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innerspaceboy · 06-11-2017, 08:33 PM

And so, dear friends, it came to pass that I secured a far more rewarding job in IT. I gave my notice, took the high road, and left on the best of terms. My old boss found himself in a predicament, as he knew all too well that no one could replace me to continue performing all the IT work I’d been doing for him, from the payroll systems I constructed to the paperless workflow automation I’d built… he needed me. So he asked that I stay on one hour a week to drop by and maintain my automated systems. He offered me $20 for a minimum 1-hour compensation to make it worth my trip.

But of course, it didn’t stop there. In my first two weeks at the new company, my old boss phoned me three times during the day and night asking me to walk him through various complex technical troubleshooting issues. Quickly realizing that this was establishing an undesirable pattern, I drafted a concise and professional email indicating that the terms discussed for my continued employment did not include phone support and that I would need to be compensated for my time if he is to continue to phone me.

He replied saying he was shocked by my demand. He said he was already paying for my health insurance for the rest of April and that this entitled him to limitless phone support with no compensation. He made it abundantly clear that he was being kind and generous and that I should continue to work for free. (A hint - if you have to tell someone how kind and generous you are… you probably aren’t.) I replied, stating that providing insurance in no way exempts him for paying an employee for their work. Compensation for my labor is not contingent upon his generosity. I proposed a discounted rate of service to be billed in 15-minute increments for future phone assistance. And as expected, he pushed back again saying that I was clearly failing to understand him.

He said that he was already paying me a flat rate of $20 for my on-site weekly visits, and as it doesn’t actually take me a full hour, he’s entitled to use any remaining minutes (usually 30-45) for phone support and just roll it into my hour. (This is his MO, as for the entire duration of my employ, I was required to appear 15 minutes early without pay every day and all time worked after 5 was rounded away uncompensated.) I remained firm and explained that I am now a contract worker and that the industry standard for phone support is $1 a minute. I’d offered a discounted rate as a courtesy as we had an established business relationship, but that the $20 minimum hour rate is what I need to make my on-site visits worth doing at all in the first place. Support phone calls above and beyond that $20 need to be compensated. I closed the conversation saying that if he refuses to pay me for my labor that I will not be taking any more of his calls. I invited him to email me his requests in advance of my weekly on-site visits and said I would handle the requests at that time.

My old boss is a piece of ****.