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Advise for working as a contractor for previous employer

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Anonymous

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Advise for working as a contractor for previous employer

I left a company a few months ago after finding a new position, due to being burned out and in a toxic work environment. I am so happy in my new role, so feel like I made a great decision.

I did a full handover of all my tasks to my manager before I left and made detailed notes of my responsibilities, deadlines and where to find all of my files and reports. We recorded all of these meetings too.

I’m being told by the team I left behind that the manager has not done any of my tasks since I left and he doesn’t seem to know where to start. The team are not feeling supported and are falling behind as a team, due to the work not being completed by the manager. Unfortunately he is not the approachable type either.

I got a call from one of the managers there today asking if I could do some contract work for them to help get up to date, since my old manager will now be leaving also.

What are your thoughts on handling this? In a way I want to help because I respect the team as a whole, but in other ways I feel very happy to have left and not have the burden of the toxic environment anymore.

Looking for thoughts, advise, feedback please.

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  1. Anonymous

    You are not obligated to help them, if I were you I'd focus on my new role. You shouldn't be juggling two jobs because of their incompetence.

  2. Anonymous

    Thank you for your reply!

    I will say that is what I feel I am steering more towards with my decision, that I will decline and they will have to accept they did a poor job of my succession planning.

    I have a lot of respect for my old team though and there’s definitely a pull towards wanting to help them, but I know it can’t be at my own expense of sanity and health!

  3. Anonymous

    Charge them $150/hr as a consultant.

  4. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

    Do you know what she was making previously? Maybe $150/hr is lowballing herself.

  5. Anonymous

    Thanks for the advice!

    I do have a number in mind should I decide to move forward.

    Have you been in a situation like this before? Did you invoice your old company or they put you in their payroll?

    Thanks again!

  6. Anonymous

    Be careful about taking on more than you can handle. You don’t want to jeopardize your new job by taking on too much addition work to help your old company. That said, if you want to help without over extending yourself, then I agree with the advise of charging $150/hr for consulting and setting a defined scope for what you’ll do and for how long your consulting will last. You don’t want your helping them to drag out forever.

  7. Anonymous

    Thank you for replying!

    I appreciate your advice, I do have a feeling they could take advantage, so I am going to ask for a defined scope of work and timeline before accepting or rejecting.

    Thank you again!

  8. Anonymous

    Remember, that you left this company for a reason, and that reason will still be there. Trying to do this and do well at your new job will likely stretch you, and trigger you, and the burnout will return faster than it hit the first time. Unless you are desperate for the money being offered, decline. If you still want to consider it, offer it for at least twice what you were making there before. You are under no obligation for their failure not to follow the turnover materials you left them.

  9. Anonymous

    This is really great advice, thank you! Especially the part around being triggered as I can absolutely envisage that happening. Money isn’t a consideration as much as me feeling a pull to want to help my old team as they were really great. Thank you again for taking the time to reply.

  10. Chrishogg

    When you left you went above and beyond, apparently provided them with everything they needed to manage your leaving and to keep things running until they found a replacement for you ... and your previous manager ignored it.

    Are you really willing, even though the problem manager is leaving, to step in and do all that over again, while adjusting to your new role and your new organization?

    Seriously?

    You left your previous organization physically.

    Now it's time to leave mentally.

  11. Anonymous

    If you do it, you can and should set very specific parameters of the consulting engagement: a maximum number of hours, a limited time period, availability only outside the hours of your current job, only working on certain projects or pieces of work. It’s a chance to make a little extra money if you want to and you have ALL the leverage here.

    A caveat that if you are not set up to accept payment through a 1099, though, your taxes will be more complicated than with just W-2 income (a great excuse to charge a lot for your services, though).

  12. Anonymous

    Since you left all the information for them to use I'd decline the contract opportunity. Too much drama. They can figure it out.

  13. Anonymous

    This is exactly how I gained one of my current clients when I left to start my consulting business. 4 years later I'm still their consultant.

    I will say your relationship will drastically change because you may dictate the terms of work. I set strict guidelines that I will never work more than x hours per week. I will take x number of weeks of pto at my discretion, my billing rate will be 3x what my previous W2 rate was and I will be paid via wire transfer every 30 days as invoiced. 72 hours prior. For your situation, I would also wait for the former manager to leave the company. Only because it will be extremely difficult to work with them.

    You need to step back and understand that this puts you completely in control and you may leave at anytime (as written in your agreement). I had a knowledgeable employment lawyer draft my template agreement ( which I've used for other cluents) and made sure the company signed it. I stood firm on terms and made them fully aware of my schedule every time they stepped out of line. The head of the department was so relieved I was available that when I increased my hourly rate they couldn't approve it fast enough.

    I have made a huge amount of $ and my former company/current client is very happy with the arrangement.

    So if this is something you'd like to try, take off your former employee hat and try approaching the offer as a partner.

  14. Laura-May Whittingham

    Which environment isn’t toxic lol

    everywhere you go it’s guaranteed

  15. Anonymous

    Charge them 3x your previous salary.

  16. Nancee J. Rothenberg

    If you could work remotely that may distance you from the toxicity.

  17. Anonymous

    It's an opportunity for a good amount of extra income but only if you have great personal management skills, strong boundaries and understand that you will need to teach them to recognize your new identity. It won't be picking up where you left off as an employee. You will be a contractor and will work only according to the terms agreed to in writing.

    I made enough over 2 years doing this for my former employer on weekends and a little during the week to buy a brand new car. And it was so easy. I left things cleaned up and spent about 3 months bring things current, that my employer saw the value of keeping me on rather than trying to hire someone. The day to day stuff was distributed to others. I just concentrated on the key deliverables. I would still have extra job if the company wasn't sold.

  18. Soph

    The manager who proposed the arrangement was a peer or your old boss or a superior? That would change my impression of the situation, if leadership acknowledges that having your former boss on the team was a mistake that they are trying to remedy vs ex-boss actually wanting you back but smart enough to ask someone else to ask you. That's not definitely the case, but I would wonder.

    Was the overall environment toxic or just the departing boss? If it was the departing boss, I would be open to contract work if you don't have to interact with him. (Double check the scope.) However, if the environment was toxic or turned a blind eye to bad behavior, or in any way suggested that you needed to be the bigger person when met with nonsense, I wouldn't go near that place as they probably haven't changed.

    Just remember, you don't actually have a responsibility to your old team, but you do have a responsibility to take care of yourself and safeguard your peace of mind.

  19. Anonymous

    What is your financial situation? Personally, I’d be more than happy to take their money while doing tasks I’m already familiar with and getting to bill higher than my W2 rate. But if you don’t need the money, then you may not want to commit the time.

  20. Anonymous

    If you do take the position, make sure your old company makes it worth your while (high fee!) and limit your in-person contact with the group. Remember that you have granular information that can’t be replicated by anyone else — your former employer should be willing to pay for your unique capabilities.

    If you are otherwise heavily committed, however, I’d give your old company a pass.

  21. Anonymous

    If you want to make some extra money and it is not a conflict with your new role and you want to take it on. If not then you are just listening to the reasons once again for why you left and the ones left behind have to sort out for themselves how to handle things. You did right by moving on for yourself, perhaps they need to as well? As an alternative is there the possibility that you go back there as a leader and take the role left open by the leaving manager? Keep whatever you decide to do as a positive option. If you decline helping then let them know it is not because you don't care, but it is because you are just too busy in your new role.

  22. Anonymous

    You left for a reason. If it was toxic, all that may do is create the memory of toxicity. Let it go, move on, the company can figure it out. Do not let your emotions or feelings get in the way. Thank you but no thank you is enough to say.

  23. Maggie Soldano

    Oh my. This is a hard one. But the truth is... you don't work there anymore. It's not your problem. Leave the past behind you.

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