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I recently resigned from a VP position at a relatively small stagnant company with really no advancement possibilities to take a job at a similar larger company with much more upside and growth potential.

My employer took everything ok the day I resigned, I told him I would stay to make sure everything I was working on was taken care of, at least 2-4 weeks, then at the end of the following day I was told to pack up my stuff and go.

My question is what are my rights regarding pay for the 2 weeks I was going to stay, I was paid through the day I was asked to leave, and still had two weeks of vacation and a week of personal leave. Am I entitled to that pay, or should I just drop it. When I was on the other side of this type of situation, I would always pay the employee the 2 weeks if he/she was asked to leave early when they resigned.

I had stood by my offer to clean up any loose ends, and any communication has been met with silence. I didn't expect anything different. With this employer, once someone leaves either voluntary or involuntary, they are dead to him. I'm glad I'm gone, but also don't want to get stiffed out of thousands of dollars of pay and benefits if I have a right to them. I am in the State of Maryland.

Thanks for any input.

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

I have no clue about lthe law in Maryland (or anywhere else for that matter), but yes, you are entitled to the vacation pay, even though also yes he can let you go as he did.

I'd call him and politely ask for the pay. If he doesn't agree, check with an employment lawyer about options.

Sorry for the troubles. Sad that business leadership doesn't require ethics.

Mark

thaGUma's picture

Mark is right. Put everything in writing. The first letter should assume you will get what's due.

Depending on the amount. professional advice may be appropriate. Firstly make sure what you are asking for is correct.

It sounds as if he has been reconsidering or advised to get you off-site. Whatever you do, be professional. You may have to deal with this man in the future.

Good luck and don't let it spoil your new position.

Chris

ecufan's picture

I've been trying to take the high road, offering to offer knowledge on the projects I was working on, that really nobody else knew. I've pretty much written it off, I even had my personal cell phone number transferred to the company account when I started, and he wouldn't give it back, that it wouldn't be in his company's best interests.

I've written two very professional e-mails that have gone unanswered. I've thought about filing unemployment for the two week period I wasn't working, but it may or may not be worth the effort. I was fighting for the phone number on principle, since I had had the number for 10 years, but gave up.

It makes me very glad I'm gone, and looking back, I realize now why the company has such high turnover. The company only had 10 people, and there were 5 people that had gone or came and left in the 2 1/2 years I was there.

bflynn's picture

Take the the steps you need to for your own protection and just move on. I would recommend that it is even worth leaving some things on the table. Treat them as a cost of getting out of there and just one more part of your education. If you continue to focus on them, you will be less effective in the future.

It was a small company and you probably have a lot of yourself wrapped up in it. But it sounds like they were small for a reason and they're going to stay small for those same reasons. Look forward and don't let them be an anchor on your life.

Brian

ecufan's picture

Brian,

You are exactly right. I've already written off pretty much everything. I had realized I was being a little childish about the telephone thing, I didn't think they had the right to keep something that belonged to me in the first place, that issue was strictly punitive, a way to punish me for leaving, but I've moved on.

My resignation came as a total surprise, and it probably took him a day to get angry about it and wanted to find a way to punish me for rocking his boat. I tried to follow guidelines in the resignation podcast, but probably should have listened to it again before I pulled the trigger.

Lesson learned, and losing a few weeks pay isn't the end of the world.

US41's picture

When a manager gets angry that one of their people resigned and lashes out at the leaving employee, I come to the conclusion that they do not care about their people.

It's OK to be unhappy that a valued member of the team is leaving. It's not OK to try to stop people from growing, changing, or moving on when the time is right for them.

That's like throwing a rock at your child as they move out of your house.

I bet M&M could do a podcast on How To Say Goodbye when an employee resigns.

In their "How to Resign" podcasts, they do warn about being asked to leave suddenly and making sure all of your stuff is packed up and backed up.

Sorry this happened to you!

ecufan's picture

You are right about the not caring. I believe this particular employer sees people as cogs in the machine that are only there to further his monetary advancement, which is his prerogative as owner, but it has a huge impact on turnover and overall employee satisfaction.

If you treat people fairly and with respect, they will do anything for you. When they aren't treated well, it should be no surprise when they leave.

US41's picture

[quote="ecufan"]If you treat people fairly and with respect, they will do anything for you.[/quote]

I am guessing you really didn't mean this literally, but I read it and hear it a lot when people are discussing management, and I disagree with this sentiment strongly. I think it is one of those platitudes that we do not put a lot of thought into that on the surface sounds good but in reality has no credibility.

It is my experience that when you treat people fairly and with respect, the top performers will excel, those that are unmotivated will still require motivating, those that require training will still struggle until trained, and those that demonstrate that they are not capable will still need to be terminated.

No matter how well you treat people, if you hire rotten folks, you will get rotten performance.

And no matter what you do, eventually people will leave jobs no matter how good the pay, treatment, etc, because people grow and change, and as they change, their interests and needs change.

While I agree that a manager should care about and for his folks, my belief is that your team will perform if you have a well-designed job and you hire, train, motivate, and terminate effectively.