The civvy "why did you sign off" thread.

[Dark_Nit]

So as not to crayon over the mil sign off thread, here is one of my dits about doing exit stage left:


I’d worked for a well-known large chemical company for 9 years. I’d progressed from a process engineer to senior engineer and then to Subject Matter Expert [SME] after 6 years. I got on well with my two immediate line managers and I’ve got a great job which is reasonably well paid. Another 3 years and I'd probably have gotten a company motor and promotion to what was known as the "technical ladder".

At that point, 9 years in, the company falls apart and I’m transferred to a division which is being set up to be sold off. I’m dumped into a job which is not what I want, and certainly not appropriate to my SME role or capabilities. I have to stick it because DN Junior 1 is 12 months old and DN Junior 2 is on the way. I have a non-working wife and a mortgage to pay so I bite the bullet and decide to give it my best shot.

After 6 months I hate the place. I’m working for a dickhead who should be working for me. He doesn’t get what I do and doesn’t like how I do it. However, I bring in lots of money for the company and lots of other people come looking for my expertise. In revenge I am put on a job which is more suitable for someone 10 years my junior which means a 4 hour daily commute 3 times a week. I’m also told that as I’m being paid SME rate I can’t expect a pay rise for the next 3-4 years as this division doesn’t recognise technical specialists.

I’m given a target utilisation of 80% i.e. chargeable work for at least 4 days a week. Being office based and having to attend the compulsory B/S sessions it’s impossible to get to 100% but at best you can do 90-95%. I don’t drop below 90% (ever) and I could get 100% if it wasn’t for the periodic brainwashing sessions that we all have to attend.

I have a 6 monthly personal review with my idiot line manager. It doesn’t go well.

Him: You’re not working hard enough.
Me: That’s not what my timesheet says
I don’t think you’re working hard enough.
My utilisation for last months was 93%, 92% the month before.
That’s not what I meant.
Well what did you mean?
You drink too much coffee.
It’s free!
No, you spend too much time at the coffee machine.
It’s a designated meeting area and there’s no space at my rabbit hutch [think Dilbert pod] to meet anyone.
You’re just talking at the coffee machine
No, I’m working and doing my job helping people out with their technical problems. That’s why my utilisation is over 90% (you have to be authorised to book against a project number and project managers want my input so utilisation isn’t an issue).

And so it goes on.

Eventually, I have the Personal Review form shoved across the desk at me:

Sign this.
No.
What!!!
No, I’m not going to sign it.
You have to sign it.
No I don’t, it says “sign that you have discussed, accepted and agreed objectives for the next 6 months”. I don’t agree and you haven’t been fair or reasonable with me.
You have to sign!
No I don’t and I’m not going to.
You know what will happen now?
No, but do tell me.
This will go to the company senior engineer [implied threat]
That’s fine, I get on well with John. I’ll look forward to discussing my performance with him in detail.


Two weeks later I hand my notice in and leave my steady job for a partnership in a business where I have only the work that I go out and get for myself. In the first 12 months I almost doubled my salary and almost 20 years on I’m still doing the job.

 

[jumpinjarhead]

So as not to crayon over the mil sign off thread, here is one of my dits about doing exit stage left:


I’d worked for a well-known large chemical company for 9 years. I’d progressed from a process engineer to senior engineer and then to Subject Matter Expert [SME] after 6 years. I got on well with my two immediate line managers and I’ve got a great job which is reasonably well paid. Another 3 years and I'd probably have gotten a company motor and promotion to what was known as the "technical ladder".

At that point, 9 years in, the company falls apart and I’m transferred to a division which is being set up to be sold off. I’m dumped into a job which is not what I want, and certainly not appropriate to my SME role or capabilities. I have to stick it because DN Junior 1 is 12 months old and DN Junior 2 is on the way. I have a non-working wife and a mortgage to pay so I bite the bullet and decide to give it my best shot.

After 6 months I hate the place. I’m working for a ******** who should be working for me. He doesn’t get what I do and doesn’t like how I do it. However, I bring in lots of money for the company and lots of other people come looking for my expertise. In revenge I am put on a job which is more suitable for someone 10 years my junior which means a 4 hour daily commute 3 times a week. I’m also told that as I’m being paid SME rate I can’t expect a pay rise for the next 3-4 years as this division doesn’t recognise technical specialists.

I’m given a target utilisation of 80% i.e. chargeable work for at least 4 days a week. Being office based and having to attend the compulsory B/S sessions it’s impossible to get to 100% but at best you can do 90-95%. I don’t drop below 90% (ever) and I could get 100% if it wasn’t for the periodic brainwashing sessions that we all have to attend.

I have a 6 monthly personal review with my idiot line manager. It doesn’t go well.

Him: You’re not working hard enough.
Me: That’s not what my timesheet says
I don’t think you’re working hard enough.
My utilisation for last months was 93%, 92% the month before.
That’s not what I meant.
Well what did you mean?
You drink too much coffee.
It’s free!
No, you spend too much time at the coffee machine.
It’s a designated meeting area and there’s no space at my rabbit hutch [think Dilbert pod] to meet anyone.
You’re just talking at the coffee machine
No, I’m working and doing my job helping people out with their technical problems. That’s why my utilisation is over 90% (you have to be authorised to book against a project number and project managers want my input so utilisation isn’t an issue).

And so it goes on.

Eventually, I have the Personal Review form shoved across the desk at me:

Sign this.
No.
What!!!
No, I’m not going to sign it.
You have to sign it.
No I don’t, it says “sign that you have discussed, accepted and agreed objectives for the next 6 months”. I don’t agree and you haven’t been fair or reasonable with me.
You have to sign!
No I don’t and I’m not going to.
You know what will happen now?
No, but do tell me.
This will go to the company senior engineer [implied threat]
That’s fine, I get on well with John. I’ll look forward to discussing my performance with him in detail.


Two weeks later I hand my notice in and leave my steady job for a partnership in a business where I have only the work that I go out and get for myself. In the first 12 months I almost doubled my salary and almost 20 years on I’m still doing the job.

Well done. I had a similar experience in my post military career and did much better running my own show.

 

[endure]

Joined a ship in Cartagena (Spain). Left the ship 5.5 months later at the same berth I'd joined at having literally sailed round the world (Spain, Atlantic, Caribbean, Panama, Pacific, Japan, Malacca, Red Sea, Suez, Cartagena).


In those 5.5 months I'd had 2 days off work and 2 hours ashore. Decided enough was enough. College and Z80s...

 

[Gun_Brickie]

Work alongside a pulsating glans of a bricklayer who started in on me in the break trailer before we even started working. Got to where we were supposed to lay blocks just to see him start screaming and dressing down all the labourers and calling them "a bunch of fucking amateurs". I signed it at 7:00, and clocked out at 7:07, as I realised that life is way too short.

 

[Effendi]

Post military I did the whole university thing and became good at imaginatively and effectively segmenting socio-economic groups, identifying potential customer groups, predicting market share and income. I did a few projects and decided to carry on fixing up houses as by that time Mrs Effendi had No.1 bun in the oven and it allowed us the flexibility of childcare when she went back to playing banking executive.

Over the following years if asked I did the odd bit of consultancy, keeping my hand in enough to know that the big boys were still not even close to the level of stuff I had done at uni. Then at a function the head of data marketing for a bank chats with me and tells me I have the skillset they have been looking for for a couple of years. I end up being interviewed by the top man in marketing for the bank and a panel of people. Long story short: They wanted me to save them 5+ million quid a year on direct mail marketing for which they wanted to pay me the princely sum of 25K a year ........cos I had no recent experience.

I told the bloke, "no thanks, I am doing property development at the moment and earnt as much as you did last year. If you seriously want me to save you 5 million+ I can do that, but I will do it on a contract basis and will take a percentage of what I save you compared to present spending vs. income (both measurable)". The individual concerned was slapped for insulting me by the CEO of the bank and the head of data marketing, he was fired less than 6 months later.......not because of me, just because he was a general knobber.

I have not considered doing anything other than my own thing since that time.

 

[Accidental_discharge]

Post military I did the whole university thing and became good at imaginatively and effectively segmenting socio-economic groups, identifying potential customer groups, predicting market share and income. I did a few projects and decided to carry on fixing up houses as by that time Mrs Effendi had No.1 bun in the oven and it allowed us the flexibility of childcare when she went back to playing banking executive.

Over the following years if asked I did the odd bit of consultancy, keeping my hand in enough to know that the big boys were still not even close to the level of stuff I had done at uni. Then at a function the head of data marketing for a bank chats with me and tells me I have the skillset they have been looking for for a couple of years. I end up being interviewed by the top man in marketing for the bank and a panel of people. Long story short: They wanted me to save them 5+ million quid a year on direct mail marketing for which they wanted to pay me the princely sum of 25K a year ........cos I had no recent experience.

I told the bloke, "no thanks, I am doing property development at the moment and earnt as much as you did last year. If you seriously want me to save you 5 million+ I can do that, but I will do it on a contract basis and will take a percentage of what I save you compared to present spending vs. income (both measurable)". The individual concerned was slapped for insulting me by the CEO of the bank and the head of data marketing, he was fired less than 6 months later.......not because of me, just because he was a general knobber.

I have not considered doing anything other than my own thing since that time.

Never mind all that, what about the pierced nipples, and shaved minge competitions?

 

[wheel]

So as not to crayon over the mil sign off thread, here is one of my dits about doing exit stage left:


I’d worked for a well-known large chemical company for 9 years. I’d progressed from a process engineer to senior engineer and then to Subject Matter Expert [SME] after 6 years. I got on well with my two immediate line managers and I’ve got a great job which is reasonably well paid. Another 3 years and I'd probably have gotten a company motor and promotion to what was known as the "technical ladder".

At that point, 9 years in, the company falls apart and I’m transferred to a division which is being set up to be sold off. I’m dumped into a job which is not what I want, and certainly not appropriate to my SME role or capabilities. I have to stick it because DN Junior 1 is 12 months old and DN Junior 2 is on the way. I have a non-working wife and a mortgage to pay so I bite the bullet and decide to give it my best shot.

After 6 months I hate the place. I’m working for a ******** who should be working for me. He doesn’t get what I do and doesn’t like how I do it. However, I bring in lots of money for the company and lots of other people come looking for my expertise. In revenge I am put on a job which is more suitable for someone 10 years my junior which means a 4 hour daily commute 3 times a week. I’m also told that as I’m being paid SME rate I can’t expect a pay rise for the next 3-4 years as this division doesn’t recognise technical specialists.

I’m given a target utilisation of 80% i.e. chargeable work for at least 4 days a week. Being office based and having to attend the compulsory B/S sessions it’s impossible to get to 100% but at best you can do 90-95%. I don’t drop below 90% (ever) and I could get 100% if it wasn’t for the periodic brainwashing sessions that we all have to attend.

I have a 6 monthly personal review with my idiot line manager. It doesn’t go well.

Him: You’re not working hard enough.
Me: That’s not what my timesheet says
I don’t think you’re working hard enough.
My utilisation for last months was 93%, 92% the month before.
That’s not what I meant.
Well what did you mean?
You drink too much coffee.
It’s free!
No, you spend too much time at the coffee machine.
It’s a designated meeting area and there’s no space at my rabbit hutch [think Dilbert pod] to meet anyone.
You’re just talking at the coffee machine
No, I’m working and doing my job helping people out with their technical problems. That’s why my utilisation is over 90% (you have to be authorised to book against a project number and project managers want my input so utilisation isn’t an issue).

And so it goes on.

Eventually, I have the Personal Review form shoved across the desk at me:

Sign this.
No.
What!!!
No, I’m not going to sign it.
You have to sign it.
No I don’t, it says “sign that you have discussed, accepted and agreed objectives for the next 6 months”. I don’t agree and you haven’t been fair or reasonable with me.
You have to sign!
No I don’t and I’m not going to.
You know what will happen now?
No, but do tell me.
This will go to the company senior engineer [implied threat]
That’s fine, I get on well with John. I’ll look forward to discussing my performance with him in detail.


Two weeks later I hand my notice in and leave my steady job for a partnership in a business where I have only the work that I go out and get for myself. In the first 12 months I almost doubled my salary and almost 20 years on I’m still doing the job.

I am sure that you have posted that before

 

[thegimp]

So as not to crayon over the mil sign off thread, here is one of my dits about doing exit stage left:


I’d worked for a well-known large chemical company for 9 years. I’d progressed from a process engineer to senior engineer and then to Subject Matter Expert [SME] after 6 years. I got on well with my two immediate line managers and I’ve got a great job which is reasonably well paid. Another 3 years and I'd probably have gotten a company motor and promotion to what was known as the "technical ladder".

At that point, 9 years in, the company falls apart and I’m transferred to a division which is being set up to be sold off. I’m dumped into a job which is not what I want, and certainly not appropriate to my SME role or capabilities. I have to stick it because DN Junior 1 is 12 months old and DN Junior 2 is on the way. I have a non-working wife and a mortgage to pay so I bite the bullet and decide to give it my best shot.

After 6 months I hate the place. I’m working for a ******** who should be working for me. He doesn’t get what I do and doesn’t like how I do it. However, I bring in lots of money for the company and lots of other people come looking for my expertise. In revenge I am put on a job which is more suitable for someone 10 years my junior which means a 4 hour daily commute 3 times a week. I’m also told that as I’m being paid SME rate I can’t expect a pay rise for the next 3-4 years as this division doesn’t recognise technical specialists.

I’m given a target utilisation of 80% i.e. chargeable work for at least 4 days a week. Being office based and having to attend the compulsory B/S sessions it’s impossible to get to 100% but at best you can do 90-95%. I don’t drop below 90% (ever) and I could get 100% if it wasn’t for the periodic brainwashing sessions that we all have to attend.

I have a 6 monthly personal review with my idiot line manager. It doesn’t go well.

Him: You’re not working hard enough.
Me: That’s not what my timesheet says
I don’t think you’re working hard enough.
My utilisation for last months was 93%, 92% the month before.
That’s not what I meant.
Well what did you mean?
You drink too much coffee.
It’s free!
No, you spend too much time at the coffee machine.
It’s a designated meeting area and there’s no space at my rabbit hutch [think Dilbert pod] to meet anyone.
You’re just talking at the coffee machine
No, I’m working and doing my job helping people out with their technical problems. That’s why my utilisation is over 90% (you have to be authorised to book against a project number and project managers want my input so utilisation isn’t an issue).

And so it goes on.

Eventually, I have the Personal Review form shoved across the desk at me:

Sign this.
No.
What!!!
No, I’m not going to sign it.
You have to sign it.
No I don’t, it says “sign that you have discussed, accepted and agreed objectives for the next 6 months”. I don’t agree and you haven’t been fair or reasonable with me.
You have to sign!
No I don’t and I’m not going to.
You know what will happen now?
No, but do tell me.
This will go to the company senior engineer [implied threat]
That’s fine, I get on well with John. I’ll look forward to discussing my performance with him in detail.


Two weeks later I hand my notice in and leave my steady job for a partnership in a business where I have only the work that I go out and get for myself. In the first 12 months I almost doubled my salary and almost 20 years on I’m still doing the job.

This is why I’m self employed

 

[bigeye]

After a few years of filming foreign johnnies doing unpleasant things to each other I decided I was going to do more luvvy stuff again. A couple of months after returning from the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon I was given the chance by a producer mate to shoot some 'below the line' commercials (basically for the internet). I did a couple for Guinness and it seemed as though things were going ok. Apart from the fact that the clients were annoying parodies of the advertising exec set the money was good and so I cracked on.

It was all going well until I was obliged to attend a meeting with a known agency on the King's Road.
My producer friend had already advised against me doing 'face to face' stuff but the shoot was potentially tricky so I muscled in. And regretted it.

I found myself in an a magenta and grey meeting room facing a selection of creative types who had little idea of what was involved in making an (albeit low budget) advert flick. After a while of going around in circles in terms of style and various w@nkers banging on about 'Organic flow' I finally asked the taboo question:
'Jesus! what do you actually figgin want?'
At this point I was aware of a violent knocking on my chair -which turned out to be my producer trying to kick me under the table. I took the hint and left the room to make a call.

My card had been marked however and the 3 day shoot started petty badly as the director (he'd shot some pretty big TV stuff but was a cnut) kept making remarks about my background and style of working. It was all pretty passive aggressive and played for laughs in front of the luvvie clients but by day 2 I had enough.
I'm not sure what level of sycophancy these big commercial directors are used to but It would seem the years of robust news shooting, including losing friends and colleagues and having been an enforced guest of Hezbollah a few months before had left their mark. ...he was somewhat surprised by the nature of our chat.

My only regret was that he fired me just before I could tell him to shove it.

 

[Ian525]

Had some wonderful and not so wonderful jobs. Was asked to join a building surveying consultancy, head up and start a team in Bristol (they had general practice, valuation but no dirty finger nail building stuff). I was running ragged. They had a really bad drinking culture (coming in late and hung over was pretty much acclaimed if it had been with clients). I was not allowed to recruit (recession) and then moaned at for not taking clients out or for being behind when juggling projects. It was catch 22. Called a meeting with senior partners and told them I was leaving. They said OK, hand in your Blackberry, laptop and car keys and go now. I suggested three months salary and I keep the car for three months or I would see them in court for constructive dismissal, after I had a chat with a few people about their practices with favoured contractors and tenders. I left, that day with car and three months salary straight into a job with one of my clients as estates director. The private practice then threatened court action as "it was not permitted for me to work for a former client". My new employer told them that his barrister was more expensive than their barrister so "f&ck off, we trust Ian and by the way, we have engaged a different consultancy".

Great job but the company was eventually set up for sale to a bigger one and I could see what would happen.

Like many here, I now work for myself. Good days and bad days - and the variety and humour of ARRSE keeps me going on most days.

 

[AlienFTM]

I built, packaged and tested a single software package, automatically, three times a night.

The current build built all the code that had been checked in. The committed build built all the code that had been committed. The driver built created a distributable tape image of the committed build. In theory, any committed build could be shipped to essentially every bank in the world so that the mainframe could receive messages from anywhere in their system. (The product was a message queuing system.)

To automate the driver build from scratch, I also had to invent a job scheduling system and a batch editor.

The product was a major part of a product suite. When other products needed porting to the mainframe, I used these skills to create an entire build suite for that product. As they came in thicker and faster, I created an algorithm to create a build for any new product from scratch in half a day (the waterfall design code test process meant it would be 18 months before it shipped).

Saving myself time by working smarter not harder, letting the mainframe do the work, I wasn't stretched. I knew VM/ESA as well as z/OS. Could I devote some of my time to the Service Process Architecture? Okay.

We're fundamentally changing how Build works. They need you full time on SPA. Oh, sigh, okay.

Father in law died. Screwed six months of my life, even though my manager fully supported.me. He managed the biggest single department in IBM UK. He retired. It took six people to replace him.

A friend wasn't getting on with the new build. Could I swap back? Fúck me, I haven't finished transferring my skills to SPA.

Build had changed beyond all recognition. I was floundering. Everybody else knew just enough to do their job and nobody had the time to train me in the new system. I had a bad annual review.

Another bad set of results came in. There were to be redundancies. A half generous (but no more) separation package would be offered to volunteers. It was made abundantly clear that if I didn't volunteer, they'd administer me out.

Fúck you, IBM, I'm a few months short of 60. I'll take your money, cash in IBM and Army pensions on my 60th birthday and búgger working for a living. I'll get by on Pensions and my lump sum until my paid up state retirement pension kicks in (if they don't keep pushing the date to the right.

 

[A signaller]

Having worked for the man on many and various construction projects as a Forman electrician, with all that goes with it, I ended up in Selfridges in oxford street, taking my instructions directly from their buildings engineer, as most of the installation and refurbishment work was out of hours, being at home in the evenings became but a distant memory, the store is the second largest one in the UK, spread over 5 floors up, and 3 down, the lowest being the services and emergency systems.

( Aside:- During the war, it was taken over by the American signals corps.) At Christmas I had to make ready the wreaths and Christmas decorations that adorn the 24 display windows, no easy task. fast forward to Christmas day, at home with the family, the phone rings, its my boss, who tells me that D**** cannot get up from the south coast to disconnect the Christmas lights, and can I go in on boxing day ,to disconnect and make safe the bloody lights that are all connected above the canopy , as the sales start the next day and they want it all out.
And here's the bombshell " If you don't, there may not be a job for you in the new year"

I went in, and in an almost deserted oxford street, in the freezing cold spent the entire day pissing about on the canopy above the display windows, disconnecting the dam Christmas lights. " Hey you what are you doing up there" Its plod asking bloody daft questions, as I am wearing a large tool belt with a pouch bristling with screwdrivers pliers etc. I finish and go home................. I phone the "Boss" and told him I quit.

Several days later, I go to the tax office at Stratford, and apply for my tax exemption certificate, register my company name, and become self employed, and can now get to pick and choose, where and what I do, and get to negotiate my own pay terms for the next 31 years, until retirement in 2016.

 

[blonde_guy]

I managed the facilities, IT and at times HR of an international organisation of 170 pax spread over 6 countries, with person beneath me to assist. To say I was stretched is an understatement.

Unfortunately in addition one of my other roles was also to prove executive assistance to the CEO. He was out of the office 75% of the time, and was a workaholic - emails, phone calls every hour of the day. When he went on holiday it was merely to continue to work by the pool side etc. A very unpleasant man.

He & I did not hit it off, and he begun a systematic campaign to bully me. This included consistently reneging on promises to send me on training courses due to lack of funds, to only then send others on those exact training courses and ringing my wife (using next of kin details) on weekends to get hold of me for trivial office matters.

What was quite amusing was that doing the HR side of my job meant I saw through a lot of his bullshit. I had been promised pay rises, only to be told that funding meant it could not happen this quarter etc. The next moment I would be processing pay rises for other staff members in time for payroll. Likewise when I was booking people on to the courses I had been told there was no money available for me to attend.

It all came to a head over IT. He had no idea about IT whatsoever, and indeed made procurement decisions based on the software that came bundled with his home laptop. As you can imagine this caused all sorts of issues for the organisation.

IT was in dire straits - people could barely work. So in the weekly all staff meetings I would be berated in front of everyone (including junior staff I managed) for problems that he knew were entirely of his own making. I would be berated for stuff I was not even aware of.

It got to a point where senior managers were apologising to me about his behaviour. It was embarrassing because everyone in the company could see what was happening too.

I collected all sorts of evidence (aggressive texts, emails, instances etc.) with a view to complaining to the Chairman of the Board or going down the constructive dismissal route. However with my HR hat on I was aware of two serious allegations that were made about the CEO being dismissed without investigation by the Chair, who was more or less in cahoots with the CEO. Nepotism was rife there.

So I went and found a better job, and resigned right before the implementation (by me) of a big project that had been months in the planning stages. CEO informed me I would be expected to work out my three month notice period and finish said project. My notice period was one month, which I laughingly told him.

And off I fucked, joining a long line of people who had been forced out by him. Toxic leadership at its best.

 

[Spec-op1989]

Can we do "getting fired" stories on here too?

 

[Dark_Nit]

Yes, why not.

 

[A signaller]

Can we do "getting fired" stories on here too?

I'll, start a thread on that subject, should be interesting as some stories will be too near the truth to be belived, especially as they will be posted by the lads, with all their Ex military angst and bottled up anger, ok...so here goes.....

 

[Civvy Scum]

Can't recall if I've told this yarn on here before but...

Decades ago I worked for a local authority in the Traffic Engineering Department as a Senior Technician. There were two other lads at my level. Out of the blue one day, 3 Principal Technician posts were advertised. None of us had any inkling this was on the cards.

So we got the job descriptions and quickly realised they were written for the 3 of us, or so we thought. Everything on the job description we were doing already and doing it well. So we all applied.

Time passed and we heard nothing. So I buttonholed the Chief Traffic Engineer one day. "Oh yes", he said, "We thought none of you were experienced enough." "But we're doing the job now", was my response. "Sorry Scum, nothing I can do", he lied.

Now at the time we were in the same building as a firm of consultant civil engineers who had a contract with the Highways Agency to look after the local motorway network in the county. We were on the bottom floor, they were on the top. So off in the lift at lunchtime to see if they had any jobs going, as I knew one or two others from the council had jumped ship to go with them.

A few days later I had an hour long interview which was the weirdest I've ever had. Instead of a local authority grilling, to try to find out how much, or little, I really knew, it was the regional director and his oppo selling the firm to me. The most I said in the hour was, "Oh yes?", "Really!" and "That's interesting" kind of remarks. They clearly wanted me. Job offer in the post a couple of days later with a very tasty pay rise, so notice rapidly handed in to the council.

A few days after I handed my notice in, the Chief Traffic Engineer called me into his office. "I see you've handed your notice in Scum". "Yes, that's right, I'm off to work on the motorways." "Ah, about that. There's one of those Principal Technician posts for you if you decide to stay you know..."

Very sadly (not), I informed him that I'd already accepted the consultants offer and didn't like giving back word. So thanks but no thanks.

Best thing I ever did. Went places and did jobs I'd never have done if I'd stayed at the council. Developed a bit of software that is the industry leader in it's field and I'm a recognised expert nationally at what I do. The council department - it got privatised a few years ago and they had a bit of a rude awakening to the harsh realities of the commercial world from what I heard. Oh dear, how sad, never mind.