A lot of us have felt like we’re on the clock 24/7, at one point or another.

But this story, one employee actually was… and he got paid an hourly rate.

Let’s punch into this job story.

The most expensive phone calls on the planet

Many years ago (more than 15), I worked as a programmer for an Oil and Gas automation company.

This means we would design and build the computer systems for oil and gas plants, commission them, and support the operators during day to day operations.

Because of this, my company ran a 24/7 support phone.

At least they offer good customer service. But what about employee support?

Every week a member of my team would get the phone and be expected to be available to answer calls 24/7.

We had enough people on the team that it would roughly equate to getting the phone twice a year.

Most of the employees of this company were salaried, and the 24/7 phone was written into their contract.

For every phone call they took, they could charge a minimum of 1 hour in banked time.

This was a good deal for them, and made the 24/7 phone easier to handle.

A spoonful of sugar makes the telephone go down.

I was a little different than my coworkers in that I wasn’t a salaried employee – I was an hourly contractor.

My coworkers would bank their time but I was just paid out biweekly.

My contract also stated that if I was being paid by the company, I had to be available exclusively to the company.

This was added by their HR department because a few years before they caught an hourly contractor running side jobs for other businesses at his desk.

This also meant that if they wanted me to be available exclusively to the company, they had to pay for my time.

Fair’s fair. How’s this call system gonna backfire on the company dime though?

For two years I knew the 24/7 phone existed but had never had to take it because according to my contract, if they wanted me to be available they had to pay my hourly rate after normal work hours to ensure that I was available to answer the phone when it rang.

Then, as in most corporate stories, my completely awesome manager left for greener pastures and was replaced with an absolute tool.

Tool as old as time. What’s this hammerhead gonna suggest?

After a month of being in the office, he decided it wasn’t fair that everyone took turns on the phone except for me.

He declared that I would be put in the rotation effective immediately.

I didn’t want to cost the company a ton of money, so I tried to explain that if I’m on the 24/7 phone that means they have to pay me 24 hours a day for 7 days.

He scoffed and told me I obviously didn’t understand how business worked.

I told him he didn’t understand how my contract was laid out and that I’m an hourly contractor, not a salaried employee.

Hm. Sounds like a classic case of arrogant new manager.

He insisted that to be a team player I had better take the phone or look elsewhere for employment.

I didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t a team player, so I accepted the phone…and started my clock.

Seven days later I handed the phone off to the next guy, and submitted my biweekly invoice.

It came out to just over $10000, with $8400 being just that one week of having the phone.

That’s a pretty penny for a couple of calls. Is management gonna freak out?

I waited about 15 minutes before I was pulled into the manager’s office.

When I arrived the manager, the head of HR, and the manager’s boss – the head of the department – were there with my most recent invoice sitting on the desk.

The department head just looked at me and asked what the heck I was thinking when I gave them that invoice.

I explained that the new manager insisted I take the 24/7 phone even though my contract clearly stipulates that if the company wants me available 24/7, they have to pay for every minute I have the phone.

The new manager became redder with every word.

The Scarlet Leader. I wonder if OP or his manager will get in trouble…

When I was finished, the department manager turned to him and asked him why he didn’t know this, since it’s common knowledge that no contractors are ever put in that kind of position.

As he was stuttering for an answer, the department head dismissed me and told me to expect my cheque at the usual time.

The best part? During the entire week I had the 24/7 phone, it only rang twice – both during work hours and both calls asking for a specific person in the department.

Talk about bang for your buck…

All I had to do was give them a phone number.

Those two 3 minute phone calls cost that company $4200 each.

After that the new manager pretended I didn’t exist and refused to talk to me for 3 months until he was moved to sales in a different department.

I was at the company for another 2 years and never saw that phone again.

She hung up on that mess.

Let’s see what the comments say.

This person has a pictographic representation of the story.

Another user says what a kick in the pants!

Someone else wants to get more granular.

Another user says, way to school the new guy!

Somebody else says calls can be expensive…

Ring me up for an extra $10K any day.

I’ll gladly answer that call.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.