‘HR hung up on me’: After being fired, HR director contacts ex-employee asking to hire them as a contractor, only to be appalled when they ask for a pay rate 5x their former salary

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 27, 2025 4:00 AM EDT

When employees get fired, what motives do they have to agree to train or give someone else all the information required to do the job properly?

The short answer, there is no motive. In fact, the best thing for a fired employee to do is actually to refuse, so that the company would be forced to hire them as a contractor to complete the work they left undone. Which was exactly the motive of the ex-employee in the story below.

To be fair, this company doesn't even deserve to hire this employee as a contractor, considering how they were treated when they got fired. Not only did the company demand that the employee sign a non-compete clause, but they also tried to later claim the employee resigned, demanded to hire them as a contractor, and were mad about the pay rate.

Luckily, this employee knows exactly what they are worth, and is not willing to let the company pressure them into agreeing to anything that is not in their best interest…

Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10547231488
    via Wavebreakmedia

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    We No Longer Require Your Services

    After working at this mid-sized company as a P.E. for over 4 years, last Friday (8/15) at 4:00 PM I was sent to HR and told I'd been laid off effective immediately.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 03
    I was handed a check for the first half of the month, no severance, no accrued PTO (we switched to unlimited this year), and a paper that the company wanted me to sign that stated I had resigned.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 04
    I was paid all that I was due and contained a material non- compete clause. I refused and they said that they would not provide me a reference.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 05
    As I was driving home, my now former indirect corporate engineering director called saying that he heard that I was fired as a cost cutting measure and called the company's move SI dal.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 06
    He said would write me a great recommendation letter and to give any potential employer his direct line number.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 07
    So over the weekend I update my resume and start networking. On Monday I signed up for unemployment, moved my 401k into an IRA, and filled out the forms to be put on my wife's insurance.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 08
    Tuesday I received a call from HR saying that they wanted to hire me back as a contractor in order to finish up the work I "failed to complete before I quit."
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 09
    I replied that I did not quit, I was fired. The HR flunkie argued that I signed their resignation form. I replied that I had not and that they should read what I wrote, which was "All Lies Refuse to Sign."
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 10
    Cheezburger Image 10547231232
    via dimaberlinphotos

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 11
    After a few moments, Mr. Flunkie says that he would need to speak with his boss and someone would get back to me later.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 12
    Today I get a call from Ms HR Director saying that If I don't come back in that would be equivalent to refusing to take a job and be grounds for denying unemployment.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 13
    I replied that I never refused, and in fact, would be willing to return as a contractor as they requested. I told her that I would email her a signable .pdf contract by the end of business today.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 14
    So this afternoon I downloaded an appropriate consulting engineering contract, edited it appropriately, and sent it to Ms HR Director.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 15
    Within 30 min. of sending it, she calls me up and starts screaming about my pay rate which, among many other Ts&Cs, was 4.5 times my former salary.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 16
    I waited for her to run out of steam and said that I understood her position and that she was welcome to refuse. She then hung up on me.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 17
    I wonder what will happen when they discover that a consulting firm, or any other P.E., will insist on redoing all my calculations and will charge the company much more than I would cost them.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 18
    I've already received calls generated from my network tree. They're mostly worthless independent recruiters who I politely tell thanks, but no thanks.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 19
    I did, however, receive a call back from a former boss with whom I truly got along. He had left a past, but not my last company, to go to much greener pastures.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 20
    He said that his company just approved a new position that he believes I'd be great for. After catching up, he said he'd set up interviews next week.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown
  • 21
    Talk about good timing.
    via NotYourKidFromMoTown

  • There's nothing like the satisfying feeling of getting to show a company just how much they lost when they decided to let you go. It is one thing to tell them they are going to regret it, but it is another to actually prove it.

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

boss workplace-stories employee fired hr manager job tales-from-the-workplace reddit story ceo pay overworked-employees workplace Reddit company contractor funny
Scroll Down For The Next Article