[Stonehenge]

I've heard this talked about a few times, but never heard of a situation where it actually happened....

If someone gives their two week notice and you prefer they leave immediately, are you obligated to pay that employee for that two week period, even though they aren't working that time?

[dan deutekom]

If they are not working and not earning wages right now I can't see why you would have to. If they are getting salary even though they are not working I could see that you might have to. Is this fellow laid off right now?

[agla]

If you pay by the hour, you can fire by the hour. In MA you have to pay the person within twenty four hours of you firing him (so I am told), if he requests it. If he quits, regular pay day is fine.

You have no obligation to anyone giving a notice. It is a courtesy to give one, and to accept one. In many cases, the person would rather move on quickly. I would ask him. It is very common to can a "short timer" because many employers believe nothing positive will happen with him there.

[Stonehenge]

There isn't anyone in particular I'm thinking of - there's only been one guy who ever gave notice during the season, and I needed him on board so I could find a replacement, so I kept him for the full 2 weeks. Everyone else either moved on in the off-season, got fired, or quit.

[diginahole]

In Ontario you would have to pay him in lieu of notice if you terminate the employment. The amount of notice required is dependent on how long the employee has worked for you. Less than 3 months, no notice required. If the employee quits I don't believe you owe him anything. If he were to give 2 weeks notice and you fire him that day I assume it would be determined that you terminated the employment.

[Dale Wiley]

This is going to vary from state to state and depending on labor laws.

I was an operations manager at a 2 million company some years ago. An employee gave notice and said he was going to work for a compititor. The owner said find a reason to cut him loose , so when the next day he wrote his time down as leaving a 3:30 and the owner saw him driving down the road at 3:15, he said fire his ass. We did.

He got a lawyer and said he would sue us for unlawful termination if we did not pay him for the 2 weeks.The owners attorney said pay him and hope he still does not sue your ass for the unlawful termination.

Points in the employees favor:

1. No previous write ups or letters for ANY infractions of any kind in 3 years.

2. Company had no clear definition of infractions or progressive disipline policy that had been follwed.

3. Termination followed by one day employee giving notice to work for a compititor.

4. Employee did not have access to any type of confidential customer information.

Points in the employers favor:

None.....

I have a complete employee handbook, progressive disipline policy, infraction definition and progressive disipline form so that I am covered on all bases. Employee signs it upon hiring and we can live and die by it.

These deals are going to to vary from state to state, but in Oregon if you try to get the state labor board to help you, forget it for the employee, the state agencies are slanted to the employer. But if the employee pursues it in court civily, get your check book out, the judge or jury will hang the employer.

I would reccomend consulting a LABOR LAW attorney in your state before assuming anything, other wise your rolling the dice.

[jwholden]

A friend works at a company where the info is sensitive and the moment you are canned you are escorted to your desk with a security guard to collect your things, in front of your peers. This is very demeaning to me.

They had some wholesale cutbacks with the down economy and had to bring in extra securtity people to escort former employees out of the building. Could you imagine going to work and sitting at your desk waiting to get called to the firing line so you can get escorted to your desk to clean out your belongings.

There will always be employees coming and going, why the heck was a guy giving two weeks notice looked upon as a bad thing. I'd be happy to recieve it! (If the employee was valued I would also mention that he is welcome to give me a call if things don't work out).

I am self employed because I don't want these jokers in the front office running my life. I am responsible for what happens, good or bad. This is what my reasoning has been from the start, not the big money, setting my own hours, molding people into mini - me's, early retirement, etc.

Why don't we make work a place we want to come to and get rewarded for our efforts not scolded for every bad thing we do. I am recovering from a bug and there is no way I would have been working the past two days in season - I would have paid my guys for the time or sent them to something they could handle. They know that if they really need time off they can take it, people get sick, die, family crisis, whatever. Just because something isn't a crisis to me doesn't mean it isn't to them.

Yes, I still wear my rosy glasses and have been bit in the butt numerous times by going too far. However, when you find the right person to fill a position and know they will come tommorow and give the same perfrmance as today, no more, no less it makes the day go by that much better.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now.

[jwholden]

If you prefer they leave immediately why haven't you asked them to?

[Stonehenge]

I have no particular situation in mind, JW. Just have heard varying stories over time and wanted to bounce it off others here. If the employee was already close to termination, I might still let him work out his final two weeks, if for no other reason than to prevent an unemployment claim against my account.

But in today's environment, most don't have the courtesy to give notice. They just stop showing up. And sometimes that's fine, too.

[Will Pacala]

Not much in landscaping but...... Some people will try to be hired just to get into the country. Once the company has done all of the work they will stay with that company for two or three weeks and then just leave. Now they have an instant green card into America due to the company. The company will work to get the person in so he or she can work for them and then BAM they leave. No notice or anything. They just dissappear. Not much relation to landscape work though. Just usually larger companies are victims to this.

[Stonehenge]

Let's try to sterr this one back on topic...