Resignation Ltr

According to labor law, they cannot legally downgrade your level without informing you. If they did not tell you, and cannot prove that they told you, then they legally owe you the profit sharing amount.

No, it is not an outrageous request, but they are going to tell you to get F'ed, and do not let the door hit you on the way out.

And people remember.

I would not make a conditional. If you are owed that money, state that if you don't receive it, you will seek legal redress. Stay calm, and professional.

Suggesting if they don't pay up, you will give one day notice is blackmail. Pure and simple. And I wouldn't hire anyone who would resort to that.

You may think, hey, its ok, I can burn my bridges and not look back. But you will find that people know people. I lost a job opportunity because one of my references knew my prospective boss' boss, and they didn't get along at all. In another case the interview knew and liked someone I had not great dealings with at a previous company - again, didn't get a second interview even though I was highly qualified.

Don't burn bridges. Don't resort to unprofessional behaviour. Do fight for your rights. Do remember that your reputation will last long after you would have spent that $3000.

James

This company has done this in the past with prior employee's. Downgrading them that is without written documentation.

The person that I replaced was downgraded from IT Director to Mgr. I was hired as Director. They shifted his bonus to a different level.

Now the first qtr is gone, and no profit sharing have been paid, that is what they are telling me. But I know for a fact that two people of the company have gotten their profit sharing but was told to keep it hush hush.

The company has their profit sharing set up to be shown as a bonus. so that gives them the right to pay only those they want, and not everyone.

I must reluctantly agree with the folks who say don't issue any ultimatums. For the record I understand why you'd want to and I'd be tempted to do it myself. But you may have another chance to play your $3K card on the greedy bastiges. Give your notice, smile, nod, wish everyone well.

Then phone in your performances. Don't do any heavy lifting, if you know what I mean, for the last two weeks. Answer questions when asked, but gee if you're asked to document all your experience and accumulated wisdom before you go, gee wouldn't it be funny if you never made it quite past the first paragraph...

IF and when they come asking, "Gee is there anything we can do to make things better?" That's when you could say, "Well as a matter of fact, you cut me a check and we'll talk."

Most likely you'll be escorted to the door within 15 minutes of rendering notice. If so, don't take it personally - they don't.

First, you have to understand this. Once the letter is on the desk, they have every right to say bye-bye right then and there and not pay you anything.

You say that alot of companies are doing the $3,000 plus this that and the other, but alot of companies are terminating people as soon as they hand their resignation letter in. (So they may not have just quit, but gave two weeks and the company canned them.)

If I was a Manager, I would be darned if I gave an employee two weeks to screw up my system.

But then again, you are doing the right thing, and you are also not out of reason for your request.

I'm not a lawyer, but I have heard many times that your managers and superiors cannot slander or badmouth you if you ask them for a reference when giving 2 weeks notice because there are legal implications involved if they damage your career. I hear that all they can do is verify your employment and salary, but they cannot get into details and start talking trash about you, no matter how much they disliked you as an employee or what personal grudges they still hold against you. Then again, how is one to know what was said when your new employer called your former employer for a reference? Is is acceptable to get references from coworkers instead of managers? I've always been very paranoid about getting references from my managers because they may have said some things about me that would definitely kill my chances of landing a new job elsewhere. Does anyone have any good advice to offer?

hi

it seems to me that if you have been traeted badly by the company then go ahead tell them pay me x amount or else 1 days notice.fairs fair and if you are not the only one leaving then its their problem, they need to change their attitude to enable them to keep the loyalty of future staff members

so go ahead, you are secure in that you have a new job, so good luck to you

If they've treated you poorly up to this point, what makes you think that they're going to treat you better when they know that you're leaving?

If the profit sharing is in your offer letter or contract, you are covered, if not, then you are SOL.

Now, as far as the resignation goes, turn it in, work your normal hours, if they demand you work extra time, politely decline, saying that you have other obligations (you do not have to tell them what those obligations are), and leave, returning the next day at normal time. Honestly, if you have already turned in your resignation, what are they going to do, fire you?

Keep the letter short and sweet - "effective two weeks from now I will be leaving the company, accepted an offer from another firm, blah blah", hand it in and be done with it. You may or may not get fired on the spot (unlikely) - but if you are in a high security environment, you may be given the next two weeks off at their expense. If you bring up the ultimatum, odds are you'll be shown the door forthwith.

Most hiring cycles take 2-3 months anyway - 1 day or 2 weeks, what difference does it make?

I would not ever do what you are suggesting. To me what your letter is doing is blackmail - to ask for anything other than pay for hours worked is blackmail. If you feel you were cheated out of the profit sharing my advice is to contact a lawyer and have it worked out through arbitration or court.

I'm often told don't burn your bridges as what you do will catch up with you someday. If the practices are legal and you can get your money back fine no problem, if not just let it go, dont make $3000.00 ruin your integrity.

I'm one of the oldest people here (60+). I've made most of the popular mistakes at least once and invented a few new ones that have caught on.

Do not ever let anger enter into your business dealings. Work it out in the gym or talk it out with a friend or loved one. It is a handicap and will decrease your payoff. A very wise lawyer once told me to write everything into a really thorough, articulate letter, edit it, make it perfect... and then burn it. It's saved my six quite a few times.

Be aware that in many companies, especially in their IT shops, when someone submits a resignation it's common practice to have a security officer escort them back to their desk to pack their personal effects and then out to the parking lot. Granting severance pay is becoming more common than leaving lame ducks in the office with grudges and passwords, but depending on your contract it might not be mandatory.

Give professional colleagues as references, not superiors. They probably actually know more about you than your boss does, they're under fewer contractual constraints against speaking the truth, and they have their own reputation to maintain so they're not going to exaggerate your magnificence to the point of lying. I love calling an applicant's peers for references, they often speak quite frankly about both strengths and weaknesses because they want their buddy to end up where he'll do well, and it's usually just a more pleasant and interesting conversation to puncutate my workday.

Your company has been mismanaged and going downhill for quite a while according to what you've told us. I guarantee that no one is left who gives a flying frell about what you have to say. Save your breath. Look forward, not back.

Some Chinese person must have cursed us, "May you live during interesting times." No other way to explain it. Make the best of it.

Resign. Now. Aloha time baby. (ok get your stuff out first) If you do not put a company on your reference list, all they can do is verify employnment. In future job applications, place pay dispute as your reason for leaving the company. That will explain every thing.
If they ask for 2 weeks- then state your conditions; hours and 3 grand.

Everone give you good advice and I am not going to beat the issue. However, because of the state of our company it is better to take legal recourse and advice before you act (or speak). Your actions might make it hard for you to win in civil court. You have a good case, because Judges frown on companies who cheat employees out of pa or promises. Look at today's news for examples (Enron, worldcom, AIG). Before you resign get reference letters proving our performance and abilities.

The company sounds like B*****DS but you can't threaten to withhold your work unless you get your $3000. Remember you are getting out to a better place(I hope).
Your reputation is the only item no one can take away except you. Remember you are leaving the company and maybe managers will be too. The network of people in this business is huge and you will never know when one of them knows a potential new boss.
Once you put in writing that you won't work unless you get your money, you can kiss the money goodbye. It will be used by the company to show that you were trying to blackmail the company.
Go thru legal means to get your money and more fromthe company.

...it is not an outrageous request on a personal level. Companies don't deal with people on a personal level. They deal on a corporate level. You will need to provide employment history for all sorts of things - employment, clearance, etc - sometimes as much as ten years - and they can and will call the company to verify your employment. There is no guarantee who they will talk to. That being said, in this situation, they can legally only confirm your work history (your job title, dates of employment). However - it is a very small world. The people in that company now may be the same people who take over a company you are working at five years from now. Or who you run into at a professional conference and it turns out they are best buds with your biggest client. Don't leave bad impressions. Resign professionally, give two weeks notice, and don't be surprised when they pay you your outstanding vacation and ask you to leave that day.

They will tell you know, fire you and then possibly claim something or another about the profit sharing.

Ok, I did some big time considering of what to do after reading everyone's comments.

I did give notice, however, I decide to only give them one week.

They weren't thrilled. But I was polite and professional in my resignation stating that I needed the additional week off to "cool" down and collect myself from the events of this job.

Today, Friday, was my last day. At noon, I contacted the HR to be sure everything was in order regarding my profit sharing and my earned unused vacation time.

I was at that time told that my earned unused vacation would NOT be paid. This is a benefit and the company is not required by law to pay for unused earned vacation time. It is their descretion to pay or not. They choose not to.

As for my profit sharing, I was then told that the management level is given a profit sharing that is paid out annually. At each qtr, the employee has the opportunity to "withdraw 2/3" of that out of their account. Should the employee leave during the year, they forfiet all profit sharing not paid out or still in the account.

I explained this was not in any employee manual that I received nor was it explained to me in any interview. I've signed nothing stating so.

So i left after lunch and did not return. I was also asked to come back and help with setting up the new servers and backup system when they arrive.

I've since decided, that I know how much they have paid consultants in the past to come in and do these things. So I have typed up an agreement, that says simply, if you want my services, it will be at $125.00 an hour. Paid immediatly upon work completed.

I also told them that I would not answer my cell phone for calls. If they want me to provide tech support, then I request that they purchased pre-paid block time with an agreement that when they call , I"ll return their call within 3 hours.

I figure if they don't want that, the hell with them and let them figure out everything.

I'm not wasting my time any longer on this company without being paid up front first.

You've probably already done whatever you decided to do, but for what it's worth...

Sounds like you don't owe this company any loyalty. If they want to play hardball, I suggest you do the same. Offer up the agreement, and the worst they can do is refuse and fire you. In your situation, what do you care?

Good luck! Let me know how it goes (went).