# How do I give my company two weeks' notice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176 "2006-02-06T03:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/41 "2006-02-08T06:07:58Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > What \*\*Poysyn \*\* said is certainly consistent with anywhere that I’ve ever worked. On resignation you give two weeks’ notice. You then either: > > - work out the two weeks and get paid as per normal; or > - walk out straight away, at the request of your employer, and get paid the two weeks’ salary you would otherwise forgo. Not true in the US (as a matter of law), in any state that I’m aware of. It may be done like this as a matter of good policy on a voluntary basis by an employer, of course. It may be different in Canada or Australia. (but even if it is true in Canada, **Poysyn** , repetition of a claim isn’t a cite.) ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/42 "2006-02-08T07:11:42Z")
Gee, **Johanna**. It seems that if the HQ is so blissfully unaware of your exisitance, you could likely just stop showing up, get paid anyway, and go to the other job. 😃 [sub]Just kidding. That would be wrong.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Mithrander\_the\_Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mithrander\_the\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithrander_the_Grey)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/43 "2006-02-10T22:25:10Z")
> [@Random](#): > > Not true in the US (as a matter of law), in any state that I’m aware of. It may be done like this as a matter of good policy on a voluntary basis by an employer, of course. > > It may be different in Canada or Australia. > > (but even if it is true in Canada, **Poysyn** , repetition of a claim isn’t a cite.) Well, here’s a bit of a cite, for the province of BC in Canada anyways. My google-fu must have been week, so I just sent an email to the B.C. Employment Standards Branch. Here’s the reply that I got. > [@Some Government Dude](#): > > There may be compensation for length of service required if an employee provides notice and the employer terminates the employment. If employed for over three months and under one year, and the employer ends the relationship after notice is provided, the Act requires one week compensation. If the employee has been employed for over one year and under three years and you provide two weeks notice, employment can be terminated. If there is no just cause, then the employer would be obligated to provide the two weeks severance pay. This answer may change depending on the length of service the employee has with the business. > > This link provides information on termination: [Employment standards - Province of British Columbia](http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/facshts/termination.htm) So, at least in B.C., if you give notice, then get let go before the date you are given, you are considered fired. Which means, unless they can prove you were let go with cause, that they have to pay severence, depending on how long you were employed. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/44 "2006-02-11T13:48:27Z")
> [@frankenberrycat](#): > > Quite frankly, I have never seen anyone give two weeks’ notice successfully. Well, I have. The way the timing worked I gave notice on my boss’s first day back from maternity leave, but I apologized to her for the timing, told her I had been offered and had accepted another position, and Blah-de-Blah would be my last day. I followed it up with a written letter, they gave me a nice going away party, and I was very busy the last two weeks training my replacement. Generally, if you’re in sales, they escort you out the door immediately, but that’s never happened to me. I’ve only had to quit once with no notice, it was over the phone and it was due to a family emergency. It was a part-time waitressing job, so I didn’t feel too bad about it. I had other things to worry about at the time. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/45 "2006-02-12T04:47:13Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Okay, if you don’t even know who your boss _is_, then the situation is different. That’s one seriously screwed-up company! I think you handled it beautifully. Yeah, in that situation, I would just send an email to HR and maybe Payroll to let them know you quit. Usually the shorter the better. Don’t give any reasons. Even during your exit interview, I would just say that you are pursuing an opportunity that’s more in line with your blah blah…" I must say though, it really is sweet to quit a job where they basically treat you like crap. I always love it when they show resentment like it’s some huge betrayal. I quit one job I was at for 2 1/2 years and man were they pissed. 2% raises, constant layoffs, no upward mobility and YOU’RE pissed? It’s like a big fuck you to them “hey…looks like you monkey’s were wrong about what I’m worth”. They never get it though. One job we had half our group quit over 6 months. They held meetings and events and all kinds of BS. How about this - stop making people work until 4:00am and paying them shit? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/46 "2006-02-12T07:27:37Z")
There were 8 of us together on this contract and we all got together and agreed we were fed up, and made plans to leave all at once. We all found jobs to our liking with better salaries and benefits. The corporation that I’m quitting suddenly lost everyone on the contract, and my worksite was glad to get rid of them, because they have a bad reputation. We’d been planning to split for months and we coordinated to all move at the same time. So ever since I hand delivered the resignation letter on Monday, I heard not one word from the company. Complete silence. They won’t even deign to notice that I’m quitting! Have you ever heard of such a sloppy corporation? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/47 "2006-02-12T19:38:14Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - I have read articles elsewhere that say that while many people feel that giving adcance notice of quitting is just being considerate, -nowadays (in the US) if you put in any pre-notice of quitting and your job concerns anything involving security rights or confidential info, they immediately lock you out of all that and send you home for the duration. So if you have any work that you _really_ wish to finish, you should consider doing that before making any announcement of quitting. > ~ Right. I read a magazine article in a trade mag from one of the largest security advisors out there, and they said they told all their clients to terminate the emplyee at once. :eek: ☹ :mad: Apparently , if there is a chance to steal, employees on their way out will more often do so. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176/48 "2006-02-13T19:31:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Right. I read a magazine article in a trade mag from one of the largest security advisors out there, and they said they told all their clients to terminate the emplyee at once. :eek: ☹ :mad: > Apparently , if there is a chance to steal, employees on their way out will more often do so. It’s not just about stealing, **DrDeth**. At my old company, one of our sales people gave two weeks’ notice. On her last day, she turned in her company computer. Our server records show that she went home that night and downloaded the entire sales contact database to a different computer. Interestingly, every one of our customers got “special offers” in the mail from the company she went to work for. We learned a lot about security from her. After that, reps could only get at contact data for their own territory, and we shut off server access to sales people within minutes of their resignations. Of course, none of that would prevent reps from copying all the information the day _before_ they resign. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-give-my-company-two-weeks-notice/343176.md?page=2)