Restaurant owners cut hardworking employees hours down from 48 hours a week to 32 hours a week so their lazy nephews can work more, get angry when he gets a 2nd job on the weekends

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Sep 2, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

Why can't they hire the people who are best suited for the job? 

Nepotism is one of the most frustrating things in the world. It doesn't just affect casting for Hollywood movies; it affects literally every industry under the sun at every level. One of my best friends got his first job not because he was uniquely qualified for it, but because his cousin's boyfriend worked there. Luckily, he quit the job before his cousin broke up with her boyfriend, so he didn't get fired for nepotism reasons. 

If you've lost out on a job opportunity because somebody's son wanted the job, you can at least be reassured that you didn't lose out on the job because of anything to do with your skills. That truth could make you feel better or worse. It doesn't feel good to work hard and put everything you have into a business just to play second fiddle to a niece who didn't have to prove her loyalty to the company through any kind of labor. The bright side of this situation is that your work ethic is translatable to any workplace you go to. You can't nepotism your way into becoming a doctor or a lawyer if you don't have the skills to back it up. 

The employee in this story has been nothing if not hardworking at the restaurant where he has worked for the past four years. They recently cut his hours to give the owners' nephews more hours, but now that the nephews are floundering in their newfound position of power, they need this stalwart to come back. Luckily, he's learned that he's more valuable than the owners once thought, and knows that his skill set translates to different workplaces. Hopefully he'll have the confidence to go where he is wanted. 

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  • 01
    Black waiter in formal clothes at his work outdoors at sunny daytime
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A hardworking waiter serves a drink to a customer during his shift at his catering job, which he works on the weekends to supplement his income. 

    Recreated scenario included to enhance reader understanding.  

  • 02

    Restaurant owners cut my hours for their lazy nephews, now they're mad I won't work weekends to save their sinking ship

    I've been at this restaurant job for 4 years and I've always been a solid worker. But over the last 3 months, these owners have been messing with me.
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 03
    They've changed my schedule like 4 different times, and then out of nowhere cut my hours from 45-48 a week down to 32
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 04
    Before getting cut to 32, I was working Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 12 hours a day sometimes 11.
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 05
    (Quick fact: if you tell them no, that you can't come in, they also punish you or change your schedule)
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 06
    Where did my hours go? To the owners' two nephews.
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 07
    They hype these nephews up like they're the hardest workers in the world, but anybody working here knows they're lazy as h_1. So basically, I got punished while their family got hooked up.
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 08
    Obviously my bills didn't magically drop, so I had to go find another job to make up for what they cut. The new gig pays way better per hour and has fixed hours. Honestly, doing both now, I'm making more money and I actually like the routine I built for myself.
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 09
    (Weekends are busy catering events, sometimes vary from 8-14 hours)
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 10
    Now the younger brother (one of the owners) is coming to me like, "Oh, help us out for Saturday and Sunday, we really need you."
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 11
    I told him straight up: "I'm only getting 32 hours here, so I had to get another job to pay my bills. I'm locked in on those days."
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 12
    Now they want to have some stupid meeting with me about it. Like... are you serious? If your nephews are so amazing, why aren't you calling them to cover the weekend? Oh yeah, because deep down you know they won't show up or do real work,
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 13
    so you want me to come pull the heavy lifting. They stripped my hours for them, and now they're mad I'm not sitting around on standby waiting to bail them out. I already know I'm not changing my schedule for them. If they fire me,
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 14
    whatever, screw them. They lose a good worker
    via u/Vast-Ad8337
  • 15
    Prize-Station-8814 I worked at a large seafood restaurant in Miami doing prep 8 to 5 I assisted the head chef made all the sauces portioned the fish. We're all put on trays and shrimp or breaded by hand in those days Large grouper would come to the back door I would fillet them and portion them I could also make him made pasta if needed Well, the kitchen manager decided to fire me, said they didn't need me I started a new job when the owner calls me and said where you been I told them the manage
    via u/Prize-Station-8814
  • 16
    liquormakesyousick Just quit the restaurant job. Some owners are complete AH and will ab e staff anyway they can. I once worked for Mystic Pizza and the owners were exactly like this. Eventually one got in trouble for tax evasion.
    via u/liquormakesyousick
  • 17
    sxixs Whatever you do- do not quit your other job. These kind of people will just use you and throw you away when they want. They might guarantee you better hours or pay, but I bet they don't honor their promises long, if at all.
    via u/sxixs
  • 18
    Kawabunga42 Could be the best thing that ever happened to you. The meeting must be to discuss your wage increase can't be for anything else 'I mean the other job you were pushed into pays more and they appreciate my work ethic
    via u/Kawabunga42
  • 19
    ramenbot1234 Sounds like that's a YOU problem and not a ME problem. They've decided to FAFO so, they should get their nephews to work harder and faster!
    via u/ramenbot1234

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Tags

nephews nepotism workplace-stories employee job lazy toxic workplace restaurant workplace restaurants family restaurant work nephew restaurant server
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