Found Your On Calling

(Being ‘on-call’ means that you get paid a little extra to answer your phone when at home and come in when needed over the weekend. My boss decides to take this from me due to ‘budget cuts.’)

Boss: “I tried to call you this weekend.”

Me: “Oh, did you? I didn’t have my phone with me.”

Boss: “We had a major issue; I needed you to come in.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Well, I was out with the family, so even if I took my phone I wouldn’t have had reception.”

Boss: “Not good enough! You need to have your phone with you at all times!”

Me: “Yeah… I’m not going to do that. When you paid me call out, I took it everywhere, on holiday, to the gym; I would have my phone by me all day and night, and always answer it no matter the time. Now that you’re not paying me, there is no chance I’m doing it for free.”

Boss: *suddenly silent* “Oh, I… uh… forgot about that. Do you want to go back on call?”

Me: “No, I don’t think I do.”

(Despite the drop in pay, it was the best decision I made, I had my weekends back and finally got a break from work.)