winning with integrity".

Even though you come here and abuse total strangers to the point I'm pretty sure I don't like you, I wouldn't recommend you follow that path, and pay $14,000 for the priviledge. Unless you're an idiot.

Well are you? Just asking. I don't know you either, and not inclined to want to. But I mean, who would pay $14,000 to get their old job back at a company that couldn't see a month ahead and fired you when they needed you AND has subterfuguously fucked employees over as a matter of practice?
_________________
Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[Tailmon]

dukeydu,
I can see that your Dhell brainwashing is so complete that you have lost your ability to see just what Dhell can and will do to you! Wake up and consider all the answers we gave you. Instead of crying that we are cynical and nasty. Perhaps you actually realized that Dhell is looking for ways to get their money back? It's been more than a proven fact they can and do hire people back and once they get their moneys they let them go with zilch the next time. In your case if you spent the 14k you got surviving till you found another job? Dhell would make you work for free if needed.
_________________
Former employee of Dell and can say that they
definitely Suck!

[incident_man]

I'll just throw in my 2 pennies worth along with Rocke and Tailmon. Is it really "unrealistic" or "ridiculous" to point out that DHell treats their employees just like their customers? Heck, you worked there, you should know. Even doing "favours" doesn't keep one away from the chopping block. Perhaps you should go back to work for them and pay back your severance in the process. Maybe then, and only then, you would get a first-hand look at how DHell really is after DHell screws you out of your job again and takes your rose-coloured glasses in the process.
_________________
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

[Starman97]

I don't think that you (dukeydu) are thinking clearly here.

Dell laid you off after 11 years, just short of the week or two that your yearly bonus would have paid out. You earned that bonus in 2008, while you were still employed. Now they want it back in exchange for a job with a very uncertain future? It's completely unfair that they expect you to pay back your bonus that you earned in 2008.

At the very least, the VP should have been able to get you a signing bonus equal to or greater than the severance package. Given the fact that you had a sizeable bonus, you must have been a C3 , they got good treatment in the past.

So are you still getting your unemployment checks, or has Dell stopped them by reporting you? That will tell you something.