A recruiter in Delhi was taken aback when a job applicant, during an interview, said he needed a “Rain Allowance” as part of his expectations.
Shared on Reddit, the post details how the candidate justified his request for extra pay during the monsoon months. “He said he uses Ola/Uber to come to office and their fare go rocket high, when there’s rain or water clogged on roads. He even gave me some alt. — either he needs work from home on rainy days, or he should be allowed to come late,” the recruiter wrote.
The recruiter initially thought the applicant might not be serious about the role and asked if he was “really interested.” According to the post, the candidate replied, “Yes, he’s interested but that’s essential as he calculated his last month’s travel expense and it’s just double because it was raining heavily in July.”
To prove his point, the candidate asked if the recruiter used Ola or Uber to get to work. “I said ‘yes’, and he said you can try calculating your expense and compare it to normally other months. He was respectful throughout though and sounded genuine,” the recruiter recounted.
The post concludes with the recruiter admitting the applicant had a point. “Well, after the screening, I literally checked my balances, the guy was right, I spent the normal monthly fare within 15 days in July, because it rained heavily here and just today morning when I booked the ride it was showing, 20 rupees more than double the daily fare. As it rained yesterday night in Delhi/NCR.”
The post has sparked discussion among Reddit users, many agreeing with the candidate’s reasoning. One user wrote, “So very true, I use Ola/Uber/Rapido and their fares are way too high during rains. Any type of compensation or WFH during rains should be provided.”
Another user commented, “That’s a fair ask. I personally think employees should be given full WFH during rains and also during periods of heavy pollution in your city. I wouldn’t want my employees to come in coughing, wet, uncomfortable, wheezing and spread germs around. Companies need to learn how to manage resources better.”