Company won't let me retire!

[Evergreen]

Hi,

I've been a member on here for some years now, finally ready to throw it all in. Went to my boss today and told him that I intend to go in June and he has told me that I'm far too valuable and that he won't let me go. I live in the UK not North Korea, surely I can do what I like!

Can an employer stop you from retiring?

 

[Meadbh]

No, unless you live in North Korea.

 

[Nemo2]

No, unless you live in North Korea.

+1

 

[Scrapr]

Have you thought about not showing up? I guess if you keep getting checks you would not be retired

expect a enhanced pay package in the next little while

 

[Bamaman]

Come June, just lay out of work without calling in and see what they do. Indentured servants are no more.

 

[stepford]

This would seem to be an opportunity for negotiation. If you're that valuable to the company then perhaps some appropriate extra compensation can be agreed upon for a mutually agreeable exit date.

If not... then the heck with them and leave whenever you want.

 

[Aerides]

Unless you have some very silly contract, of course they can't keep you. Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where george's girlfriend doesn't accept his break up with her:

 

[davebarnes]

Can an employer stop you from retiring?

It depends.
Do you work directly for Her Royal Highness Elizabeth?
Do you work for Vladimir Putin?

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, if they want you that much, tell them "Show me the money".

 

[Walt34]

What happens if you simply stop showing up for work? Are they gonna revoke your birthday or something?

 

[Cessna152]

Change your name to Spartacus and start a one-person slave uprising against your boss.

 

[RobbieB]

You can keep paying me as long as you like but I'm not coming in anymore come June the first.

 

[HadEnuff]

Hi,

I've been a member on here for some years now, finally ready to throw it all in. Went to my boss today and told him that I intend to go in June and he has told me that I'm far too valuable and that he won't let me go. I live in the UK not North Korea, surely I can do what I like!

Can an employer stop you from retiring?

Just curious, have they been paying you as if you are much too valuable to retire?

And, is there a number they could write down on a piece of paper that would make you stay?

 

[Lakewood90712]

It's a darn good thing your employer is stopping you you from retiring. A recent government study conclusively proved that people who retire will eventually die.

 

[brucethebroker]

I really like the "stop showing up" answers!
However, I have worked for a couple of dirt bags in the past that would lie to HR about your "retirement come June" conversation. Cover yourself with a certified letter to HR announcing your retirement. My guess is that HR will start the ball rolling and notify your boss formally. Then it is out of his hands.

 

[audreyh1]

Change your name to Spartacus and start a one-person slave uprising against your boss.

LOL!

 

[audreyh1]

Come June, just lay out of work without calling in and see what they do. Indentured servants are no more.

Interesting stuff to read about - a big part of UK and US history:

Servitude had a long history in England, dating back to medieval serfdom. The Ordinance of Labourers, passed in June 1349, declared that all men and women under the age of sixty who did not practice a craft must serve anyone requiring their labor. Parliament updated the law in 1495 and 1563, with the latter version, the Statute of Artificers, still being in effect when the English founded Jamestown. Between 1520 and 1630, England's population more than doubled, from 2.3 million to 4.8 million, and Parliament hoped its 1563 statute might "banishe Idleness[,] advance Husbandrye," and so deal with the near-overwhelming number of poor and unemployed citizens. In fact, the founding of Virginia itself was partially in response to this problem. In his Discourse on Western Planting (1584), Richard Hakluyt (the younger) argued to Queen Elizabeth that new American colonies would energize England's "decayed trades" and provide work for the country's "multitudes of loyterers and idle vagabondes."

from https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Indentured_Servants_in_Colonial_Virginia#start_entry

 

[NW-Bound]

In his Discourse on Western Planting (1584), Richard Hakluyt (the younger) argued to Queen Elizabeth that new American colonies would energize England's "decayed trades" and provide work for the country's "multitudes of loyterers and idle vagabondes."

With this country founded by people like that, it's a wonder that the ER's are such a small percentage of the population.

And I kept reading all this stuff about Protestant work ethics.

 

[Meadbh]

It’s not 1349 any more.

 

[coveredbridge]

Hi,

I've been a member on here for some years now, finally ready to throw it all in. Went to my boss today and told him that I intend to go in June and he has told me that I'm far too valuable and that he won't let me go. I live in the UK not North Korea, surely I can do what I like!

Can an employer stop you from retiring?

Only if you want to be stopped

 

[youbet]

Can an employer stop you from retiring?

You can always quit, of course, but your employer may have some ability to control how and when you retire (leave with ongoing “retiree benefits”). Check with HR.

 

[Sunset]

I just recently heard of a fellow that was going to retire, and instead he was fired.

Could your boss fire you, so you don't get a pension ?

Without a pension, you would have to return to work....

 

[audreyh1]

Only if you want to be stopped

With this country founded by people like that, it's a wonder that the ER's are such a small percentage of the population.

And I kept reading all this stuff about Protestant work ethics.

I don’t think England had been Protestant very long way back then, LOL!

 

[Evergreen]

I could probably push for more money if they are so desperate for me to stay but funnily enough money is not really the issue. I've never been driven by money but I have always been sensible with money which is why I can consider retiring at 55. They can't stop me retiring of course but the job that I am doing is quite unique and there is no one else to do it and we have recently lost some key staff. I can sort of see where they are coming from, just walking out of the door will make it difficult for them. I have been there 35 years and my company pension is looking pretty good, certainly don't want to jeopardise that.

 

[latexman]

Just tell the boss you'll "w*rk" from home.

And then, don't. See how long they pay you.