A former employee’s Reddit post has gone viral after revealing how a smart consulting agreement with their previous employer stirred tension among the old team. The employee, who had left a high-pressure job managing critical legacy systems, anticipated that their former colleagues would still reach out for help. To avoid being used as free tech support, they set up a formal consulting deal before leaving- charging two and a half times their old hourly rate, billed in 30-minute increments.
The ex-employee wrote on Reddit, “I started a new job about 4 months ago, after being way overworked at my old one. I was the go-to person for several critical legacy systems, and I knew my phone would be blowing up with questions from my old team after I left.”
He added, “To get ahead of it, I drew up a simple consulting agreement before my last day. The rate is about two and half times my old hourly wage, billed in 30-minute increments, minimum,”
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However, the arrangement didn’t sit well with their former boss, who reportedly told the current team not to contact the ex-employee unless its absolutely necessary.
The post says, “From what I’ve heard, he has instructed the team not to call me unless the building is on fire. Which, honestly, is exactly what I wanted. That’s the whole point. For years, I watched management treat former employees as a free tech support line. That was their main troubleshooting method: ‘Just call so-and-so, they built this thing even though they left two years ago,’” the post continued.
The irony, the user noted, lies in the fact that since leaving, they’ve only billed the company for about 10 hours of work. The post reveals,“And the best part? Since I left, I’ve only billed them for maybe 10 hours of work. So that tells me one of two things: either it’s not about the budget and he’s just mad that I have the audacity to charge for my expertise, or he’s mad that he can’t rely on me indefinitely without spending the company’s money.”
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Ending the post with a message to professionals, the user wrote, “Folks, know your worth. Your time doesn’t become free the moment you walk out the door.”
The story has sparked wide discussions online about workplace boundaries, fair pay, and how companies often undervalue the expertise of their former employees.
