I had a job and would you believe this, I took 10 days off for a vacation in New York and when I got back then gave me my notice. I was so mad, especially when I learned the decision to lay me off was made BEFORE my trip to NYC.
My boss said “I thought that was so considerate if they told you before that would’ve ruined your vacation.”
I tried to tell them if I knew I was going to be let go, I wouldn’t have left and I would’ve save nearly two grand I spent on my trip there. Plus I would’ve worked and the company would’ve paid me in cash for my unused vacation time.
He didn’t see it that way.
Bottom line is no company would ever think twice about firing you.
After you return from your vacation, make sure IN WRITING you are vested in your 401K from the correct source. Remember just 'cause the H/R lady says it’s so doesn’t mean it is, it’s what’s in the contract that counts, and 401K vesting can had oddities like it starts on the first day of the month AFTER you anniversary and such.
Then simply give a written resignation “Due to opportunities elsewhere I am terminating my employment with XXXX-Company. My last day at work will be (State Date).”
That is all you need. They don’t need any fancy explinatons. That’s what an exit interview is for.
One thing I learned is don’t cry for your company, 'cause when push comes to shove they wouldn’t shed any tears for you.
Interestingly enough that kind of thing has come up a lot in Illinois. If you look at unemployment cases, different arbitrators for Illinois Department of Labor have ruled both ways.
Some say “Yes it’s a firing you’ll get your unemployment,” some say “no, you won’t.”
The only way to know for sure is when it happens file for unemployment. The company may not even dispute it. If they do appeal it and then see what happens. It only costs a bit of time and arbitrators are more sympathetic in tough times
The part that’s still unvested is only about $1600. At this point, I’m thinking I may have to give up on that, unless they are feeling generous (which they might be – I’ve been a pretty damned reliable employee).
I’m now more concerned about getting my 2 weeks’ paid vacation. The vesting is retirement money – I’ll miss it when I’m 60. Not getting paid over Christmas means I have less money to live off of while looking for a job in Virginia.
If you haven’t already, you might want to check the details of your 401(k) plan as to how the vesting works. My company’s plan, which also has a 5-year vesting schedule, counts any year in which you work at least 1,000 hours. If your plan is like this, you may already be fully vested.
While the cynics in the bunch may be right about some companies being heartless, it doesn’t mean all are or all the people who work for them. I wouldn’t be at all surprised given the nature of your business if you can in fact give 3 months notice and get your paid vacation and offer to train your replacement. Especially if you are willing to “sacrifice” the vested 401k.
What can it hurt to ask?
I suspect that the 2 weeks paid vacation is based on your previous year’s service, and so is likely to be given to you, regardless of when you quit. Although, stranger things have happened than people like you being denied the paid vacation.
You can’t get fired for quitting, honey. You quit. If they say “Okay, you can leave right away”, that’s not the same thing as firing you.
I mean, technically, Markxxx is correct that the company may not dispute your unemployment claim, especially if you don’t submit your resignation in writing, but quitting and then collecting is also kind of a douche move, IMO.
ETA that I think that, at least in most cases, you can’t collect if you get fired, only if you get laid off. And (again, at least in some cases, I am so not an expert), if you were ostensibly the victim of an RIF, the company isn’t allowed to replace you for a certain period of time, so don’t assume they won’t contest the claim.
Just bumping this to post for anyone who was interested how it worked out.
Despite the advice of many here, I went ahead and gave notice to my school in late November. Some other things came up which basically made staying on past early January really untenable, and I was just going to hope for the best.
Thankfully, all worked out perfectly. They’ve agreed to a last day of 1/8, meaning I’m getting my 2 weeks vacation, plus I’ll be staying on long enough to get fully vested in the 401k. Happy ending all around, with everyone doing the right thing. Would that all employer/employee relationships were thus.
Good for you–I hoped you would let us know what happened, and I’m not terribly surprised that it all did work out for the best, it’s just that there was no reason to be sure that it would.
The law is a bit iffy on the subject. There are basically two different tracks which decisions on this issue follow around the country (for unemployment benefits purposes):
An employee who offers notice, and is terminated prior to the effective date of his resignation is considered to have been terminated without cause and is eligible for unemployment compensation.
An employee who offers notice and is terminated prior to the effective date is considered to have been terminated for cause, and is eligible for unemployment benefits only during the period from his termination to the effective date.
The First District Court of Appeals just ruled on this and took the first track - the statute was recently changed, so assuming the decision is not appealed, that is the law.
I am fairly certain that your employer would not face a penalty for terminating you immediately prior to your vesting date; the burden of proof would be on you to prove that they did it solely for that purpose.
To answer your question, you could collect unemployment benefits in DC, but you’d still have to fulfil the job search requirements.
