Watch out for hidden costs - Anonymous employee Paycor Employee Review

1.0
25 July 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Paycor has a supportive product team, and they are growing into a respectable agile company. Leadership is approachable for the most part, and as a fairly diverse company, it is easy to find pockets of coworkers with whom to hang out with outside of work, regardless of your interests. They also encourage community involvement and make it easy to find out what's happening in Cincinnati.

Cons

Two categories of cons: 1) Known and 2) Unknown. Known cons, I think, are ones the business acknowledges: frequent growing pains at Paycor show that there are a lot of fast changes and some poor communication between management levels; the company has also grown quickly already so there's a lot of tribal knowledge that needs to be acquired from various people, making the onboarding process a long [and exhausting] one. I also received upward of 100 emails per day, which all employees regarded as a nuisance, despite the expectation that said emails would be replied to and read even on evenings and weekends. The most successful employees at Paycor seem to be those with a very blurry work/life balance, which is not necessarily communicated during the interviews and overview of "Paycor culture." Grain of salt: This very likely also depends on the department and managers involved. Now, Unknown Cons: The fine print. And by fine, I mean, invisible. I signed a relocation agreement stating that if I left the company within 18 months of employment, I would owe any relocation expenses back. No problem. However, when I did leave [within 18 months] for a truly once-in-a-lifetime offer, I paid back the relocaiton expenses -- plus tax. This was not in any contract or agreement that I signed, and Paycor reserved the right to debit my bank account directly. My relocation totaled ~$4800, but they took $8,000. Nobody, not even the Paycor HR team or their accountants, could provide me with a clear line-item invoice. They gave me one invoice which was handwritten (no line items) and then sent me an excel spreadsheet of my final paycheck amount. The accountant only gave me pay stubs, which I already had access to. It's been nearly one month since I left and I still have not received clarity as to why or how I ended up paying so much back to Paycor -- presumably, they had already paid taxes on the money. The entire 'off-boarding' experience with them has been completely negative and has cost me an enormous amount of money and time to sort through. I'm still not even sure if what they did was legal.

Explore other reviews about Paycor

5.0
27 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great management and work from home.

Cons

Low pay…everything else was great

1.0
11 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Paycheck hits on time every two weeks.

Cons

I wanted to like working at Paycor. The product has potential and the pitch during the interview process sounded promising. But the reality of day-to-day life here is a far cry from what's advertised. Micromanagement is rampant. Leadership tracks every minute of your day — from login times to bathroom breaks — yet somehow trusts no one to make even the smallest decision independently. You're treated like a number, not a professional. There's zero autonomy, and any attempt to take initiative is quickly shut down. The leadership team is deeply out of touch. Many managers got their roles through tenure, not merit, and it shows. They struggle to answer basic questions about the industry, lean on buzzwords in meetings, and consistently make decisions that anyone with relevant experience would know to avoid. When things go wrong, blame rolls downhill fast. The culture is toxic and cliquey. If you're not in the right social circle, advancement is nearly impossible. Favoritism is blatant, feedback is rarely constructive, and the "open door policy" is a joke — speak up and you'll find yourself quietly pushed out. The work environment doesn't help either. High turnover means institutional knowledge constantly walks out the door. Morale is low, burnout is high, and HR seems more interested in protecting the company than the employees.

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