Employee resigns, boss tries to cheap out by offering $20 less per hour than what he's worth to keep him on as a contractor: 'Their offer was not acceptable'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 7, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Did this former employee ask for what he was worth or did he overshoot it a little?

Most supervisors should know that when one of their employees sets aside time to have a chat, the possibility of a resignation could very well be on the horizon. This employee had recently been denied a promotion that he felt qualified for. He voiced this frustration to his boss, who ended up brushing it off and essentially doing nothing about it.

So why was this supervisor surprised when his employee told him that he would be resigning after two weeks? It could have been a combination of tunnel vision and hubris on the part of the employer. What's more amusing is that as soon as the employee handed in his letter of resignation, his now former boss almost immediately asked for him to stay on a bit longer. 

They ultimately agreed that a temporary contract would be the right fit and one that would be mutually beneficial for all involved. Then, the topic of the hourly rate came up, and both the employee and his supervisor were taken aback with the offers that both parties brought to the table.

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  • QIFE CLUB
    via Rodrigo Rodrigues | WOLF Λ R T

    The employee's ex-boss attempts to negotiate with him over the phone.

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

  • My work asked me to contract with them after resigning and then insulted me with their offer

    I was making almost $27 an hour in my salaried role. With payroll taxes, healthcare premiums, and a 403b match, this cost for my employer was about $39 an hour.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • I did the math. I resigned on good terms and they asked me if I would be willing to contract for them maybe 10 hours a week after starting my new job, which will pay me $34.18 an hour.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • I was totally open to this, but told them I would expect $50 an hour. I have done my research, and viewed this as a kindness towards them.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • Many people would demand more. In my mind, I'm doing them a favor by keeping things running, training my replacement, etc.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • This is only $11 an hour more than what they pay to keep me as a salaried employee.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • Additionally, contracting would mean I'm giving up a clean break, an immediate release of stress, and would mean I'm working 50+ hours a week while starting my new job.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • I genuinely felt like I was doing them a favor. There's only 4 people on my team, including my boss.
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  • A frustrated employee sits on the front steps of his office building.
    via Vitaly Gariev

    A frustrated employee sits on the front steps of his office building.

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

  • My other manager left on September 2nd, 2025, and their hiring process is so slow that her replacement started on January 1st, 2026.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • She's still practically new so she's going to struggle to take my workload. Originally, they seemed really anxious about me leaving, even offered to work something out to keep me, which I declined.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • They had literally told me no to opportunities for promotion before I resigned. Their fault. But I ended up agreeing to contract for them anyways since we did have a great working relationship and I valued them to some degree.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • Anyways, they come back and tell me that there's no precedence for $50 an hour, that it's completely out of budget (hard to believe), and that other employees who decide to contract do so for much less.
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  • They implied they were doing ME a favor by offering me a contract, and offered $30 an hour.
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  • That is CHEAPER than their cost to keep me as an hourly employee. They would be saving money!
    via theodora_antoinette

  • Of course, this author did his research and assessed if his expertise matched with the hourly rate he was proposing. He also knew that staying on in any capacity should not necessarily mean that his company should be saving money by offering him a contract. 

    After all, he is the one who is benefiting them by volunteering his extra time to help train his replacement and keep things running smoothly for the time being. This boss's inability to stop himself from lowballing his employee is certainly a thing to behold. Denying him that promotion was the reason why he quit in the first place. Now, he's asked to do the company a favor after leaving and he's still being undervalued? In our eyes, this is just not worth it for the author to pursue. Onward and upward!

  • A frustrated employee puts his head in his hand as he sits on the front steps of his office building.
    via Vitaly Gariev

    A frustrated employee puts his head in his hand as he sits on the front steps of his office building.

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

  • I very bluntly told them that their offer was not acceptable, and that I wasn't willing to save THEM money on my hourly rate and held firm.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • My boss got upset, tried to push back by implying that they were just "helping me make a little extra money," but irritatedly accepted my rejection of their offer.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • I'm already making an extra 20k with my raise. Why would I need their "extra money?" I could make more than 50 an hour by working overtime at 34/hr.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • Why the h would I accept that? Now they've just ped me off. It doesn't seem like they expected me to decline.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • Oh well. If they come crawling back I'll tell them my rate has increased to $60 an hour.
    via theodora_antoinette
  • That would still be a kindness to them that I'm now feeling like they don't deserve.
    via theodora_antoinette

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workplace-stories employee work stories i quit satisfying quitting story Horrible Bosses contractor
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