Anyone Penalized For Early Notice?

[Calico]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi That will vary from state to state. In CA they have to pay you accrued vacation time, regardless of the length of notice. My employer was a nat'l employer and HR had to be schooled in that for an employee who gave 1 week notice and they tried to hold back the vacation pay.

I'm glad to hear that!

Let's just say I live in an "employee-unfriendly" state and leave it at that.

[Kickernick]

Our family will be taking a nice Spring Break trip just a week before my planned exit date, so that will use up my vacation days. The timing just happened to work out that way. :-)

[spncity]

Once, for a job change/relocation I gave 12 weeks' notice, thinking I was doing them a favor, making for an orderly transition. My boss was angry I was leaving, and it made the time creep by. Never again will I give more than 2 - 4 weeks, depending on what's required.

Even though DH was exhausted, he gave 7 weeks' notice (only required to give four). They asked for more time, (which ended up being a total of 12 weeks), with the agreement that he could take a couple of weeks off during that time. He worked more hours than his already demanding schedule when some emergencies had to be addressed, only got to take one week off, and they didn't even start recruiting for his replacement for the first month. Basically they sqandered the extra time he gave them.

We all learn some things the hard way.

You don't have to say how long you've been planning this. You can just say, "Bob, It's been great working here and I've made a difficult decision and wanted you to know I'm giving you my official notice."

[Slow But Steady]

I'm also reading this thread with great interest.

I'm tentatively planning to leave around 7/1, or whenever I finish a batch of work that I will enjoy doing.

My boss and others already know that I'm thinking about it. Boss told me he thinks that the 2016 bonus (payable in 2017 after I leave) will be pro-rated based on the time I work in 2016, but that he thinks it is calculated quarter by quarter, so I might want to leave just after the start of a quarter.

Maybe I already told them too much, but I have a bunch of colleagues that I wouldn't want to leave in the lurch. I don't think people would make me miserable if I announced 6 months ahead of time, but if they did, I guess I could just pack up my desk and go.

[marko]

My company's standard response was "thanks for the two month notice...two hours should be enough to clean out your desk"

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kickernick Our family will be taking a nice Spring Break trip just a week before my planned exit date, so that will use up my vacation days. The timing just happened to work out that way. :-)

Unless of course they realize they can just terminate you immediately after you tell them so they don't have to pay you vacation time , along with not paying the bonus either.

[youbet]

In my case I was laid off prior to the retirement date I had informally discussed with my boss. While that hurt my ego a bit, it turned out to be a financial blessing.


1. I met the rules (age + years formula) for retirement benefits so got those despite technically being "laid off." (Pension, retiree medical, etc.)

2. I got an attractive severance package.

3. I collected unemployment benefits.

4. I never had to describe myself as "retired early." I'm "long term unemployed" and entitled to any rights and benefits accruing to members of that group!


"You're firing my sorry ass prior to my retirement date? Oh no! Please don't throw me into that briar patch!"

[Aerides]

There are four potential outcomes when you give notice:

1- You are asked to quit now, paid thru the end of this pay period at most, pack up your stuff today, we'll walk you out

2- You are told Ok thanks for letting us know, you can keep working till your date... but money you think is coming will be less and your boss and others will get more annoyed as the time passes, and by annoyed i mean pissed, freezing you out, hostile

3- Your boss is appreciative of the heads up, you keep all the money you'd get anyway, and they give you a nice party for a send off at the end of your notice period

4- Your company wants to offer you a stay bonus or work out some part time/consulting thing to elongate your plans

Most of us are thinking of #3 when we give early notice. Any one of these could happen and don't ever think "oh not MY Company/boss/co-workers" on the ones that shorten your plans. Be ok for 1 and 2, and you can give notice any time you want.

[mickeyd]

Quote:

Anyone ever been "penalized" when they've given notice? Lose a bonus or stock option/401k vesting? Should I give him a heads-up without a formal date?

Don't show your cards too early.

Ever heard this phrase~ "This company policy is subject to change at any time"?

[pb4uski]

1. No problem.... you just made my day.... after all, I told you... I'm leaving.
2. OK, I'm not putting up with your crap, been nice knowing you... goodbye.
3. What happened in my case
4. I was already 50% time, so not an option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides There are four potential outcomes when you give notice: 1- You are asked to quit now, paid thru the end of this pay period at most, pack up your stuff today, we'll walk you out 2- You are told Ok thanks for letting us know, you can keep working till your date... but money you think is coming will be less and your boss and others will get more annoyed as the time passes, and by annoyed i mean pissed, freezing you out, hostile 3- Your boss is appreciative of the heads up, you keep all the money you'd get anyway, and they give you a nice party for a send off at the end of your notice period 4- Your company wants to offer you a stay bonus or work out some part time/consulting thing to elongate your plans Most of us are thinking of #3 when we give early notice. Any one of these could happen and don't ever think "oh not MY Company/boss/co-workers" on the ones that shorten your plans. Be ok for 1 and 2, and you can give notice any time you want.

[jwkde]

I gave a standard 2 weeks notice then agreed to stay 3 1/2 weeks after I leverage a few minor things in my favor to stay the extra 1 1/2 weeks.

Frankly I would have preferred being given the immediate walk to the door. After the 'shock and awe' of my coworkers, I was bored to tears. Generally excluded from all meetings and documents. The last week was spent playing computer games.

But that was 3 1/2 years ago and life is SO MUCH BETTER now

[rdy2go]

I sent my retirement letter in over the holidays giving the company six month's notice of my intent to retire. They ask for this and have a phased retirement workload in the last two months while you train your replacement. When the pay raises were handed out on the last working day of the year I was slighted despite being the most productive territory manager in the company. Looking back, I should have waited another week until the raises had been announced.

Yes, they will screw you and smile behind your back. management is looking out for themselves and employees are nothing but cannon fodder. Don't trust anyone.

[rdy2go]

This made me think of a fellow employee a few years back that was under so much stress caused by a toxic boss, that every day he would get home from work and his wife would take his blood pressure. It got so bad that she told him that the next day, either he was going to tell them he was retiring or she would do it for him. he made his announcement, they had a retirement lunch at a local restaurant with some of his employees and he was gone. Sometimes it just comes to that.

[Scarecrow]

At my megacorp, most people wait until they have their yearly bonus statement in hand or until the cash is deposited in their account before announcing retirement. Bonus is for the prior calendar year's work, so by rights, retiring should have nothing to do with payout. A few well connected folks have announced 2-3 months before bonus time. Not being well connected, I will be waiting for bonus statement or cash in account.

I've always thought it would be fun to do it like this: Boss calls each of us in to his office to give us our bonus statement. I accept the statement from boss, and say "Why, thank you very much. That's a nice bonus". Then, I would say "Now I have something for you", and hand him my retirement notice.

[Grabberson]

Great advice! This thread is very relevant for my situation. I work for a small professional office and plan to FIRE in April 2016. They don't have a notice "policy", the husband-and-wife owners make it up as they go. Sometimes when employees give notice, they are quickly marched out the door. Other times the employee works through their stated date. Much of it seems to hinge on whether the owners "like" the person. The consensus among employees is that it's risky to give much (or any) notice. One employee waited until late on a Friday, and on the way out said "Oh by the way, I quit effective immediately". Hard to feel bad for the owners - they created that situation.

But ironically, their ambiguity is my clarity. My triggering event occurs April 1. I keep my mouth shut before that.

[Backdraft57]

I am suffering right now due to giving to much notice. I won't go into all the details but 2-3 weeks is enough notice for anyone. You quickly are disenfranchised and all the reasons they give you for wanting long notices don't come to fruition. I was asked to give 6 months notice to "train" my replacement, so I did. They are not even scheduled to show up to work until two weeks before my last day! Meanwhile I eat **** to maintain my good name from a 3 decade plus career. If I could do again, 2-3 weeks.


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[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backdraft57 I am suffering right now due to giving too much notice.

What would happen if you just told them to forget it, you're leaving in 2 weeks? Would you lose any significant financial benefits? They're counting on you putting up with this crap to keep your good name. The people you know and trust who have worked with you over the years will remember you for the good things you've accomplished. Do you really care about what the people who disenfranchised you and decided to hire your replacement to start 2 weeks before your departure think? As long as you have no intention of ever seeking employment in your field again I'd leave.

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backdraft57 I am suffering right now due to giving to much notice. I won't go into all the details but 2-3 weeks is enough notice for anyone. You quickly are disenfranchised and all the reasons they give you for wanting long notices don't come to fruition. I was asked to give 6 months notice to "train" my replacement, so I did. They are not even scheduled to show up to work until two weeks before my last day! Meanwhile I eat **** to maintain my good name from a 3 decade plus career. If I could do again, 2-3 weeks.

As I noted above, DW and I have given extremely advanced notice, but your situation is far different than ours. I agree with athena--your employer deserves nothing at this point. If you are quitting to retire, I'd seriously think about calling in sick after lunch today and then going back tomorrow to turn your keys in, etc. (Subject to any contractual provisions relating to finances....)

[Kickernick]

Plot twist. MegaCorp changed bonus policy and it fully accrued on 12/31/16. Just found out from someone else who gave notice. As a result, I will talk to my boss on 2/9 - when he delivers my review. Bonus, stock, and 401k will be fully vested. He will get 45 days notice. Very exciting - just 13 more work days until then. Thanks everyone for your advice.

[dadu007]

Congrats! But just making sure: you mean 12/31/2015, correct?