Better's reputation went through the wringer in December after CEO Vishal Garg's unceremonious firing of more than 900 people; he subsequent took "time off" from his role at the company. Soon after, CFO and interim CEO Kevin Ryan and Paula Tuffin, the general counsel, found themselves trying to win back the hearts of the remaining employees in a video meeting, which was leaked to Insider.
After updates about the company's upcoming SPAC and an independent review of Better's culture, Ryan offered employees a gift for their hard work: two additional company holidays on December 29 and 30.
"We want everyone to take some time off," Ryan said. "Recharge, refresh for the new year."
That gift has turned into a headache for some employees. Based on internal emails, Insider has confirmed that Better demanded repayment from at least three employees, in amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars, because of an "unspecified payroll error."
This is the latest in a growing list of HR missteps at Better, a celebrated fintech known for digitization of the cumbersome process of getting a home mortgage. To some employees, the clawback is seen as a petty move, especially after reinstating Vishal Garg as CEO less than two months after he bungled the firings.
One employee was told by a human-resources executive that almost 1,000 employees were overpaid. According to the employee who spoke with HR, employees who had taken time off between Christmas and New Year's Day were paid twice for the new company holidays. Compensation first came as paid time off and then as company holidays.
Earlier this month, company emails offered the affected employees the option to have the owed money deducted from their next paycheck or to have it taken out in smaller chunks over a number of paychecks. An otherwise dearth of information led to confusion among some employees, according to one of the employees who spoke with Insider.
"I thought it was a phishing scam," the employee said.
Better and its HR executive did not respond to requests for comment on the blunder that added to the bafflement among the company's workforce.
After the company offered its laid-off workers four weeks of severance — already three more than Garg wanted — the company boosted the covered time to 60 days as employees readied lawsuits over the short notices. More recently, three employees told Insider that the company underpaid their severance amounts.
With Garg now back as CEO, the company has taken steps to try to improve its culture. The moves — coming after an external review — include the appointment of Richard Benson-Armer, a partner at Better investor Activant Capital, as its interim chief human resources officer, according to the memo announcing Garg's return.
