give 2 week notice vs waiting to be fired

[pixxi]

My husband's company really sucks. He's been looking for another job for about month and has several interviews. His company knows about this and was looking for any excuse to fire him so they could get someone else. His license is what keeps the company going until they get someone else with a licence in. He made a very small mistake and they send him home on leave and will let him know what the outcome is. Well it's been over a week and he wasn't heard anything. He called his boss a few time but she didn't have any info to give him. Today a co-worker said he saw his job posted in the paper. So, what does he do now. Does he give is 2 week, they will then say just be done and not let him work the 2 weeks. OR Does he say employed there for job application purposes. I know getting fired looks worse but would it be bad to quit before you have something else lined up. The last place he interviewed for wanted his last job evaluation review and 2 reference letters from co-workers.

He's been without pay this whole time and we live pay check to pay check basically with 4 kids. It's stressful!

 

[Eliza32]

If he's suspended on no pay, then I guess the comapny have already made their statement......I'd be out there looking for something else every waking hour. If he only made a small mistake and this is their reaction, then he needs to look elsewhere anyway. Clearly if he is at home on no pay, his licence is not the only thing keeping that company going.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I'm not sure of the laws in your state but have you looked into the possibility of collecting unemployment while he is on leave without pay? I am sure the "small mistake" will play a factor into eligibility depending on what that small mistake was. If I were him I would continue to look for a new job and contact the unemployment office to discuss my options while waiting for the company to make an official decision

 

[NYCDiane]

Sounds like his current employer is playing games --- they know if they fire him, he can collect unemployement and they don't want that ding against them. They also want to keep his license in their files so they can stay in business ---- that part, I don't get.

If he's suspended without pay, they're playing him. He should show up for work Monday morning and see what they say. Maybe he'll get lucky and they'll fire him and he can collect u/e.

As far as potential employers asking for job evals? I don't think they're permitted to do that. As far as I know, they're only permitted to get the dates of employment (labor law). As for asking for 2 co-worker references? How would they know these people are co-workers??? Anyone can write those letters!

What kind of work does he do?

 

[disneychrista]

Do not quit! File for unemployment. By not scheduling him to work they are in effect terminating employment, so he should be eligible, depending on how small this "small mistake" is.

 

[happygirl]

If they aren't paying him. He's been let go. You can try to unemployment. Good luck to you all

 

[mrsklamc]

My mom is dealing with something similar. They told her she was terminated but unemployment won't pay her because when they call her employer they tell the unemployment office she's on leave. It sucks.

 

[Miksma]

I would be concerned about your husband's license being on-the-line for a company's actions when he is not there to render the professional services requiring the license to begin with. The license, I presume, is in the field that is his livelihood. You wouldn't want this company to be jeopardizing it.

Call an employment lawyer. A friend of mine is a great one, but not in your state. Your local bar association should be able to provide referrals.

 

[lizerbug]

Tell him not to quit or he will not be eligible for unemployment benefits. What he should do is schedule an appointment with the HR department of the company that he works for to get an official status of his employment. They have to follow the law. If they do not cooperate, make an appointment with an attorney. Or you could see the attorney first and be armed with the fact that he has consulted one when he talks to HR. All he needs to know is his employment status so that he knows whether to file for benefits. In the meantime, tell him not to stop looking for other employment. It is his legal right to do so. Good luck!

 

[ArmyWife7]

I'm a HR Manager for a large cooperation in the hospitality industry. At my company, managers are not allowed to fire employees - only HR. So the managers place the employee on an unpaid suspension while HR investigates. My investigation may last one day or it may last a week depending on how much is involved (reviewing surveillance coverage, interviewing witnesses, researching previous incidents of a smiliar nature, etc.). It also depends on how many investigations I am working that particular week. I might have a slow week where I only have one employee on suspension or I might have several cases with many employees on suspension. I would suggest contacting the HR department and asking about a meeting. My advice is not to tell HR that you have a lawyer. As soon as an employee (or former employee) tells me they have obtained a lawyer, I tell that employee I can no longer speak directly to him/her and all future communications must go through our lawyers.

 

[CatNipRules]

I would definitely tell him to show up on Monday and see what they say. If they tell him to go home that he is still suspended, then I would definitely contact a lawyer. There are laws against what the company is doing.

As others have said, don't quit. Because then he can't collect unemployment.

 

[mjplantz]

As others have said... do not quit. Once you do that you pretty much release the company of any obligation they may have had. I agree with others you need to contact the HR department directly and get a status update. Do not go through the supervisor. Additionally, I would read through any company policies or handbooks in regards to employee discipline etc. They may provide you some information to determine timelines. Not knowing your states employment law its hard to go into much more detail until you get guidance from the HR department.

 

[littleelf]

I would agree with the advice not to quit. My husband was given the choice to resign or be fired once years ago, and he chose to resign since he was new to his field and didn't want a firing on his record, but looking back I think he would've been better off getting fired. We went three months with no income as I was home with a baby, and then after 3 months I found a job. He started freelancing but it took a couple years for that to get up to the income he'd had, and we could've used the unemployment. If you can afford to live without his income for a number of months, quitting is an option, but make sure you can afford to do that while he is looking for another job.

 

[NYCDiane]

Another thing I would be concerned about.... they may try to claim he abandoned the job. If he goes tomorrow and they say he still can't work, he HAS TO get it in writing! If they refuse, then I would go from there to an attorneys office.

 

[Sagginit]

get fired. that way you qualify for unemployment. some companies bank on employees not know their unemployment rights. you may get a penalty but if you are not working i have rarely heard of anyone being denied unemployment for being fired, sometimes you take a penalty and get a short period you can not collect. also note what the policies are. if they say he violated a policy, did he know it? do they have it on file that this was explained to him and documented? i know people in HR and in our state if an employee disputes the unemployment refusal or claim of being fired it is the company's burden to prove the employee knowingly violated policies.

 

[ArmyWife7]

It depends on many different factors. I have won almost all of my unemployment hearings where I have terminated the employee. The few that I have lost were due to medical situations where the employee could no longer do the job. However, I never fire an employee unless I'm sure I have all the proper documentation.

In MS, there is no law stating the max time an employee can remain on suspension. However, I try to complete my investigations in a timely manner because I know the employee needs to know one way or the other.

 

[LovesTimone]

Do not quit !!!! - He needs to keep a log of when he has called and who he talked to, time and date... Has he called the HR director??

I would seek legal council right away.!!!

They are using him for his license, make sure that he calls whoever the liscence is issued through, and can he be held responsible for anything that they might do? That could cause him to lose his license for the furture.

You can draw unemployment if you state that you left due to a hostile work eniviroment. If he does quit, make sure when he wrights his resignation that he is leaving due to hostile work eniviroment, and that he has tried to call and trying to come back to work, but is not getting any where. Also that they are holding him hostage by not giving him any information and this is causing a hardship on him and his family. Make sure to include that he has not abandoned his job!! Get a copy of the paper or if his job is lisited internal see if you can access it. or possibly maybe someone would be willing to help him get a copy, he does have a right to it as he is not been terminated and is still and employee. include information about them using his license and not being paid.


Does he have anything in writing? most companies have dates, 3 days, 7 days, and it should state with or without pay. If it does not state without pay, he should be getting paid.

I have been through this, and it sucks, I worked for a large medical group, and one day I came into work and they said that I would no longer be a supervisor, ( with that said I had never been written up or counsel and had just gotten a merit increase and a great yearly evaulation) that a nurse would be doing the supervising of my department ( an non nursing dept) but that I would be still continue to do the same work and all the same job functions, (I too held the license). and on top of it they moved me to a hourly job class, which was great for me as I worked aobut 50 hours a week, once they realized what kinda time it took to do my job, then they wanted me to stop working all overtime, I said okay no problem, but who is going to do all this work, and the Administrator said that the supervisor would, Okay by me!!! It wasn't a week and thing were not getting done, programs were not happening and then they wanted to change me back to salary , I said No, I am not the supervisor, I want to stay hourly, I was making the same money as when I was salary, so good for me, same money less hours.. No way.. I will stay hourly. The whole time all this was going on I was looking for a job. Once I found one and resigned, effective right then, Boy Oh Boy did that start a S@@T storm, I had people from the The main office's calling me, and HR directors. AS when I left I had called my licensing office and the state to tell them that I know longer worked there as I am required by law to do so. They offered me more money and said they would give me my title back and were then kissing my butt trying to get me to stay. Then when they found out that I a turn in my license change, this then casued another round of calls, in one of the call the HR manager told me that the only reason that they moved her is that they wanted someone else for her job, and thought that I would be okay with the change and for me to come on back to work, with a nice fat raise and more vacation andmore benfits. I laughed and said Thanks but NO Thanks...

I wish you and your family well, When God close one door he always opens a window. Sending Prayers and Pixie dust your way.

 

[clutter]

The company is trying to have their cake and eat it too.

They NEED his license, they don't need him to actually do any work, and so they don't want to pay him. By keeping him on in theory, they are keeping licensed until they can find his replacement without paying him. I do hope one of the other jobs comes thru for him quickly! Has he checked with his licensing agency? Can the company keep using his license if he is personally suspended? It's worth a look.

I don't know the industry, but if they have his job advertised, it will probably take them maybe 4-6 weeks to replace him. So unless you can find a way to force the company's hand, that's what you are looking at. The best way to force their hand is through the license or through your state's employment laws. Is there a limit of time that he can be 'suspended' before he is legally considered terminated? (If he is in a larger company, check the employee manual!) Other than that, if he's brave, I would recommend going into the office and sending an email (satisfies any 'in writing' requirements) to the powers that be saying "I'm here and I expect to be paid going forward." But it would be best to do this knowing the licensing requirements. Then if they tell him he's suspended, he can say "then I will call the licensing agency and suspend my license" or "I will call the licensing agency and report that you are operating without a license."

 

[mrsklamc]

It depends on many different factors. I have won almost all of my unemployment hearings where I have terminated the employee. The few that I have lost were due to medical situations where the employee could no longer do the job.

This is very interesting to me, because this is what happened to my mother. She had a workman's comp claim and they 'terminated' her because even though they had a full work load for her between being a cashier and working in the office, (she worked in the office prior to the injury as well) they said they couldn't keep her on because other cashiers could sue that she wasn't required to do heavy lifting like they were.

 

[dzneelvr]

Don't quit! until he has another job offer firmly signed and in place, he should continue on as an employee of his current company. If there is a way to get some advice from a labor attorney, I'd ask what is going on with his current "no work" situation. There may be an implied contract if his compensation is listed as a per week or per month figure. It is hard to understand how the business can use his license to conduct business, receive compensation from clients, etc. but not pay him for it's use. Bears some checking into with an expert....