Nowadays, it’s rare to meet individuals who have worked for a single company their whole life. This is because people like to explore, find new opportunities and seek for progress in their careers. Even when employees are provided all that they deserve, it’s still possible to want to resign from a company at some point of their careers. For employers, there’s not much that they could do about it. After all, they can’t hold an employee forever. However, it’s still important that employee notice for resign from their respective companies properly. This would mean giving prior notice before the separation becomes effective.
What Are Your Legal Rights with Regards to Resignation?
As an employee, you are required to give prior notice for your resignation notice. Otherwise, it will create a breach of contract wherein you may be subject to pay for damages. However, you must still continue working for the company until the notice period expires.
This is because a free notice period is given to ensure a smooth transition for the sake of the company’s standard operations. As an employer, it is your responsibility to respond to your employee’s resignation. Some employers use this as an opportunity to negotiate with an employee’s terms in order to make them stay. But oftentimes, employers are left with no other choice but to comply with the employee’s wishes.
What Happens if an Employee Resigns without Notice?
Employees are often informed during employment orientation on the company’s policies and regulations. However, there are still instances when an employee resigns without proper formal notice.
In an event like this, the company has the right to withhold any amount owed to the employee, this includes the individual’s final pay and possible separation pay. It’s likely that the employer may also choose to deduct wages as a penalty for the former employee. This is why it’s important for resigning employees to send notice letters at the appropriate time.
However, there are rare scenarios when a company continues to pay an employee, even when they have failed to provide proper notice. This is because some companies wish to maintain proper staff morale.
What Are the Rules on Pay after a Resignation with Notice?
Most companies require their employees to provide a two week’s notice for their resignation.
But this may vary, depending on the position and time of service of a given employee. For example, individuals who have worked for less than a year are only given a minimum notice period of one week. On the other hand, employees who have served for five years or more are given a notice period of a minimum of four weeks.
So when an employee does comply to the given notice period, the company must then act accordingly. Employees are often paid throughout the whole notice period, even when they decide to terminate notice the employee earlier than planned. It’s important for employers and employees to be aware of what has been agreed in the defined contract. Otherwise, both parties are entitled to take legal actions for the damages made.
