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Anyone who’s been in business knows that it’s near impossible to stay ethical. The cutthroat nature of the entrepreneur world conditions every businessman to cut corners and push the limits of what’s allowed (at the very least) just to stay afloat.

Now, most of it stays behind the curtains, but some of it does surface, and then everyone sees it, and then many are surprised this is actually common practice.

Reddit has been discussing this very thing: unethical business practices that are surprisingly common in the business world after user u/Elaus asked the r/AskReddit section of the social medium about this.

The post has managed to garner over 52,200 upvotes, engaging the audience that left over 31,000 comments.

Scroll down to find some of the best responses to the AskReddit question, and while you’re at it, vote and comment on the submissions you like the most, and why not share some of your unethical business practice ideas in the comment section at the end of the article!

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#1

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group It’s shady to give dedicated, long-term employees a measly 2-3% annual raise (if any at all), while hiring less experienced people for the same (or higher) salary, than the experienced employee.

It essentially punishes loyal employees.

SmthgWicked , Yuya Tamai Report

Final score:
180points
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David Houde
David Houde
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm the old guy on my team (software development) and I've regularly told newer, especially younger employees that their pay will always be determined by the salary that they negotiated when they were first hired by the company. If they give you a promotion and raise, guess what? It's a raise based on your previous salary. It's not based on what it would cost the company to hire someone from the outside to fill the same position. Spoiler - it would cost the company a lot more to fill it from the outside than promote from within. I also tell them to keep up on salary data for their position and every few years bring it up at review/raise time. Sometimes they will bring you up to average, most times you have to find a new job to get up to "average".

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#2

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Not including wage info in the job posting. At least post the range or minimum for the position.

[deleted] , Michael Coleman Report

Final score:
157points
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Ashley Lynne
Ashley Lynne
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This! WHY WASTE YOUR OWN TIME AND INTERVIEWEES TIME? tell me what you pay and if it's too low I'll save you the time of reviewing my resume and interviewing me- common sense!

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#3

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Cutting peoples hours just enough to not be considered full time so they don't have to give you benefits. Those bosses are true pieces of s@#t and I happen to know a few of them.

gt35r , Matti Mattilla Report

Final score:
148points
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#4

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Doing illegal s@#t to make $20million then getting caught and paying a $5million fine.

xxkoloblicinxx , Clyde Robinson Report

Final score:
144points
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Buren
Buren
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have read about much higher first number and much lower second number

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#5

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Planned obsolescence.

ivegotahughjackman Report

Final score:
140points
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#6

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Giving a set amount of PTO, then refusing to let employees actually use it, or shaming them for doing so.

vrtigo1 , Bob n Renee Report

Final score:
122points
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Poultry Geist
Poultry Geist
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or asking them when they want to take it and them saying “no” to their request. I use to work at BOA and this always happened to me

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#7

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Consistently making salaried exempt employees work 10+ hours overtime a week in order to avoid hiring more staff.

gnosis_carmot , Dennis Sylvester Hurd Report

Final score:
113points
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Jack Hannon
Jack Hannon
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked in DoD for years. I was ALWAYS Salaried, OT Exempt. So, I had to keep a timecard and account for every hour I worked, and use time off if I worked fewer than 40 hours, but if I worked over 40 hours I did not get OT...

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#8

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group No auto-cancel on recurring payments.

Companies could very easily add the feature but won't hoping you forget and pay them more.

BergevinsPlant , u/Top_Advance195 Report

Final score:
107points
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#9

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Using a previous salary against you.

"Oh, you make $40,000? Well, we'll offer you $50,000. That's a 25% increase in pay!"

Your salary shouldn't be relative, it should be what the market value of the position is. If a job pays $75,000, don't pay me only $50,000 because I only currently make $40,000.

BoilerMaker11 , Andy Nguyen Report

Final score:
107points
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Kira Okah
Kira Okah
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then say no. Find out what the value of your position is and don't accept less.

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#10

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Selling customer data.

Throwawayiksdee123 , Olgierd Rudak Report

Final score:
103points
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#11

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Signing people up for s@#t as addons to an existing bill and hoping they don't notice the extra charges.

mrthewhite , Hiqwm Wreop Uis Report

Final score:
101points
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Zoe's Mom
Zoe's Mom
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why Wells Fargo was hit with Millions if not Billion dollars of fines.

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#12

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Paying invoices late, especially BIG companies that pay a few months late. It kills small business, and seems to be quite normal here in the UK.

Puff_the_magic_luke , cybrgrl Report

Final score:
94points
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Otter
Otter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once worked in an accounts payable office, and at one point my bosses told me "Don't pay anything under 30 days old, we need to make up a budget shortfall". It was temporary, but still.

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#13

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Making you pay more for printing your own damn tickets at home.

StubHub, ticketmaster etc.

ironmanmk42 , Shawn Collins Report

Final score:
94points
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#14

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Hire young people who are prepared and motivated and enjoy the work.

Give them 50 hours a week of work, no special overtime pay, tell them it'll be back to normal at then end of the month when the regular crunch is over.

Repeat until near a deadline.

Give them 80 hours a week, 7 days a week of crunch to meet the deadline.

Continue past deadline a little while then return to "regular" hours of 50 hours.

Repeat until your employees hate life. Refuse to give references when they quit "to protect yourself legally". Normalize across the industry so nobody can complain too much and sound credible.

macboot , AFGE Report

Final score:
91points
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#15

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Literally anything a corporation does that they can be fined for is taken into account as a business expense. If it's cheaper to pay an illegal dumping fine than it is to change the way they process waste nothing will be done to stop the illegal dumping.

Byizo , Richter Frank-Jurgen Report

Final score:
90points
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James016
James016
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Make directors and CEOs personally responsible and bring criminal charges against them.

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#16

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Congress is immune to insider trading.

YoBuckStopsHere , Colorado Senate GOP Report

Final score:
78points
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Nikki Sevven
Nikki Sevven
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn't true. At least one sitting Congressman is currently under investigation for just that...profiting from information that was made available to Congress but not to the public.

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#17

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Posting a job announcement and conducting interviews for a job you already know who you're going to hire.

Miley_I-da-Ho , Sam Beebe Report

Final score:
77points
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Otter
Otter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apparently that's an HR requirement, at least at the company where I work. If someone knows exactly who they want to hire for a specific position, the company rules (and possibly state, local, or federal laws) require them to post the position and interview all applicants. It's bullshit that benefits nobody.

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#18

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Working when you are sick. I have heard stories of bosses forcing people to come in despite being extremely ill.

Also I just wish that it would be mandatory schedule length of at least two weeks if the hours are not the same every day. Mine changes weekly, and it's hard to plan anything.

Akitiki , Jan Kaláb Report

Final score:
76points
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Cactus McCoy
Cactus McCoy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Calling in sick people is simply illegal here. As it should be everywhere.

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#19

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Careful (deceptive) wording.

"Up to 100mbps internet speeds!" means you get 5-6mbps, and "up to" 100 for a moment here and there.

"Made with 100% Chicken" simply means that real chicken was utilized as an ingredient at some point. It's like saying a bottle of wine is "made with" 100% organic cork.

"Sugar free!" means "Less sugar per serving than the minimum we have to report"

"The top rated____" usually followed by the specific study that ranked it best. Did you know you can pay a company to perform a study for you that's guaranteed to determine you're the best?

MyNameIsRay , Uswitch.com Images Report

Final score:
75points
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Hans
Hans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did you know that the Hans Institute in a recent study showed that Hans is the most popular commenter on BP? They found his comments to be "100% genuine" and "bad jokes free". He types in a organic way, and his wording is vegan-friendly, gluten-free and free-ranged. All of his comments, save for the negative ones, are positive. Reading his comments may reduce your heartburn by up to 100%.

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#20

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Using your employment as leverage to keep your mouth shut.

For example. A temp agency i worked through tried to deduct the cost of ppe from my paycheck. I told them that legally, employers need to provide ppe to their employees. Not sell it to them. They threatened to fire me. I reported them to OSHA. They got fined and had to reimburse everyone their $15 deduction for ppe.

Temp agencies are f!@#$%g scams.

EDIT: PPE: "Personal Protective Equipment." Hard hat, safety glasses, gloves, steel tipped boots, etc.

ViciousKnids , Alan Myers Report

Final score:
70points
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Freya the Wanderer
Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On the other hand, temp agencies can be a help. Temp work has tided me over between permanent gigs. Don't write it off entirely. The temp system could still use some improvement, though.

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#21

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Companies that stifle competition/innovation by buying smaller companies just to stop what the smaller company is doing.

LostNTheNoise , denisbin Report

Final score:
67points
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#22

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Letting an employee go/easing them out instead of addressing a situation they brought up.

AndroWanda , USAG- Humphreys Report

Final score:
64points
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#23

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group I've seen so many to name just one. Here's the worse I've seen.

So, PCB are highly toxic, highly carcinogenic stuff used mainly as coolant in power transformers. Heavy industries often have their own transformers, usually on the roof of their building. When these transformers get old, they need to be replaced, and the PCB need to be destroyed properly. However, doing this properly is very costly.

So, a solution is to wait for a rainy day, then pour the PCB in the gutters on the roof of the heavy industry's building (where the power transformers typically are). This way they disperse on the ground and noone is the wiser.

Well, since then, laws were changed to make sure that all power transformers are labelled and tracked by the government, to ensure their proper disposal. Still, sometimes a few older units get overlooked. And this is how I learned of this trick... the heavy industry's building is in the middle of a large city, with kids playing nearby and all. F these f-ers.

norgue , LHOON Report

Final score:
63points
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Bacony Cakes
Bacony Cakes
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think they should be sued into the dirt before they Bhopal the place.

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#24

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group A company having a business model that relies on charging fees for breaking its own rules without justification for them.

Looking at you CreditOne.
- Has a late payment fee but refuses to add any kind of auto-payment. In 2017.
- Takes 5 days to clear a normal payment. Pay 4 days before your bill is due? That's a late payment fee. Want your payment to clear earlier to avoid that fee? Pay an express payment fee! Its the same fee amount? Lordy! What a coincidence!

philipwithpostral , 401(K) 2012 Report

Final score:
61points
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Nathan Pogorzala
Nathan Pogorzala
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Holy s**t is that predatory. The fact that an entire company accepts this as best practice shows that it is all rigged against us. squeeze every cent out of us, hook or crook.

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#25

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Rocketing the price of stuff and putting a "sale."

Barack-YoMama , osde8info Report

Final score:
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Tweetysvoice
Tweetysvoice
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not unlike the companies that give a 50% coupon only off items not on sale, yet 99% of their stock is on sale. -looking at you big craft stores.

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#26

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Ok so this is becoming really common in my neck of the woods. Basically a company need someone to fill a role. Instead of giving them a job and all the perks like paid holidays etc they instead hire you as a contractor. This means you still have to play by their rules as to when they want you in but you get non of the perks besides your wage. No sick days, no holidays nothing.

I'm not referring to high paying jobs where a lot of the time being a contractor is the way to go. This system has been implemented over her for retail/service jobs. You end up making less since you get paid the same as permanent workers but you are entitled to no bonuses, paid holiday or sick days. When you're working a minimal wage job this is nasty.

Irishbread , David B. Gleason Report

Final score:
55points
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Pat Bond
Pat Bond
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This sounds like a "Zero Hours" contract in the UK.

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#27

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Public school teacher here. My school has started to deduct vacation/sick hours if teachers forget to swipe in. We’re basically there all the time anyways and don’t get paid overtime so clocking in is pretty easy to forget. What ends up happening is teachers get their accumulated vacay/sick hours deducted WHILE actively teaching, all because of a forgotten swipe. The admin and district people didn’t seem to see how absolutely unethical this practice is and I never got back 4 days of vacay hours from missed swipes.

lmac187 , Lead Beyond Report

Final score:
51points
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Cathy Jo Baker
Cathy Jo Baker
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You have to actually swipe in? Holy cow, what kind of school corp do you teach in? Damn!

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#28

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Refusing to pay overtime for overtime. I saw it happen all the time. I didn't complain. I got promoted a bunch.

Zaorish9 , Fabio Venni Report

Final score:
49points
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#29

Taking advantage of recent grads/bad market to take in people who will accept s@#$%y conditions, then kicking them out if/when they complain and getting more new faces.

something4222 Report

Final score:
47points
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#30

30 Unethical But Very Common Tactics In Business As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group In Australia, Subway claimed "Foot Long" was a trade marked name, and not a suggestion of sizing, after many people pointed out their subs were well under a foot long.

RedLeader7 , Simon Shek Report

Final score:
46points
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