Commenters were outraged after an anonymous employee shared a new policy that was allegedly put in place at their old job, stating that for every one minute late to work, employees had to work 20 minutes unpaid overtime.
The original poster (OP), known as u/MinionsAndWineMum, shared the new policy on Reddit's popular "Antiwork" subreddit where it received more than 43,000 upvotes and 3,100 comments.
In the United States, it is illegal to not pay hourly or non-exempt employees overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
In January 2020, a rule issued by the Department of Labor became effective, making it so that employees making less than $684 a week are considered non-exempt employees, requiring overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Exempt employees, or salaried employees who make more than $684 a week, are not eligible for overtime pay.
However, in the United Kingdom, employers are not required to pay employees overtime as long as the average pay does not fall below the minimum living wage: £9.50 per hour for individuals ages 23 and older.
In the post titled "Shout out the worst place I ever worked (minimum wage, of course)," OP shared a photo of the alleged policy.
"New Office Rule," the paper read. "For every minute you are late for work, you will be required to work for 10 minutes after 6 pm. For example, if you arrive at 10:02, you will have to stay an extra 20 minutes until 6:20 pm. Thanks."
The OP added that this occurred years back and that they are located in the U.K. at the time working as a contractor.
More than 3,000 users commented on the post, many encouraging the OP to report the manager and others said this is a potentially illegal practice.
"That sounds incredibly illegal and wouldn't hold up in court," one user commented.
"Damn so if I'm stuck in traffic and am late 30 minutes, they want me to stay an extra 5 f**king hours?" another user inquired. "Hell to the motherf**king no."
"Anonymously report that manager to corporate for trying to start a union. Ez pz," one user commented.
"Do you want to lose employees because that's how you lose employees," another wrote.
"Use this to your advantage. 1 if they ever ask you to stay late tell them every minute they need you adds 20 you can be late for your next shift," one user suggested. "2 if you really needed the money and wanted some overtime come in late on purpose."
"Or quit after a couple of months like I did," the OP replied.
"Is this UK? If so, and you are on minimum wage this is absolutely illegal as it reduces your hourly rate below the NMW," one user commented. "It's technically still illegal over NMW but under a different reason and harder to prove / argue. However if you are paid NMW—this is VERY illegal."
Other users added that the employees should come in late and cash in on overtime pay, but the OP said the time was considered unpaid.
"Sounds like a withheld pay settlement in the making...," one user commented.
Newsweek reached out to u/MinionsAndWineMum for comment.
In another viral "Antiwork" post, an employee was praised for refusing to work until their boss paid them.
Another anonymous employee was praised for quitting his job of five years after learning his bonus was unexpectedly cut in half.
One individual went viral after claiming a recruiter told them to "be conservative" during a job interview.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more
