March 25, 2026 at 11:49 am

Employee Thought He Had Approval To Work Overtime, So He Worked 70+ Hours Extra Before Finding Out He Wouldn’t Get Paid For It

by Jayne Elliott

man in a suit looking at his phone at work

Shutterstock/Reddit

What would you do if you found out you weren’t going to get paid for working overtime after you had already worked a lot of overtime?

That’s what happened to the employee in this story. He’s pretty upset about not getting paid, but he has an idea about how to get the time back. Yet, he’s not sure if what he’s doing is right or wrong.

Let’s read all about it.

AITA for stealing time back from my company for not giving me overtime pay?

To cut a long story short, I made a bit of a mess up and thought I had approval to do overtime so I ended up doing an extra 70+ hours of work last month on top of my regulars.

Unfortunately, I have not been paid these hours and didn’t have approval for paid overtime and my manager has said there isn’t anything they can do.

I’m a little miffed at this.

But OP had an idea.

So, I have decided to steal back the 7+ days of extra work I’ve undertaken by taking longer breaks, internet browsing and finishing early and starting late.

It’s not like they keep track of it anyway. Am I an jerk for that?

(also in my country they only have to honour the hours if total worked puts you under minimum wage, sadly it only sadly falls short of that criteria)

Is it wrong for OP to slack off for 70+ hours to make up for the 70+ hours of overtime they’re not getting paid for?

Let’s see what Reddit thinks about this situation.

I’m not sure what this person thinks a lot of companies do, but in this story, it doesn’t sound like the company asked OP to work overtime, if that’s what they mean.

2026 03 15 at 5.18.49 PM Employee Thought He Had Approval To Work Overtime, So He Worked 70+ Hours Extra Before Finding Out He Wouldnt Get Paid For It

This person thinks what OP is doing is fine…as long as he doesn’t get caught.

2026 03 15 at 5.19.12 PM Employee Thought He Had Approval To Work Overtime, So He Worked 70+ Hours Extra Before Finding Out He Wouldnt Get Paid For It

Here’s a suggestion to prioritize keeping his job.

2026 03 15 at 5.19.31 PM Employee Thought He Had Approval To Work Overtime, So He Worked 70+ Hours Extra Before Finding Out He Wouldnt Get Paid For It

Another person thinks OP should stop slacking off.

2026 03 15 at 5.19.57 PM Employee Thought He Had Approval To Work Overtime, So He Worked 70+ Hours Extra Before Finding Out He Wouldnt Get Paid For It

He never should’ve worked overtime!

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.

Jayne Elliott | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Jayne Elliott is a contributing writer and editor for TwistedSifter specializing in human interest stories, internet culture, and family dynamics. With over 12 years of editorial experience in digital publishing, Jayne excels at analyzing complex online communities and transforming viral social debates into thoughtful, highly engaging narratives.

Rather than simply aggregating internet drama, Jayne brings a sharp, empathetic editorial eye to everyday dilemmas. She has a unique talent for unpacking the nuances of pop culture and online conflicts, providing readers with relatable, well-researched commentary.

Based in California, Jayne spends her free time outside the newsroom exploring theme parks with her family or beach-combing along the coast.

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