Got Paid for Doing Nothing: Man earned Rs 26 lakh without working, another got 6 years' salary after quitting

No Work, Full Pay

Imagine landing your dream job. You've signed the contract, you've bought a new office lunchbox, and you're ready to start. But on your first day, your new boss calls. "Sorry, a small delay. We'll call you next week."

A week passes. No call. A month passes. Radio silence. For most of us, this would be a nightmare. But for one clever man in Abu Dhabi, it became a golden ticket to over Rs 26 lakhs!

Read Also - AI Helped Him Crack UPSC Twice: How a small-town boy used technology to become IAS officer with AIR 19

This gentleman was hired with a fancy contract promising a great salary. But the company kept playing the "delay game," pushing his start date again and again. They probably thought he'd just give up and disappear.

But he was playing a different game entirely, a game of patience. He decided, "If they won't let me work, I'll just let the law do the work for me." He took the company to court, demanding his salary for the months he was officially hired but not allowed to set foot in the office.

The company's lawyers tried to wriggle out of it, but the court was not impressed. The judge basically said, "A contract is a contract! You can't just hire someone and then forget to tell them when to start, while also forgetting to pay them."

The result? The company had to pay him a whopping Rs 26 lakh for a job he never actually did. It's the ultimate win for anyone who’s ever been stuck in a boring meeting, dreaming of getting paid to do nothing. He turned a corporate mix-up into a masterclass in getting what you deserve!

The Award-Winning Absentee

Now, let's travel to Spain for a story of a man who took "quiet quitting" to a whole new level. Meet Joaquín, a building supervisor who had been working for over a decade. One day, he decided he'd had enough. But instead of handing in a resignation letter, he chose a more... silent approach.

He simply stopped going to work.

For six whole years.

Thanks to a glorious case of bureaucratic confusion (where one department thought another was managing him), nobody noticed he was gone. His salary kept landing in his bank account, year after year, while Joaquín enjoyed the longest, most peaceful vacation of his life.

His secret? The art of doing absolutely nothing and doing it perfectly.

The plot thickened right at the moment his incredible streak was about to be crowned with glory. His employers decided to honour his "dedicated service" with a special award. They went looking for their star employee to give him the good news.

That's when they discovered a small problem: their "dedicated" employee hadn't been seen since 2010!

The deputy mayor himself called Joaquín for an explanation. "So, Joaquín," he must have asked, "what exactly have you been doing for the last six years?" The silence on the phone was probably louder than any answer.

In the end, Joaquín's six-year holiday cost him a fine, but it was a small price to pay for a legendary escape. He almost skipped his way to an award for a job he hadn't done in half a decade! He proved that sometimes, the real work is making everyone think you're working.

Also Read: Top 20 Fastest-Growing Indian Startups of 2025, as per LinkedIn