'I need to be paid if he wants my help': Employee gets back at entitled boss who refused to give her a raise

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 3, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

Try as he might, this boss isn't going to get his former employee to budge an inch. It's not like he has much leverage: he wants her to work for free!

The pressure your boss puts on you can feel immense. Some people have nightmares about their bosses, others work long hours even when they're not getting paid overtime in order to avoid their boss's wrath. That's why leaving a bad gig can suddenly feel so freeing! You can say to yourself, "Well, I never need to cater to my manager's whims or worry about their opinions ever again." 

It's also wise to avoid burning bridges, though. This person thought she left on good terms with her boss: he told her she could come back and work there again if she ever felt so inclined. She took that at face value… but for some reason, her boss kept acting like she still worked there and had to answer to him. He's acting really entitled, and commenters assured this person that she truly didn't have to give a second thought to her former manager's request, as you can read about in the story below. 

Up next, read about the outrageous reasons people divorced their spouses, like one person who "divorced his wife… because she would sleep with a nightlight." 

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    Cheezburger Image 10411683840
    via Ahmet Kurt on Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    r/AmItheA u/ShirtSeparate3578 Posted by AITA for telling my former employer I need to be paid if he wants my help? Throwaway account. A couple months ago, I [28F] left a job after close to 10 years of being there. It was an accumulation of things but I really just needed somewhere that was going to give me more money since I just had a baby. I told my boss my concerns, he refused to give me a raise, I found another job, accepted, gave my two weeks and left.
    via u/ShirtSeparate3578
  • 03
    I thought I had left on good terms, I wrote him an email stating I was beyond grateful for the last decade. He wrote back stating I would be welcome back at any time no matter what. It felt nice to have that little security, especially after so much time there.
    via u/ShirtSeparate3578
  • 04
    Things ended up not working out at the current company and it was mildly embarrassing but I shot my boss an email telling him what was going on and asking for my job back. He reached out to me stating that they had already replaced me and that unfortunately I was not welcome back since I had asked for more money. The last part stung a little since he told me I would be welcomed back at any time. My old coworker texted me and told me that he lied, he hadn't even begun interviewing anyone leaving
    via u/ShirtSeparate3578
  • 05
    This morning I woke up to a text message from him asking if I would be able to help my former coworker with paperwork that she was having trouble with. I told him my rate for an hour of work was and he texted me back stating he cannot believe how greedy and money hungry I was. I left my coworker with EVERYTHING she needed to know, I trained her for the last two whole weeks I was there, gave her access to all my files, passwords, asked her if she needed help understand anything and kept no intell
    via u/ShirtSeparate3578
  • 06
    CrystalQueen3000 NTA You know your worth, he's just p ed that you've set a boundary 1.5k Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP I took a long time but I learned how to say no!
    via u/CrystalQueen3000
  • 07
    Material-Profit 5923 Certified Proctologist [21] NTA. He is clearly not your friend, and you owe him nothing. He is the one who chose to burn bridges; building a new bridge after you burnt the old one is costly. 438 Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP The idiotic thing is that he instilled a "we are family" mentality, but now that I'm seeing it without my rose colored glasses on, we weren't. His actions spoke louder than his words ever could.
    via u/Material-Profit5923
  • 08
    [deleted] NTA. I love how you handled it. Double the rate every time he asks again. This is exactly how you handle such things. He wants your labor, so he has to pay for it. 234 Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP Thank you!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 09
    eviqu NTA. He was already burning the bridge the moment you left. You didn't do anything wrong here and it's great you found a place way better than the toxic place you left. 131 Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP I thought I did! I thought I did something so wrong by leaving, now I am glad I did!
    via u/eviqu
  • 10
    Prestigious Isopod 72 Of course NTA. If he had treated you with an ounce of respect, you might have felt differently about doing him a favor now. Since he ridiculed and disrespected you, you owe him zilch. He's lucky you took his call at all and are willing to work at a fair market rate. 61 Reply Share ... ShirtSeparate3578 OP What hurt the most was him telling my coworker that I was pathetic and groveling for my job back. I just explained the situation and I was not begging but he made it seem
    via u/Prestigious Isopod
  • 11
    NTA. He's upset he isn't in control and you told him no. Probably a narcissist that rages when he doesn't get his way. 24 Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP Most definitely!
    via u/ShirtSeparate3578
  • 12
    Spiritual-Bridge3027 NTA After all the lies and cheekiness your former boss demonstrated, you asking them an hourly rate for doing their work is very fair actually. 21 Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP I can't believe he lied to me, like I wouldn't find out. That was the worst part.
    via u/Spiritual-Bridge3027
  • 13
    TectTactic your old boss is the AH, offered to keep your job open for you if you ever needed it back but declined when you asked for it back, i would just block em and move on, time: money if he wants you to help then he need to know it comes with a fee, at least now you have a job where people respect you 14 Reply Share ShirtSeparate3578 OP That's exactly what I'm doing!!!! He said sorry I can't help you but you can still help me right? NO!
    via u/TectTactic
  • 14
    love_laugh_dance ΝΤΑ They really expected you to work for free? Get out of here with that s And I kind of doubt that your former coworker is having that much trouble with individual tasks. I suspect she having trouble with the work load because he never replaced you. And a few months later things are falling apart. You had loyalty to a company that has none towards you. If I were the co-worker I would be looking for another job, too. If, for some reason, you do come to fair terms and decide to h
    via u/love_laugh_dance
  • 15
    ShirtSeparate3578 OP No, she definitely is having a hard time. I was available to my boss 24/7. He did not believe in work life balance, he worked himself to the bone, got 3 hours of sleep a night and thought EVERYONE should be like that. Completely scoffed at the idea of a vacation for my coworker and I but completely let my manager go on vacations for weeks on end leaving me in charge. It was rough. Looking back now I can't believe I wasted so much time there. It hurt, I was somebody's punchin
    via u/ShirtSeparate3578

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