Digger operator earns insane amount for just two weeks of work

A digger operator has shared their eye-watering payslip for just two weeks of work - and a lot of hours.

In the UK, an entry-level excavator earns a salary of about £35,000 to £36,000 per year, according to ONS stats from 2021.

Over on Reddit’s r/auspayslips, however, a 33-year-old operator with five years of experience revealed that a two-week shift with overtime earned them a whopping $11,737.50 before tax from 27 October to 9 November 2025.

After tax, they were left with $8,029.50 in take-home pay. For context, that’s over a million dollars over the course of the year.

So, their standard hourly rate was $43.50, with 79 ordinary hours bringing in $3,436.50.

While the real reason the pay climbed so high was the huge amount of overtime.

The digger operator worked 16.5 hours at time-and-a-half, which increased their hourly rate to $65.25 and added $1,076.62 to their pay.

What is double-time overtime?

An average plant operator salary in the UK sits around £30,000 to £55,000 (Getty Stock Images)

Even more impressive was the amount they earned from double-time overtime.

Having completed 61 hours at double time, they were paid $87 an hour. That alone added a massive $5,307 to their payslip.

The worker also received additional payments related to travel, with overnight travel allowance coming in at $1,080, while 22.25 hours of paid travel time added another $967.88.

There was also a $130.50 reduction connected with three hours of rostered day off accrual.

When everything was added together, their gross earnings for the two-week period reached $11,737.50.

Of course, earning such a large amount also meant a sizable tax deduction.

The payslip shows $3,708 in PAYG tax, bringing the final net pay down to $8,029.50.

Despite the substantial payment, fellow Redditors thought the hours were a heck of a lot.

'It’s not as much as you think'

Not everyone thought the hours justified the work (Getty Stock Images)

“Wow, that's brutal. Can’t do something like that in my 30’s now. I might pass out lol,” one person said.

“Its big (that's what they said), but you did a lot of overtime to get it at the expense of other things suck as family time or entertainment,” another penned.

“Who goes to work for $43:50 an hour? Not even worth getting out of bed,” a third added.

“That's only $10/hr more than what I make at 19yo as a barista. It’s not as much as you think, especially in this economy. But good on you for working so hard that’s a lot of hard labour there,” a fourth added.

Randstad, the world's largest human resources and recruitment consulting firm, say that the ‘compensation package of an excavator operator is determined by various factors, including experience, education and job complexity’.

“The more you work as an excavator operator, the higher you are likely to earn. Experience determines your skills, and employers are willing to pay more for candidates with transferable skills,” they added.

“The scope of your role and company size also influence your earnings. When you work for a small construction company, you may earn less due to limited resources.

“Large companies can afford to pay excavator operators more. In addition, complex projects attract higher salaries compared to low-budget projects. Having extra credentials improves your salary prospects.”