Boss bragged about firing 'contractors' without notice — so one decided to teach him a lesson

One Reddit user, u/BigMax, shared a story about how one of the "very sharp" coworkers decided to make a point after hearing how management really felt about contractors. In his post that gained 29k upvotes, he explained that the contracts were "expected to be for 12 months, but it is at the will of the employer, and could end earlier or be extended further." Most workers knew that meant things could change overnight, but usually, if performance was good, contracts were extended. That’s why what happened came as such a shock.

According to the user, a team of 10 contractors was told that three of them were being let go immediately. "And they had ME do it! Technically, I was running that team, but... I was a contractor too, and not in charge of any firing like that," the user wrote. When he and another teammate asked their sponsor why there had been no warning, they said, "That’s why we hire contractors! So we can cut them loose at a moment’s notice whenever we want to!"

The user noted, "It was a weird thing to say to two other contractors. He basically told us we'd get no notice and be let go instantly someday." He explained that the other co-worker began interviewing and eventually landed a new role. On his last day, "he just stood up, grabbed his laptop/mouse/docking-station, walked to our sponsor’s desk and set them down. He just said brightly, 'Hey, thanks for everything, this is my last day!' The guy said 'Wait, you’re leaving?' and he just said 'Yes, thanks!' and walked out." The user added that the unfinished work left behind took "like a month to figure out and get that project back on track."

He also pointed out that if the sponsor hadn’t been so delighted about being able to fire people instantly, his coworker "would definitely have given a nice two-week notice and worked to have a smooth handoff." The reaction made perfect sense given the way management handled the team. A 2009 study looked at contractors and permanent employees in Belgium and found that job insecurity is strongly linked to lower job satisfaction and weaker organizational commitment, particularly among contractors and agency workers. When people feel disposable, they’re far less motivated to invest in long-term loyalty.

The story sparked a wave of responses, many applauding the move. u/CaptainGreyBeard72 commented, "I would have told him, sure I will come back and help with that, but my short term rate for something like that is something like a 3-month salary with half paid up front and an iron-clad hourly rate." u/6poundpuppy added, "Good for that dude. He handled that like the pro that he is. I love that it took a month to get back on track, Lol!!!" u/bamf1701 wrote, "I guess the sponsor discovered that 'at-will employment' cuts both ways. Some people just enjoy having power over other people and like using it, no matter who it hurts. And they have the nerve to act surprised when people do the same to them."

u/JustSomeGuy_56 said, "I have left a couple of contracting gigs the same way. When asked why I didn’t give notice, I asked why that other contractor was not given notice when he was let go. And of course the answer was 'it wasn't personal, just business'." u/TedHoliday concluded, "Contracting has always been a loophole to skirt employment laws. They just said the quiet part out loud."

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