Employee Questions The ‘Point’ Of Putting In Your Two Weeks After He Was Fired For Quitting — ‘Is This Legal?’
While two-week notice is generally considered standard, it's not actually required.
Fizkes | Shutterstock.com A Reddit poster said he was tired of being micromanaged and constantly ridiculed by his boss at a chain sandwich shop and decided to give his two-week notice. “My boss yelled at me pretty fiercely for making a sandwich a few seconds too slow,” he explained in a Reddit post to the “No Stupid Questions” forum. “So I decided to look for other work when I got home.”
However, when he finally texted his boss and put in his two weeks, he simply responded to “not show up” the next day — “What’s the point of putting in my two weeks if my boss is just going to fire me the first time he hears about it?”
An employee was fired after putting in his two weeks at work and turned to Reddit to find out if it was legal.
After realizing that he was being fired just minutes after making the decision to quit, he couldn’t help but wonder if his boss could get in legal trouble, so he sought out readers on Reddit to help him navigate the situation.
Commenters delving deeper into the situation made it clear there’s much more to the story than can be encompassed in a few lines from a Reddit post. Regardless, the employee’s situation is representative of the complex yet vague employment regulations and laws across the country that often don’t favor workers.
“Giving a ‘two weeks notice’ is customary, but not a legal requirement. If you want to quit, you can quit!” career expert Erin McGoff shared on TikTok.
However, on that same note, employers don’t necessarily have to “accept” a two-week notice and aren’t obligated in many states to keep you around after you’ve resigned.
Most states are ‘at will’ employment, so employers can terminate workers at any time, but there’s still unemployment to consider.
While it’s customary for employees to give a “notice of resignation” to their employers when quitting to give them time to prepare, it’s not always necessary, especially if you’re working in an at-will employment state.
These states have employment regulations that ensure employers are able to fire workers at any time for most reasons and employees are allowed to quit for the same.
So, while it might be unfair and partially unethical for an employer to accept a resignation without respecting the two-week notice period, they’re not necessarily required to unless it’s a contractual breach.
BongkarnGraphic | Shutterstock.com
In that case, legal action would need to be taken against the employer, which isn’t always accessible or even known to the average worker.
Considering his boss simply wrote, “I understand, I’ll just have today be your last day. I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” after only three weeks of employment, commenters wondered if he was even “fired” at all.
“To claim any kind of unemployment benefits, it’d be so tricky,” one wrote. “He needed to explicitly write ‘you’re fired’ to be considered a termination.”
Employers often prefer that resigning employees not work for two weeks, especially if they’re leaving on ‘bad terms.’
Many employment experts advise employees to only give their two weeks if they’re ready to lose their job that day. “If you’re going to quit soon, just be prepared for that,” employment expert Allison Peck explained on TikTok. “They can ask you to leave the premises after giving your notice.”
While it might be in their best interest to keep you for as long as they can, especially if they’re already overworking you or understaffed, some employers will look for any way to get rid of resigning employees — and it’s not technically “firing them.”
When employees give their notice, they’re being courteous, but employers can accept that resignation at any time.
This is why many employment experts suggest employees either give no notice or be ready to leave when they give their two weeks. “If you never want to return to that company, give no notice,” a recruiter suggested in TikTok comments. “If you want the door open, give a notice, but plan money for if they term you that day.”
“Some companies can accept your resignation right away, regardless of notice,” Peck explained. “They can do this for a number of reasons … If you’re in a conflict, have really sensitive information, or think that you’re leaving angry.”
Of course, even in at-will employment states, there are still protections for employees looking to quit or being terminated — there are still discrimination regulations and retaliation laws that can apply in certain situations.
If you have the ability to consult an employment lawyer, they can provide expert opinions on whether it’s worth pursuing legal action or not.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories