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Applicant Stands Up And Leaves After Job Interviewer’s Question About “Handling Unpaid Overtime”
There are many questions, both appropriate and downright weird, that employers, managers, and HR peeps sometimes ask during job interviews. We’ve compiled a list of such questions many times – and it turns out that more than one job seeker has actually encountered something similar. Today’s situation is no exception.
The user u/sahalymn, the author of the story we are about to tell you today, recently went to an interview at a company from which they didn’t expect the slightest trick. However, literally the very first question during the interview actually embarrassed them and made them suspect that it was a joke. Already intrigued? Then let’s read on.
More info: Reddit
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The author of the post recently attended a job interview for an interesting position with a decent salary
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
However, the very first question was about the job seeker’s attitude toward working unpaid overtime
Image credits: sahalymn
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author was baffled and thought it was just a joke – but it turned out it actually wasn’t
Image credits: sahalymn
Image credits: Wavebreak Media / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The manager said that everyone in the company is incredibly eager to get things done, so they don’t even track overtime hours
Image credits: sahalymn
The author then just stood up and walked out, considering this a big red flag
So, the Original Poster (OP) is looking for a job (at least a few of their other posts are also dedicated to job interviews and open positions), and they recently received an invitation to an interview for a position that they were very interested in. The salary that the company was offering for this vacancy was also more than decent.
But literally the first question that the author was asked by the company representatives during the interview was how they felt about working unpaid overtime. The job seeker was surprised and even asked for clarification, expecting this to be a joke, but they were told the same thing straight out – working overtime without any additional compensation. It turned out that this is, well… a company tradition.
According to the manager themselves, everyone in the company is so passionate about their work that they literally do not leave their workplace until all tasks for the day are completed. And if this means free overtime work, then so be it. Moreover, according to the manager, the company doesn’t track extra hours at all.
Now everything became clear to the author. They stood up, politely thanked them for their time, but admitted that this wasn’t the right fit for them. After which they calmly left. But now, after some time, the original poster has begun to be tormented by doubts – did they do the right thing in this situation? After all, both the position itself and the salary were quite interesting.
Image credits: wirestock / Freepik (not the actual photo)
If you’re wondering whether it’s even legal to work overtime for free, don’t rush to say “no.” As with almost any business situation, there are many nuances. For example, this dedicated article on Clockify points out that, yes, in most cases, working unpaid overtime is illegal – but there are exceptions. For example, such work may be classified as “voluntary.”
In other words, your employment contract will not stipulate that you are required to work overtime, but it is at your own discretion. And, accordingly, once such a practice becomes a “corporate tradition,” you will not be able to de facto leave your workplace on time. Moreover, overtime hours, as we saw in the post above, are not tracked by the company.
If the employer fails to follow the overtime rules stipulated in an employment contract, then, as Punchwork notes, “the employee could pursue a claim for damages due to breach of contract.” But, here, since such a question is asked first during a job interview, it means that, most likely, there have already been precedents of a clash of interests between employees and the company.
People in the comments also agree that the OP did absolutely the right thing. After all, if they are a conscientious and experienced specialist in their field, they will find a job in any case. So putting up with such things is, according to the responders, completely unacceptable. By the way, have you, our dear readers, ever encountered something like this at work?
Most commenters just said the applicant was right since such corporate practice is completely inappropriate
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What do you think ?
FreeTheUnicorn 9 months ago
Amazing. Manager has just admitted to a stranger that his company breaks the law. Report them.
David Beth 9 months ago
It's not necessarily against the law - depends on the country, type of position, how it's paid, and other factors.
Load More Replies...
Tim Douglass 9 months ago
The way to call that out is to ask them if they are willing to confirm that they intend to steal wages from you and that they make a practice of wage theft from their existing employees.
Joanne Earle 9 months ago
I was at an interview for work that I desperately needed, and the lawyer is talking about what would be expected of me, and when he said, 'And if you want coffee you better bring it with you because I'm not paying you to be in the kitchen making it when you get here. You are expected to go right to work.' The vacation/sick policy was unpaid and non existent, the pay was kinda crappy. I stood up and said, 'Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, but I could never be happy working for you'. Ended up getting the job of my dreams right after that and worked for that firm for 12 years till I relocated.
Mad McQueen 9 months ago
No need to waste your “unpaid” time with that interview. At least they asked that stupid question right off to let you know they were scoundrels.
Pandaodboredem22 8 months ago
I don't doubt that questions like this are asked. But it seems odd that this was the very first question. If it's true, it was incredibly stupid on the interviewers part not to hook them in first before hitting them with that bombshell, as messed up as it is to have that workplace culture.
Another Panda 9 months ago
I always thought doing unpaid above and beyond would pay off. Guess what it didn’t do.
KatSaidWhat 9 months ago
"How much unpaid overtime do YOU do personally?" would be my counter question.
Rick Murray 9 months ago
I like that so many people opted to politely decline. No, walk. If that's how they *begin* an interview, it says a lot about their ethics and how willing they are to exploit workers. Politely decline if it comes in the middle of the interview, but as the first question it's a huge red flag - just leave.
Jordan Croff 9 months ago
I would've kept laughing as I walked out. These employers really take us for jokes.
Kira_Hibiki 9 months ago
Its entirely legal. They also don't pay you the minimum 3 hours for showing up to the interview. Ya know why? Because the interview is volunteered time and not part of the contract. Same thing with hours worked. You can show up at 8am instead of 9am and get a start on a day if ya want.....not on shift and not paid not wage theft or illegal. Likewise if your shift ends at 3pm and you decide to stay back and help the next crew it's not OT or wage theft because YOU decided. They cannot force you work unpaid overtime but you can do it if you so choose. Before commenting on legality go read them search the ot part for "volunteer" "contract" and others like work permits get a more in depth understanding youll be suprised to know how many variants and nuances there are and you'll be suprised to know that most likely your and 99% of people's understanding of that law is less than 1%
Load More Replies...
FreeTheUnicorn 9 months ago
Amazing. Manager has just admitted to a stranger that his company breaks the law. Report them.
David Beth 9 months ago
It's not necessarily against the law - depends on the country, type of position, how it's paid, and other factors.
Load More Replies... Tim Douglass 9 months ago
The way to call that out is to ask them if they are willing to confirm that they intend to steal wages from you and that they make a practice of wage theft from their existing employees.
Joanne Earle 9 months ago
I was at an interview for work that I desperately needed, and the lawyer is talking about what would be expected of me, and when he said, 'And if you want coffee you better bring it with you because I'm not paying you to be in the kitchen making it when you get here. You are expected to go right to work.' The vacation/sick policy was unpaid and non existent, the pay was kinda crappy. I stood up and said, 'Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, but I could never be happy working for you'. Ended up getting the job of my dreams right after that and worked for that firm for 12 years till I relocated.
Mad McQueen 9 months ago
No need to waste your “unpaid” time with that interview. At least they asked that stupid question right off to let you know they were scoundrels.
Pandaodboredem22 8 months ago
I don't doubt that questions like this are asked. But it seems odd that this was the very first question. If it's true, it was incredibly stupid on the interviewers part not to hook them in first before hitting them with that bombshell, as messed up as it is to have that workplace culture.
Another Panda 9 months ago
I always thought doing unpaid above and beyond would pay off. Guess what it didn’t do.
KatSaidWhat 9 months ago
"How much unpaid overtime do YOU do personally?" would be my counter question.
Rick Murray 9 months ago
I like that so many people opted to politely decline. No, walk. If that's how they *begin* an interview, it says a lot about their ethics and how willing they are to exploit workers. Politely decline if it comes in the middle of the interview, but as the first question it's a huge red flag - just leave.
Jordan Croff 9 months ago
I would've kept laughing as I walked out. These employers really take us for jokes.
Kira_Hibiki 9 months ago
Its entirely legal. They also don't pay you the minimum 3 hours for showing up to the interview. Ya know why? Because the interview is volunteered time and not part of the contract. Same thing with hours worked. You can show up at 8am instead of 9am and get a start on a day if ya want.....not on shift and not paid not wage theft or illegal. Likewise if your shift ends at 3pm and you decide to stay back and help the next crew it's not OT or wage theft because YOU decided. They cannot force you work unpaid overtime but you can do it if you so choose. Before commenting on legality go read them search the ot part for "volunteer" "contract" and others like work permits get a more in depth understanding youll be suprised to know how many variants and nuances there are and you'll be suprised to know that most likely your and 99% of people's understanding of that law is less than 1%
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