'Sometimes justice works': Under-the-table employee gets payback when his boss shorts him 60% of his paycheck for ‘bad behavior', accidentally uncovering a whole slew of illegal business practices that send the boss to prison

Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor

Aug 26, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

When you're desperate for work, sometimes accepting an under-the-table job is your only option. The cash is quick, the work is flexible, and now you can add a little extra padding to your wallet on the side; but occasionally you're stuck with an untrustworthy, shady dude as your new boss. An employer that's willing to bend the rules on legally paying their employees can't always be trusted to follow the ledgers when it comes to payday. In this case, an under-the-table worker got a job at a bakery and had agreed to certain terms with his boss to get a little extra dough, but it turned out to be a pastry shop nightmare.

After slaving with his coworkers for multiple weeks, working overtime hours and ensuring the shop was running well, OP was ready to cash in on his paycheck (per the terms he set up with his boss), only to realize that the boss was feeling flimsy in the financial department. The boss pushed away OP for weeks before agreeing to actually meet, coming in super late for his payday. Although they'd verbally agreed on €700 per month, OP's 'attitude' in the workplace, a.k.a. him asking for his rightly due paycheck, was not something the boss was willing to pay for– so he only gave him €300. Furious, but unable to do anything because they never had any paperwork together, OP got payback in the only way he thought possible– bureaucracy.

Scroll for the full story on how OP's tiny report to the labor bureau uncovered a whole onslaught of outrageously illegal business practices, resulting in fines, fury, and a little prison time. Next, read on about know-it-all client who insisted on teaching his contractor a lesson, only to fail a measurement and owe an extra $12,000.