Hello! Has anyone ever proposed part-time, contractual employment with their former employer to cover special projects and overflow work?

17 Comments

1. AnonymousFebruary 10,2026 at 3:51PM UTC

   Put together a business plan and go for it! It works!

2. AnonymousFebruary 10,2026 at 5:53PM UTC

   Thank you for your answer and vote of confidence!!

3. AnonymousFebruary 10,2026 at 3:57PM UTC

   Yes. Actually that was my approach with two former employers when I decided to become a full-time remote contractor. I introduced the concept to one employer when I heard they were overwhelmed with a very specialized role which I had performed some years back. I didn't want to combine this project with any other tasks and set up a lunch to discuss my proposal. I estimated the months time in hours and the fee (3x my hourly rate) I eventually added another former employer as well. I am now 5 years in, work 20 hours per week and make considerably more than I did working full time as a salaried employee.

   I chose my very specific and hard to find skills and leveraged them. I bill accordingly and lucratively. I've taken the burden off my clients and they are very pleased.

4. AnonymousFebruary 10,2026 at 5:52PM UTC

   Thank you for your thoughtful reply! Were there any initially unanticipated hurdles that needed to be crrossed in your process as I prepare my own proposal?

5. AnonymousFebruary 11,2026 at 1:50PM UTC

   No, I laid out what I offered (taking on tasks that were highly specialized and that full-time staff had no understanding of) as a nonpayroĺĺ expense, saving the company headcount and payroll taxes thus allowing them to expense my fee without attending to benefits and bonus participation.

   Furthermore I was 100% remote so no need of office space or direct supervision. Because my role was not a team role but more of a reporting role, it was more a deliverable than anything else.

   I outlined all these advantages in my proposal as a no Brainer.

   I now work 100% remote and 200 miles away from my 2 clients and it has worked out better than I could have imagined.

6. Natalie MicaleFebruary 11,2026 at 1:20PM UTC

   Yes! I’ve had several clients move to kind of arrangement after leaving their roles.

7. Jacqueline CutlerFebruary 11,2026 at 1:29PM UTC

   Yes. If it is a good arrangemen for you and for the employer, talk about what you could continue to do for the and what that fee wouod be, how often this woukd be and set it up , if possible, as an ongoing freelance opportunity,

8. Gayle GoldnerFebruary 11,2026 at 3:24PM UTC

   Yes, I have done this but it was several years after I left and was with a different part of the organization. It is helpful for them as they don't have to pay benefits and your are familiar.

9. L KwiatkowskiFebruary 11,2026 at 4:11PM UTC

   I did this many years ago but through an agency which typically provides contract services and had my former employer contract with the agency at a fairly high hourly rate, different than what they typically would bill for that service due to my direct experience and knowledge of the project at hand.

10. Amy ReifenrathFebruary 11,2026 at 6:52PM UTC

    I've done this before. It works out well if you had a good relationship with your former employer.

11. OLIVIA JOHNSONFebruary 11,2026 at 7:59PM UTC

    Hi there!

    Great question and potentially, great position to be in.

    Throughout my career I have both proposed and pitched for full-time roles to contract or part-time as an employee and as an external candidate.

    Here are some of my thoughts;

    It's not personal. A huge misstep here is going into negotiations/proposal thinking that if they like me they will do it. Or if we have a great working relationship they'll have no problems going for it. Nothing about this is personal. Though of course this is uber helpful and without it can make it more challenging but if there is someone they don't particularly like but they have cornered the market on a skill the company needs to make money, they unliked party may still get the head nod for an opportunity like this.

    Show mission critical value to the organization. This is key! Just because you can continue your current role part-time or at home does not mean that the company would be willing to take the risks involved to do so. However, IF, you are the ONLY one who is the administrator for a key system utilized internally that drives or assist in driving revenue, now you're more in the driver's seat.

    Highlight the benefits to them. We always think about our side of the puzzle but the organization doesn't think that way. Yes, working from home or part-time would help you spend more time with family or pursue other goals but none of that touches the bottom line or any relief of duties from the company's perspective. You're much better off talking shop on things that the organization understands and will benefit from, i.e. no expenditure on comp & benefits, lesser payout in salary (going from full to part-time), etc. IF you had a dynamic role you could emphasize how being focused on this specific area could improve efficiency and maybe take on things that specific area that have been on the backburner while you had to work on other external projects i.e. upgrades to the system or process, etc.

    These are just a few examples of how you can pitch this successfully. The major concept to grasp is that it needs to be pitched to show the advantages to them (remove your benefits from the pitch).

    I am in hopes that this is helpful.

    Wishing you success on the mission.

    Best regards,

    Coach Olivia

12. Heather WhitpanFebruary 11,2026 at 9:16PM UTC

    I did! It was part of my exit conversation with my boss and HR. The organization was in a very particular situation where staff was leaving due to management changes and a full return to work edict. I loved my job, but my commute was 2 hours and I was unable to increase my days/week in office. I offered to contract remotely if needed. After a month, and a little more attrition from the staff I got a call. I kept the scope of work very specific and would remind them of what I agreed to work on as we went. The contract was also set for a very specific term length which gave us both the opportunity to revisit and review the terms and if we wanted to continue.

13. AnonymousFebruary 12,2026 at 1:56PM UTC

    I did! I left the organization and in my resignation letter, I added that I was available as an hourly contractor.

    They called me 6 weeks later.

14. MCOhioFebruary 12,2026 at 2:28PM UTC

    I did this about a decade ago. I was the only one in my function, and we agreed that I would work for up to 40 hours over the next 3 months at $100/hour. If you are in the US, you always need to ask for 2-3x your current hourly rate, because you will become a 1099 employee. That means they are no longer paying for your healthcare benefits, their portion of payroll taxes, and other things normally covered for employees.

    When I put in my notice, I told my boss I would be willing to work a couple of hours a week to finish out specific projects I was working on. I did the work and had to create an invoice to receive payment. When I wasn't paid promptly, I escalated and added an "invoice must be paid within 30 days of receipt" to the invoice and resent. I got to 40 hours, they paid me, and that was the end. It was a positive experience, and I didn't feel overwhelmed with the low number of hours needed, since it was never more than a couple of hours a week.

15. Robyn WickFebruary 12,2026 at 3:12PM UTC

    We have hired employees who left for contract work fairly regularly in my organization. These were people who left on good terms (relocated or stepped out of the workforce for family reasons), had specialized skills that we needed, and were dependable. It has helped us bridge gaps in hiring and during busier times. As a hiring manager, not having to train in someone new for a temporary position and having someone I trust doing the work is priceless.

16. Pamela PattonFebruary 12,2026 at 4:36PM UTC

    I was asked back by my company after a lay-off. Went to a creative strategy meeting, where almost everyone was glad to see me. A few days later, I was fired. The project manager never liked me and got his revenge.

17. Farah BajwaFebruary 15,2026 at 8:54PM UTC

    I've seen it happen. I worked at a small, family-owned business and their manager was retiring after 40 years with them so they held on to him for a couple of hours a month to either do work or consult.

    At the same company, relocating the business to North Carolina required that a licensed professional engineer be on the payroll. When I became the Head of Engineering, I worked to keep our licensed engineer on the payroll part time because he didn't want to move there and moved on to another full time job.