Some pieces of information are best kept private.

This man asked for a higher wage at his new job, where his friend works. When she asked how much he got, he didn’t give her an exact figure because other employees could hear.

Now she’s furious because he’s “hiding” information from her.

Read the full story below for more details.

AITA for not telling my friend my exact pay rise at work?

I’m currently between contracts and doing bartending work. A close friend (10+ years) posted that her workplace needed a bartender. I picked up a shift, and a couple of days later, management offered me a bar supervisor role.

Before signing the contract, I told my friend I planned to ask for a slightly higher wage, matching what I earned elsewhere.

She’d recently taken a large pay cut (nearly a third) to become assistant manager with more responsibility, and I told her she should have been firm about being paid her worth.

While signing my contract, the manager explicitly told me not to discuss my pay with other staff to avoid upsetting people who’d been there longer.

When I came back downstairs, my friend asked how much I was on while other staff were nearby. She guessed £14, then £13. I said ‘a bit more’, but didn’t give the exact figure because people were in earshot.

A couple of days later, at the staff Christmas party (again, not a private setting), she expected me to tell her then.

This man’s friend said she couldn’t trust him because he hid things from her.

Recently, she called me furious after going into the office and looking for my contract. The difference was 65p more per hour. She accused me of lying, hiding it from her, and said it made her question our friendship over “something so small.”

I explained I wasn’t hiding anything, but she asked at an inappropriate time, and if she’d texted or asked privately, I would’ve told her. I also feel 65p on minimum wage isn’t life-changing.

For more context, about 4/5 years ago, my dad was critically ill for months and later passed away. During that time, this friend group cut me off and spoke about me behind my back, which deeply affected my mental health and trust. We later reconciled, but it left scars.

She’s now using that history to say she can’t trust me, calling me selfish, sly, and accusing me without asking calmly.

I told her I’m disappointed, that I wasn’t hiding things or lying, and that she should have fact-checked before accusing me. I said that I’m really disappointed and shocked by this argument; that’s her choice, but I won’t accept being accused unfairly.

AITA?

Now that’s privacy invasion disguised as friendship.

Here’s what other people have to say about this.

This user is siding with him.

A good point from this one.

This person puts it plainly.

Here’s a valid perspective.

And lastly, this reader is taking the friend’s side.

Your wages are no one else’s business but yours.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.