Providing notice at work

[Dan Mages]

Theoretical question here.

Lets say LOML has been offered a very prestigious job to represent her industry. Now she needs to provide notice to her current employer. A seed has been planted in her that if she mentions the new job, that she will be terminated effective immediately. The complicating factor is that she is due in a couple months. We cannot lose the income or insurance. To her credit, she is well respected and liked in her company and has a long history glowing job reviews. In my opinion, this will destroy morale at the office. It is unlikely that the new company would start her early as they will then need to give her maternity leave.

Given this theoretical situation:
1. Has anyone seen a person walked out for providing notice?
2. Any recourse she could pursue?
3. Any thoughts on how to handle such a situation?

[Bruce Page]

My daughter was a bookkeeper at Whole Foods for 8 years. Glowing reviews, well liked. She gave 2 weeks notice and was shown the door that day. Her recourse was returning to school and is now a RN.
I always gave 2 weeks notice but loyalties in both directions are much different today. I would ask myself what I have to gain vs. what I have to lose.

Congrats to your wife on the baby and the new job.

[Sam Force]

They will walk her out ASAP, she would be offered COBRA insurance at a substantial price but would be needed

[Nicholas Lawrence]

It really depends on the industry/employer. Some have security requirements that will not allow them to have a person with access to information that that has given notice. Government, health care, law, etc., may fall in that category.

[Jerry Bruette]

About a 18 months ago I gave a two week notice at work in the same meeting as I received the glowing review. They didn't walk me out. They picked my brain for two weeks and I left on good terms and on the rehire list. New job didn't offer insurance for 60 days, I purchased COBRA, which was about $30 a month more than a policy on the open market. But I only dealt with two deductibles that year.

Fast forward seven months. New job wasn't as sparkly and glittery any more and the old employer hadn't filled my opening. So I called them up and they took me back, and because I was gone less than 12 months I retained all my benefits and seniority plus got a $3 an hour raise.

I'm glad I did the right thing and gave notice. There's no sense in not giving notice, don't hold a grudge or leave with a chip on your shoulder, or burn any bridges.

I would also check the rules on FMLA, federal and for your state. That's what will govern her maternity leave. There might be some clause about being employed for a certain length of time with an employer in order to receive FMLA from them.

As Bruce said what have you got to gain or lose by giving or not giving notice.

[John K Jordan]

Is the plan to give a standard 2-week notice? I think I would immediately go into "emergency mode" and sacrificially save every penny, delaying the job switch a bit if that is possible. The thought of losing a few weeks of pay may be scary but just a tiny bump in the road in the big picture. If she isn't terminated when giving notice you will have a nice little bit saved.

As others mentioned, the Cobra insurance offer is supposed to be guaranteed. When my wife and I both retired be bought Cobra insurance for our disabled son. I had heard it was horribly expensive but it wasn't.

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

Some companies do walk employees out when they give notice others do not. If they walk her out, they owe her any accumulated vacation pay. She would also be eligible for unemployment compensation. Recourse is a chancey thing as it may hinder her chances at future jobs because she may not be able to use the current company as a reference down the road. They may also make her a counter offer if she is valuable to them.

[Chris Damm]

At the only job I ever quit, I observed people giving notice and being escorted off the property. When I decided to leave I gave 15 minutes notice and that gave me time to load my tools.

[George Bokros]

Does this organization / company that has made this prestigious job offer know she is pregnant and due in a few months? If so, they should know she would be on maternity in a few months. If they do not know she is pregnant she needs to have the conversation with them regarding the issue to find out their thoughts and get a commitment from them regarding the issue. Once that is settled then the two of you need to decide how the maternity costs would be covered. In years past her current employer's health insurance would be on the hook for the cost but with the advent of COBRA I am not sure how that all plays together. She may be required to sign up for COBRA. If I recall correctly a company can charge up to 20% more than their out of pocket cost for the health insurance under COBRA to cover their administrative cost.

I am retired now and was not a human resource professional, I was finance, but had some involvement with HR issues and management.

It never hurts to leave a position on good terms, you may need a job reference in the future or maybe even be offered a new position in the future with that company / employer.

[Al Launier]

Some companies do walk employees out when they give notice others do not. If they walk her out, they owe her any accumulated vacation pay. She would also be eligible for unemployment compensation. Recourse is a chancey thing as it may hinder her chances at future jobs because she may not be able to use the current company as a reference down the road. They may also make her a counter offer if she is valuable to them.

What Lee stated.

[glenn bradley]

1. Has anyone seen a person walked out for providing notice?
- Yes. I work in a field where we have access to sensitive materials. One of my employees made the mistake of telling me he was going to quit to return to school in 4 months. He thought he was doing me a favor but, I had to terminate him immediately.
2. Any recourse she could pursue?
- Yes. These are often expensive and unpleasant in my experience but, we did have to pay nearly a year in back salary to someone who "succeeded" once. It took just shy of three years to reach that agreement.
3. Any thoughts on how to handle such a situation?
- Unless otherwise stipulated in any agreement she signed when accepting the position, simply stay on the job and stay mute till two weeks before she is going to leave, then give two weeks notice.

I always leave on good terms; even the one job I've had that I really hated. That being said, I have only returned to an employer once after working for another but, those were different times.

[Dan Friedrichs]

This depends so strongly on the job and employer, there is no sense in guessing what will happen in any given situation. A guy I worked with gave 2 weeks' notice, and the boss said, "Well, you'll need some time to job hunt, so I'll keep paying you the next 2 weeks, but I don't expect you to show up more than is absolutely necessary to transfer some things". Others get walked to the door immediately.

[Michael Weber]

Hard to predict. Company I worked for would accept notice or not depending on what they thought of the employee. One employee in my department only gave 1/2 days notice. Manager told him to get his stuff and leave immediately. Others give two weeks and that's accepted. If the job has responsibilities I'd give adequate notice, hope for the best and as another poster notes, prepare for the worst.

[Jim Becker]

Different employers and difference circumstances clearly affect whether someone is allowed to work out their time after giving notice or if they are immediately "shown the door". I've seen this go both ways and as has been mentioned, the nature of the work and workplace culture is very much part of this. Someone leaving to join a competitor is almost always terminated immediately; sometimes with pay through the notice period and sometimes not. But even there it's not a given. My older daughter was working for one supermarket in town and on her own found a better position at another market down the street. She "did the right thing" and gave two weeks notice. We thought she's be canned immediately, but because she stood up for herself to the general manager and provided verifiable evidence that other employees and managers were not treating her with respect, she was allowed to work out her two weeks and retain that income...and that was even a "handling money" position since she was a cashier at the time. With my current employer, most folks get to work out their notice period if they are leaving for a job that's not with a direct competitor. That provides the best transition opportunities. I personally gave notice well over a month ago, but my situation is difference because I'm retiring.

So the bottom line is really around the culture of the current employer as well as if her leaving is for "someplace different" or "someplace competitive". I do understand the concern about benefits and that absolutely has to be part of the decision. As to recourse for being "shown the door", it might be very tough because unless she is an employee that is covered under some form of contract, most positions in the US are an "at will" arrangement where either the employee or employer can terminate the relationship at any time and for any reason other than a very short list of discriminatory practices which are generally hard to prove. So it's best to move on if it happens unless there's a clear and evidentiary situation of a covered discrimination situation within the law.

[Steve Peterson]

At my company you might be walked to the door immediately if you mention that you will be working for a competitor. I am not sure if you would still get paid for those 2 weeks. However, there is nothing forcing you to mention the new company name. One senior manager gave notice saying he was leaving for personal reasons and to focus on his family. He worked until the end of the month, then immediately started working at a competitor.

Also at my company, medical premiums are paid at the 1st of the month. If you give notice on the 1st, you would be covered until the 31st. If you give notice on the 31st and they walk you to the door, your coverage might terminate that day. The law requires Cobra to be offered for up to 6 months. You would be on the hook for the premiums.

Steve