Is it common not to fill up to the OK mark?

Without basement Soil was not filled up to the top edge of the floor slab. Earthworks were contracted by us, however the general contractor site manager took over the site management here. For me as a layman, it makes little sense to fill the soil up to the top edge. Plastering, splash protection, insulation

I would like to add now, for those who might find themselves in a similar situation: After speaking again with our site manager and a friend who is an architect, we pointed out to the earthworks contractor that the work was not done properly: leaving a "trench" at the house perimeter is indeed common practice.

We document every construction day with photos and videos, so it was possible to show him the moment when his people filled everything back in.

The earthworks contractor admitted the mistake and is now in the process of making it right. Documenting and addressing issues will be our mantra.