Worker Says Her Former Manager Collected Farewell Gift Money — Then the Gift Cards Never Appeared

A woman who left her job after eight years says her coworkers had a long-standing tradition whenever someone moved on: they would hold a carry-in lunch, collect money, and give the departing employee a farewell gift.

For most non-retirement departures, the gift usually added up to a few hundred dollars. For retirements, it could be much more. So when she left, she expected some version of that same tradition.

Then her manager accidentally showed her the collection was already happening.

She explained in a Reddit post that about a week before her final day, her manager accidentally sent her the group message meant for everyone else. In it, the manager told coworkers she was collecting donations for the farewell gift and asked them to send money to her Venmo.

The woman had screenshots showing more than 20 people had donated. She also knew some older coworkers usually preferred to give cash.

That meant money was definitely collected.

But when her last day came, she got only the normal luncheon. There were no gift cards. No farewell present. No mementos. Nothing beyond the lunch.

At first, she tried not to assume the worst. Maybe the gift was delayed. Maybe someone forgot to bring it. Maybe there was a mix-up.

Then her manager and the manager’s own boss were mysteriously absent the Thursday and Friday after her final day.

The woman nearly sent a pointed goodbye email saying she could not wait to enjoy the generous gift everyone donated to, but she decided not to. She let it go, at least for the moment.

Four months passed.

Still no gift.

She asked about the gift cards multiple times and got a rotating list of excuses. One excuse was that they did not have her address. She had lived in the same place for all eight years she worked there, and her manager would have access to that information through Workday.

Another excuse was that they had tried to collect money, but nobody donated.

That excuse was especially insulting because she had screenshots of Venmo notes from dozens of people saying the money was for a gift for her.

Then came another explanation: they were still trying to track it down.

By that point, the manager had already left the company entirely after less than six months in the position.

The woman also reached out to HR. She said HR had already been aware of other issues she had before leaving, but they never responded about this. Now the manager was gone, the money had not appeared, and the excuses had dried up.

To the woman, it looked like the manager had collected money in her name and kept it.

The part that bothered her most was not even that she did not receive the gift cards. She had left the role for a significantly better-paying job. What bothered her was that coworkers who did not make much money had donated because they believed the money was going toward her farewell gift.

If the manager pocketed it, those coworkers were the ones truly wronged.

That is why she started considering filing a police report for theft or fraud. She knew it might not go anywhere. She also knew she could not give an exact total because she did not know how much every person had donated. But the idea of letting someone keep even small donations made under false pretenses felt wrong.

Her friends were split. Some said it was absolutely theft and she should report it. Others said it was petty and she should move on. Former coworkers were also divided, partly because the manager had already left and partly because nobody knew the exact amount.

In an edit, the woman acknowledged a point commenters kept making: legally, this might be less about theft from her and more about fraud against the coworkers who donated. The money had been collected for her gift, but if she never received it, the people who sent money under that false purpose may be the direct victims.

She said those coworkers were aware, but many were too shy or hesitant to act. She wanted to know if she could submit something as fraudulent activity to start the conversation for them.

Later in the comments, she said she had already emailed the manager, her manager’s manager, and HR the Monday after she left, letting them know she was aware of the gift card collection and had not received it. That was when the excuses began, along with messages telling her to stop contacting leadership.

That made her even more worried that the company did not care about protecting the employees who had donated.

By the end, the question was no longer whether she personally needed the gift. It was whether someone had used her farewell to collect money from coworkers and then quietly walked away with it.

And if that happened, calling it “petty” seemed like a pretty generous way to describe it.

Commenters mostly told her she was not wrong for wanting to report it, but they disagreed about who the legal victim was.

Many people said it sounded like obvious theft or fraud and urged her to file a police report, contact former coworkers, and send the screenshots to anyone who donated.

Several commenters pointed out that she may not technically be the person the money was stolen from because the gift was never actually given to her. In their view, the coworkers who donated were the people whose money was taken under false pretenses.

A lot of people said she should notify the donors directly. If enough coworkers confirmed they donated and never received refunds or proof of a gift, they could complain together.

Others warned her not to contact the former manager’s new employer without official proof, because that could create legal risk or unnecessary drama.

The strongest practical advice was to document everything: the accidental collection message, Venmo screenshots, emails to HR and leadership, and every excuse she received. Even if police did not act, the coworkers deserved to know where their money may have gone.