Entrepreneur and workplace commentator Ben Askins shared the anonymous text exchange sent in from a worker.

“Hey! I noticed you haven’t put in the leaving present for Josh yet. Can you send £50 ($AU100) today? I want to put the purchase in by the end of the day,” the boss texted.

“Can I ask why it is so expensive?” the employee replied. “Money is a little tight right now, and to be asked to put in so much feels like a lot.”

“Josh has left the company for 3 years now, and I think it is a nice gesture to show our appreciation,” they said.

The worker replied that they hadn’t really worked with Josh and thought it was unreasonable to contribute a large sum to the gift, particularly when Josh made more money than them.

“Besides, it isn’t that much all things considered,” the boss argued, and said it was “compulsory” workers contribute money.

Askins said that he thinks it’s okay when companies give leaving workers gifts, but the companies should pay for it, not the individual employees.

“Companies should take responsibility and set a budget,” he said.

“This sort of compulsory, everyone’s got to chip in, I absolutely hate it! I think it is really poor,” he fumed.

Askins added that the boss’s request was “ridiculous” and “insane.”

Other TikTokers were also left in disbelief over the exchange.

“What the hell are they buying?” one person said, while another added that no request like that should ever be “compulsory.”

“That is an outrageous amount to ask ordinary employees to pay for a manager’s leaving gift. And since when was a contribution compulsory,” one wrote.