Employer notification...termination of employment

[CrazyCaper]

Hey gang,

Looking for some insight from the CP family once again. I have recently decided to change jobs and will have to give my employer notification that I will be leaving.

Question:
I have been with my current company for 7yrs and my new job will not be starting until January 12. How much notice should I give my company prior to my leaving? Should I wait closer to Xmas and give 2-3 weeks notice or should I tell my boss on Monday/Tuesday once my employment agreement with my new employer is signed?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
CrazyCaper

[CaramonLS]

Depends how you are with the company and how you want to leave it.

If you are on good terms and don't want to burn bridges tell them now and give them as much time as possible. If you aren't on good terms and you think that they might tell you to just stay home or try to screw you over at work, then give the 2-3 weeks.

[ericschand]

How are your relations with your current employer?

If they are good, give as much notice as you can, up to one month.

This gives them time to find someone, plus shows them commitment even
as you leave. It leaves a good impression. If you are in the type of
business that has to walk you out, they'll give you the months pay,
once again assuming they'll be good about it.

If relations are bad, give 2 weeks exactly. Remove all personal stuff
from your desk. Hopefully they walk you to the door and you never
hear from them again.

Always wait until you have an agreement signed with your new
employer before doing anything.

ers

[First Lady]

http://employment.alberta.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/1474.html

Employee Initiates Termination

The length of notice an employee is required to give also depends on the duration of employment and should be in writing. The minimum notice requirements that employees are required to provide are:

• one week - for employment of more than three months, but less than two years
• two weeks - for employment of two years or more.

If an employee gives proper notice, the employer must pay all earnings to the employee within three days following termination of employment.
If an employee quits without proper notice all wages, overtime, holiday and vacation pay is due to the employee within 10 days after the date on which the notice would have expired if it had been given.

Anything more than 2 weeks is at your discretion. Others have already made valid points in that regard.

[vicphoenix13]

I was so angry with my former employer that I didn't give any notice. Ironically, my boss was threatening people a month before I left because people were leaving the company left and right. He said that anyone who leaves without notice will never work in this company again. This guy was such a jerk that I decided to ignore the threat and leave without notice a month later.

[ken0042]

I'll also throw out the consideration that you want to wait until after they hand out the Christmas bonuses.

Assuming they get handed out Monday, I would give a full 4 weeks notice. Give them as much as you can; especially with Christmas coming up it gives them more time to find somebody else. You never know when you may need to come back with hat in hand.

[Locke]

Dont forget to flip them the beird on your way out the door after announcing that the boss' daughter is a beast in the sack.

Only way to go.

[flip]

Pull an upper decker in the executive washroom before you go too.

[stang]

Just want to say the same thing as others...

IF its the kind of Job where they are going to tell you to leave right away, for any reason (boss is an ass, or you work with sensitive materials, you going to a rival company) I would wait and just put in your 2 weeks notice. This way when they tell you to go home they still have to pay your 2 weeks.

If you put in 4 weeks notice, then I think they can send you home, and you may only get 2 weeks pay out of it.

Or do something stupid and get severance.

[Dion]

Never burn any bridges and always leave on good terms.

[HOOT]

I started this thread a few months ago...might give some extra insight.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=62851

IMO give them no more, no less than 2 weeks notice. The way I think about it is would they give you anymore than that if they had to lay you off? If you give 4 weeks, and they send you home they will only pay you for 2 weeks, so now you are out 2 weeks pay.

Be professional about it and like others have said don't burn any bridges, but also be selfish and think of yourself, not this company who probably wouldn't bat an eye at laying you off if they had too.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by HOOT

If you give 4 weeks, and they send you home they will only pay you for 2 weeks, so now you are out 2 weeks pay.

You're not the first one to say this, but are you sure they can do that? I was positive that they are not allowed to effectively fire you for quitting. In fact I had been told that people at my work would purposely give 4 weeks notice, tell the employer they were going to a competator, and they would send you home, still paying you for the 4 weeks.

[vicphoenix13]

If an employer shows class and respect towards me during me tenure, I will give them more than two weeks notice. But if they treat me as "just another number" and issue threats, I will give them no notification.

[CrazyCaper]

Thanks for all the insight gang. During my 7yrs, my boss has been great. However, there have been instances in the past where employees who have left have been escorted out the same day they gave their notice. I'm not leaving for a rival company, but I work in sales and my boss may see that as a conflict of interest. I'll continue to mull it over today and after I sign my offer sheet from my new employer on Monday, hopefully I'll have a clearer picture of how I should handle the situation. I definitely don't want to go without 2 weeks pay, especially during Christmas. Hopefully I make the right decision.

[Sylvanfan]

In my experience...the jobs I wanted to get out of and gave two weeks notice because my tenure was 2 years and 11 months respectively the employer made me work my arse off before I left and begged me to stay on for just one more week. The one time I had like 8 years of tenure and gave 4 weeks notice on Friday morning I went to work on Monday and they told me to leave. Difference was one the first two times it was really busy when I gave notice, the other time it was pretty slow.

So depending on how busy things are right now you could probably use that as a guide for how much you should give. If it's slow....give two weeks after you get your Christmas bonus!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

The one time I had like 8 years of tenure and gave 4 weeks notice on Friday morning I went to work on Monday and they told me to leave.

But the big question- once they told you to leave did they still pay you for those 4 weeks?

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by ken0042

But the big question- once they told you to leave did they still pay you for those 4 weeks?

No they didn't. They basically told me go to the labour board and we'll smear your name so badly to everyone in the business (which is an extremely small community where everyone pretty much knows everyone) and make sure you never get another job again type of thing. Didn't help that my wife's sister was the boss' wife either...essentially get four weeks of pay, or cause a serious family fight. Overall a very tricky situation to deal with.

In the end I forewent about $6,500 gross pay in severance to avoid the drama that would have ensued. But it's not like I was out of work as I just started my next job 3 weeks earlier type of thing so my overall loss wasn't that bad.