Proper Notification when leaving a job?

[brauhaus]

So what's "proper notification" when leaving a job?

I know 2 weeks is popular, but if your employer can fire you on the stop, why can't you just tell them, "Hey, by the way after today, I'm done."?

Is there anything, by law, that you have to give them 2 weeks notice?

I was thinking that when the time comes I may just only give them a week, another co-worker had 40 hours of paid time off, put in for a full weeks vacation, it was granted and later that day gave his 2 weeks notice. Basically, he'll be "working" for only a week so it's really not a 2 week notice... or is it?

Anyway, just curious.

 

[Glibbidy]

Two weeks is two weeks.

 

[HBHoss]

The notice is for the reference later on. If that doesn't matter then there really isn't anything you have to do. You can go in and say "piss off you ******s" if this is not burning any bridges.

 

[twst1up]

i've never agreed with the 2 weeks notice thing...it's for their benefit, not yours. In a perfect world, yes...it would be the best thing to do. However, you hit the nail on the head (as far as "at will" employment)....they can fire you on the spot, so i say if you aren't feeling it then don't give it.
Plus, too many times i've seen people give 2 weeks notice and they tell you to go ahead and leave that day....it's BS but that's corporate livin'
If you dont' have some hours put away...and they aren't offering you a "package" you could be screwed.

 

[ChshreCat]

Depends on the job and how you want to leave. Do you want to leave them in the lurch for things they've done to you? Do you want to be able to have future employers call them when you apply for a job? It all depends on you.

I had a job that I was leaving, so I gave two weeks notice. The first day of my two weeks, they gave me every crap job they had and it was obvious that they were going to do that every day for two weeks to punish me for leaving. So, the morning of the second day I called them and told them that I was getting ready for work but really couldn't stomach the thought of ever having to spend another moment with any of them ever, ever, ever again and that I'd just come and pick up my last paycheck and call it a career.

 

[Nurmey]

It's an amazingly small world. If you screw your current employer it will eventually come out to your new employer. Burning bridges with an employer is not a wise move.

Two weeks is the standard and as long as they are paying you, you should be doing your job.

 

[quickerNu]

Yeah, it's a burning bridges thing.
I had to leave a job due to a major, sudden change in my life. I even slept on friends couches to try and finish out my two weeks. My boss found that out and told me to go ahead and go. He has been a great reference, and gone to the mat for me on several occasions now. I would have never gotten to where I am now if it wasn't for the courtesy of a two week notice.

On the other hand, if they load you down with sh*twerk, eff'm.

 

[thataintchicken]

I usually receive two weeks notice from my employees. However, there are exceptions.
Last week, I had someone flat quit. She had another job waiting at a Chevy's of all places. I paid her out in cash and sent her on her merry way fifteen minutes after she *quit*.

some companies handle things differently. California Law allows me to pay cash and shift the hours to someone that WANTS to work.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[natelatte]

the burned bridge can haunt you for sure. I have never been at a place or heard of a place that simply fired a person when they put in their two week notice.

I have heard of places cashing out the unpaid hours owed to the employee at minimum wage when not given proper notice. but that's rare and usually only at mom and pop shops or gas station set up.

 

[mr_goodwrench]

I have always given 2 weeks notice when leaving a job. The only time I left before the 2 weeks was up, the supervisor was a real beeotch and immediately started making my time there a living hell(sort of par for the course ~ one reason for me leaving). So, backed up my truck and loaded my tools and told her where she could stick it! I wouldn't be using her as a reference ever anyway!

 

[brauhaus]

the company I work for is very cut-throat, i highly doubt they'd give me a good reference (past employees have been bashed quite nicely)... I might offer just a weeks notification when the time comes...

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

McDonalds = Take this job and shove it.

A company that you may want to return to some day or a position where you want to protect your professional reputation = proper notice.

 

[conpewter]

I've been at a company where I saw them several times say "no thanks" to a two weeks notice and have them clean out their desk and leave that day. When I left I put in my two weeks knowing that could happen, but they wanted me to stay around for the 2 weeks and told me I'd be welcome back anytime (which was nice) I think it depends on the manager in each situation and how they view you as a worker.

 

[menschmaschine]

Most States have "at-will" employment laws. So, unless there is an employment contract involved, that means that either party (employer/employee) can break it off at any time without notice or reason. Now, I don't think the US should be like Germany where (so I've read), it's extremely difficult for an employer to fire an employee, but this whole "at-will" thing only results in empowering poor managers to act poorly.

But like everyone else said, it's really best to give the 2 weeks unless you have grounds to believe you'll probably be let go the minute you put in your notice. You never know where life will lead you and as impossible as it may seem, may lead you back into involvement with that employer or someone who knows them.

 

[david_42]

I've done the range from two weeks & working right up to the last minute, to telling my manager on Friday afternoon that I was starting a new job Monday. Another job, I gave two weeks notice & got escorted off the premises within an hour. Got the two weeks pay though.

Also had a job where my project manager told the VP she was going to fire me & the VP said, " David is our best sysadmin and I can replace you in ten minutes. I'll take this as your two weeks' notice."

 

[jezter6]

the burned bridge can haunt you for sure. I have never been at a place or heard of a place that simply fired a person when they put in their two week notice.

I have heard of places cashing out the unpaid hours owed to the employee at minimum wage when not given proper notice. but that's rare and usually only at mom and pop shops or gas station set up.

I have been at a place where they kicked you out the moment you put in your notice. Unless they hated you, of course, then they kept you around hoping you'd just walk out.

If you quit with notice and they send you home, you generally get paid for that time. I think the misnomer of the statement is "fired" -- they send you packing, but since you're still going to get paid for that time you promised to be there - you're not really fired.

That said - I quit at 5:15 one evening once I got a new job. Unfortunately news of my quitting (my co-worker "friends" ratted me out) got out and they were not caught off guard like I was hoping. I quit with 0 notice. I had no intention of ever coming back because of the way I was treated there, and I had no illusions of them giving me a good reference in spite of all that I had done for them (hell, doing good work and getting turned down for multiple promotion opportunities is why I quit in the first place).

 

[JimBell]

If they let you go, after you give your two weeks notice, then should you not be able to draw unemployment as they terminated you without cause?

I've seen my employer do that a couple of times in the past with folks that were getting close to the cutting block anyway, but with valued employees he generally lets them work out the two weeks, or tries to talk them into staying.

In Kentucky, an at will employee is just that, legally your employer can't take you to court, however I don't give references to quits-without-notice unless there is a damn good reason. Of course I'm not supposed to give telephone references to normal employees either, but if they asK me for a letter...

 

[Donasay]

I actually like to give a good amount of notice, as it allows for a good reference. There is one job however that I didn't give notice to when I left but I don't plan on using them as a reference because well mutually screwed each-other over.

I was working there hourly and "part time" for the better part of the school year while I was in grad school, it was supposed to be a 15 to 20 hour a week job, but my "part time" still had me working about 35 hours a week just to keep up with the workload. I told them several times throughout the year that they should really have someone do this position full time, but they didn't catch on and I slowly fell behind in the work because I could not go to school, do my 20 hours of work study for school and work 30+ hours a week for them.

For about two months before the school year ended I told them several times, once the school year is over I can work full time and we can get caught up, they said it was a good plan and that they could hire someone full time in the fall. I fully expected to have the job and make some good money over the summer. After leading me along for a while they brought someone in to "help" and had me do about a couple weeks of training for the new guy, so they phrased it to me that instead of having someone full time, they had two part time people, again I saw through their lies.

After the new guy knew enough about the job, they sat me down for the speech: the classic, this new guy is going to be working full time, he is now your boss, and will be reporting to the guy who was my boss... and by the way we are cutting your hours down to 10 from the original 20 as we probably won't need as much of your time now that we have someone full time.

I saw right through it and knew the only reason they kept me around for the 10 hours is that the knowledge transfer from me to the new guy was incomplete and some weird situation might arise where they needed my help.

Right around this time the semester ended and I got my grades, I had submitted forms to have my job count as an internship (which I had to pay the school processing fees for) and had an incomplete listed as my boss had not filled out the paperwork.

At our little chat I reminded him that he needed to fill out the paperwork, so I didn't loose money and could get credit. At the same time I told my boss it wasn't worth my time to commute out to the office and that I would be working from home, he looked at me and tried to figure out a reason for me to come to the office as he knew they might need my help on some random thing, and I could teach the new guy some tips or tricks.

Anyway I finished my projects the next day and stopped taking new projects and stopped responding to their e-mail. One day about 3 weeks later my boss called me at 10:00 am and asked if I still worked there, I was sleeping, but he obviously had a project with a big deadline. I told him that I didn't work there and wouldn't work there unless the internship paperwork he kept not filling was submitted.

About a week after I told him I didn't work there he called and asked me a question about some weird thing, and told me he finally submitted the paperwork. I again reminded him that I didn't work there any more and that if he needed my help I would be more than happy to come back on as a contractor for $100 an hour with a minimum commitment of 5 hours in any week they used my services, this was 5 times the hourly rate they were paying me earlier.

We both knew what he was looking for was a 15 minute answer, but they had been working on if for half a day before calling me. He quickly agreed to my demands without any hesitation, and asked me how to fix the problem. This lead me to believe he had no intention of paying once I gave him the answer, so I told him to call me back when he had two copies of a 1099 contract on his desk signed by the president of the company and himself, I would then gladly drive over and pick up the contracts at the same time that I showed him the answer to the problem, he never did call back.

About a month later I ran into my replacement at a bar, it took the two of them 2 days to figure the problem out, in the end they would have probably saved money paying me the $500, but o well such is business.

 

[bethlehembrewer]

There is no law which says you have to give 2 weeks. You should check the company policy which dictates what should be done. Often employers will state that if you give the 2 weeks and they say no they will then pay you for those weeks and whatever vacation time is owed. This is the policy I have and I know other places do as well. While some states depending on at-will status and right to work status they are all pretty lienient on this I think.

I would check with the state labor laws, and the company handbook/policy before doing anything.

Giving as much notice as you can is just good for refs. You can always say I quit and walk out. They can't make you stay, unless you have a contract, but even then are they chaining you to the desk?

 

[jmendez29]

When leaving my last job I did a search on the internet and found out a lot of the same info as these previous posts have stated. Ultimately, you should look into your own state's laws regarding this, but I suspect that there is no legal requirement to provide any notice unless it is required by contract. But to the same effect, once you give your notice, there is no requirement for your employer to allow you to stay, nor to pay you for the time you have informed them of your departure. At least that's the case in Michigan. Ultimately, the only thing that would dictate whether you give notice or not is your own intention to "burn bridges". If you are leaving on bad terms, then eff'm. If everything is cool, then cut them a little slack. You never know when you might need a reference, or hook up a buddy with a job.

 

[BrianP]

+1 on two weeks notice. Even though it may seem unlikely that it will come back to haunt you, you never know. Many employment fields are 'small worlds' and word gets around about people, their work habits, whether or not they burned bridges, etc.

 

[blacklab]

It's been well said in previous posts, but yes, unless you're planning on completely switching industries or leaving the state, it's usually wise to leave on good terms. You really never know what the future may bring. Two weeks is the typical and is pretty fair to everyone. Plus, you're probably going to be mostly goofing off for those last two weeks, as it's hard to give projects to someone that's not going to be around to finish them.

 

[stevea1210]

I work in IT. It isn't completely uncommon for an IT person to be escorted to the door as soon as they turn in their notice.

As a general rule of thumb, when I accept a new position, I ask them the following. If my employer asks me to not complete my 2 weeks notice, can I begin employment sooner than scheduled.

I had that happen one time. I was asked to finish my shift, and then go away. The next day, I was working at my new job. didn't miss a beat.

 

[TexLaw]

You never get another chance not to **** up. I just got laid off. I may be going back to my old job. The only reason why I even have the option is because I was not a jerk on my way out. Keep that in mind.


TL

 

[lapaglia]

I have always given 2 weeks notice. Its not about how they treat me its about doing what I believe is right. Even if the boss is a bum I still work by my standards and I believe 2 weeks notice is whats right to do. Anything less and I am becoming the people I am trying to get away from. I am working on their level if I act the way they do.

But that is the way I am.
YMMV

 

[EvilTOJ]

I hate giving two weeks, which is why I try to get myself fired from every job instead.

I think it really depends on the situation you want to leave your old job for your next one. If you really don't give two ****s what happens to them then just leave whenever. But if you do care about what happens to your soon-to-be-ex-cow-orkers and you don't want to leave them in a lurch then yea put in your two weeks. I read some study somewhere that says most people leave a job because of their ahole boss. I know people say it's a small world and burning bridges can hurt your career, but would you want to work with that ahole boss at another job? I mean, if that guy hates you it won't automagically make him a nice guy some time down the road at a new job, know what I mean?

Remember, they don't give you two weeks notice before they fire you, they just do it. You don't owe them the same respect.

 

[TheJadedDog]

There is nothing that says you have to give 2 weeks, it is just customary. I know employers who, when you give your 2 weeks, say okay, don't bother coming back then. That said, if you don't give 2 weeks, don't expect to get a good reference. You may also have to explain to a potential new employer why you didn't give 2 weeks (at least I did the one time I just walked out of a job).

 

[NWernBrewer]

Even offering 2 weeks seems to be the best situation.

Doing hiring for my company, having a new prospect come in with suspicious gaps weighs worse for them then getting a bad reference from somebody who is clearly an a**hole, especially when there is a solid work history behind it.