The only thing that matters is what his contract contained in the way of the notice. "Two weeks notice" is quite obsolete these days, given how companies treat

The only thing that matters is what his contract contained in the way of the notice. "Two weeks notice" is quite obsolete these days, given how companies treat workers anymore. If it isn't in the contract, then to hell with that and any idea about "treating a company with respect" or some of the naive stuff people are commenting on. Respect runs both ways. "Two weeks" was de rigueur when I started my career - but I am old and the social environment or relationship between capital and labor has changed dramatically in the 25 years I've been in IT. Companies will do whatever they can get away with, even if it might be illegal-ish, and especially if it is a badly run company run by jackasses. Apple... well, I would never take a paycut just to work at Apple; I understand his enthusiasm, and the chance to get "Apple" on your resume, but if the situation was as intolerable as he says, then I certainly wouldn't say "tough it out" Also, the logic behind two weeks notice was that payroll, in the old days, was two weeks behind the time you've currently spent on the job. So you had to stick around for two weeks to let that catch up (and wrap up projects, transfer knowledge, etc). Logically, at this point, you'd take your unused vacation. That logic doesn't apply anymore - and also contract workers are different than full time employees, so the rules are different. But he should have spoken to HR at least, or some other boss, if only to get it down on paper exactly why he was going to leave - at least to prevent them from claiming damages or such due to his unexpected departure.