Imagine working for a company where you’re paid a salary instead of an hourly rate. Would you be willing to work overtime even if you weren’t getting paid extra for it?

In this story, one employee is in this situation and wants to be paid hourly, but he’s wondering if he’s asking too much.

Let’s read all the details.

AITA for refusing overtime on salary?

I just started with a great company, that is paying me a fair wage and good benefits.

My last company paid about the same and I had much more flexibility to work a looser schedule.

I was able to go home when work was slow, staying on call in case of incident or injury (safety manager)

Unfortunately the entire division was laid off, so here I am at this new job.

He knew overtime was a possibility.

When bringing me on, the offer switched from salary to hourly, back to salary.

This is a large construction project, with a tight deadline. I had a feeling overtime would be imminent, but was assured it wasn’t a possibility for a while.

Here I am 3 weeks into the project, we’re already into 4 10’s and a 8, and the possibility of split shifts is now being thrown around.

He doesn’t want to work overtime for free.

When asked if I would stay, I said yes, if I were switched to hourly. But I made it clear the salary expectation for myself was on a 40hr schedule when I was hired.

The expectation for a safety professional is to be on site in case of injury, but I feel like I was deceived.

AITA?

It’s reasonable to want to get paid for overtime. Does Reddit think this employee is asking too much?

Here’s a suggestion to look at the contract.

The company does have another option besides overtime.

Unions can be helpful.

It might be possible to qualify for overtime.

Nobody wants to work for free.

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.