4 ms·

At one of my first jobs, I resigned after about a year because I found a job that offered 2x as much in terms of salary. Director: "How much is the new place o

At one of my first jobs, I resigned after about a year because I found a job that offered 2x as much in terms of salary. Director: "How much is the new place offering? We can match." I told him the number. Immediately his tone changed, and said I should take the other offer. I wanted to give a 2 week notice, which I thought was the norm, but he asked me to leave immediately and use up my remaining days as vacation days as my last few days at the company. At that time I did not realize that I was entitled to my pay for the remaining vacation days, so I agreed to it without much thought. Part of it was because I could not imagine this guy doing anything shady in my previous interactions with him, as he always seemed like a stand up guy. By forcing me to use my vacation hours, the company saved a few hundred dollars, which would have been a lot for me at the time as I only had a few hundred dollars in my bank account. But looking back in retrospect and reading many similar stories, it seems common, almost expected, for younger kids to be screwed over like this in the workplace, especially when departing a company.

jaf656s 13y ago
You were treated fairly. Bluntly but fairly. When you turn in your resignation, your notice is just an offer of a grace period. They are not obligated to take you up on your offer.
- teebrz 13y ago
  To be clear, the specific part you mention is fair...but I don't think anyone would object to that. The part where it seems somewhat unfair is where the director asked weixiyen to give up pay they were entitled to. It's fair enough to ask for a favor ("hey, do you mind using up your vacay days before you leave?"), but you should make clear that it is a favor and what it entails - it sounds like that may not have done in this instance.
  - mattlutze 13y ago
    Unless the state has particular laws, every contract I've had as an employee allows me to quit at any time, and be fired at any time, without reason given. The director was under no obligation, after that notice, to allow him to work those last two weeks and then take the vacation. He was obligated to pay the vacation as it was compensation earned by weixiyen. But weixiyen (again, could be wrong if his/her state has certain laws) had no legal grounds to compel the company to allow him/her to continue working.
- rmc 13y ago
  Depends. Some countries will require you to work a certain amount of time. And some contracts will require you to work after handing in a notice.
  - mogrim 13y ago
    Spain requires 15 working days notice for example, although if you leave on good terms there's usually a certain amount of flexibility.
  - ralmeida 13y ago
    Brazil requires one month of work after notice is given by either side. The employer may give up the additional month if the employee resigns, and the employee may choose to deduce the pay of this month from their severance if they don't want to stay. The employer may also choose to terminate immediately and pay the wage of the additional month even if the worker doesn't work.
yummyfajitas 13y ago
How do they save money? If you use your 2 weeks of vacation, they send you a check for 2 weeks pay at the end. The exact same thing would happen if you cashed out your vacation days, albeit with slightly different paperwork.
- jacalata 13y ago
  No. He offered to work two weeks, which would have meant they owed him two weeks of pay plus two weeks of vacation days. Instead he took two weeks of vacation pay and no pay for work.
  - logn 13y ago
    Yeah but it's the same difference. If you resign, they can ask you to immediately stop working. At that point, you're cut a check for your vacation days. If the company decides to let you use your vacation days, you're paid with a normal payroll check. It should amount to about the same thing. I'm guessing this made things simpler paperwork-wise but amounted to the same pay. And the employee would also get two weeks with health benefits.
  - jtbigwoo 13y ago
    IANAL, but this practice is illegal in many places. If your days off are called something like "vacation days" or "PTO", they're regulated by the government. Generally the company has to pay them out after leave and the company can't make you work them. If they're called "personal days" or something similar the company usually doesn't have to pay you for them when you leave. This case was probably wage theft. If it was within the last few years, the government would probably like to hear about it. Most states have a department of labor or something similar that investigates this sort of thing.
dennisgorelik 13y ago
If your new job was paying 2x, then the sooner you quit your old job the better it is for you financially.

jaf656s 13y ago

You were treated fairly. Bluntly but fairly. When you turn in your resignation, your notice is just an offer of a grace period. They are not obligated to take you up on your offer.

teebrz 13y ago
To be clear, the specific part you mention is fair...but I don't think anyone would object to that. The part where it seems somewhat unfair is where the director asked weixiyen to give up pay they were entitled to. It's fair enough to ask for a favor ("hey, do you mind using up your vacay days before you leave?"), but you should make clear that it is a favor and what it entails - it sounds like that may not have done in this instance.
- mattlutze 13y ago
  Unless the state has particular laws, every contract I've had as an employee allows me to quit at any time, and be fired at any time, without reason given. The director was under no obligation, after that notice, to allow him to work those last two weeks and then take the vacation. He was obligated to pay the vacation as it was compensation earned by weixiyen. But weixiyen (again, could be wrong if his/her state has certain laws) had no legal grounds to compel the company to allow him/her to continue working.
rmc 13y ago
Depends. Some countries will require you to work a certain amount of time. And some contracts will require you to work after handing in a notice.
- mogrim 13y ago
  Spain requires 15 working days notice for example, although if you leave on good terms there's usually a certain amount of flexibility.
- ralmeida 13y ago
  Brazil requires one month of work after notice is given by either side. The employer may give up the additional month if the employee resigns, and the employee may choose to deduce the pay of this month from their severance if they don't want to stay. The employer may also choose to terminate immediately and pay the wage of the additional month even if the worker doesn't work.

yummyfajitas 13y ago

How do they save money? If you use your 2 weeks of vacation, they send you a check for 2 weeks pay at the end. The exact same thing would happen if you cashed out your vacation days, albeit with slightly different paperwork.

jacalata 13y ago
No. He offered to work two weeks, which would have meant they owed him two weeks of pay plus two weeks of vacation days. Instead he took two weeks of vacation pay and no pay for work.
- logn 13y ago
  Yeah but it's the same difference. If you resign, they can ask you to immediately stop working. At that point, you're cut a check for your vacation days. If the company decides to let you use your vacation days, you're paid with a normal payroll check. It should amount to about the same thing. I'm guessing this made things simpler paperwork-wise but amounted to the same pay. And the employee would also get two weeks with health benefits.
- jtbigwoo 13y ago
  IANAL, but this practice is illegal in many places. If your days off are called something like "vacation days" or "PTO", they're regulated by the government. Generally the company has to pay them out after leave and the company can't make you work them. If they're called "personal days" or something similar the company usually doesn't have to pay you for them when you leave. This case was probably wage theft. If it was within the last few years, the government would probably like to hear about it. Most states have a department of labor or something similar that investigates this sort of thing.

dennisgorelik 13y ago

If your new job was paying 2x, then the sooner you quit your old job the better it is for you financially.