Put in my 2 weeks, then got fired

[nguyen]

So i've been working at this job for about 6 months now, and recently i have decided to go back to school to take a few night classes, which is only for 8 weeks. I told my boss that i could not work on weekends since classes take up a full day on saturday and since they required me to work on weekends, i wanted to see what options i had available for me (Leave of absence, quit/re-hire). he basically told me that i would have to hand in my 2 weeks and then come back when school was finished. I agreed and handed in my 2 weeks. I get a text message 2 days later stating: "Hi bob, this is bob2 from store"X", i am relieving you of your position here as of today oct 11. thanks for your time here"

My question: Is this legal? I formally handed in my 2 weeks and did everything i could in terms of professionalism. Stated my reason for leaving, did not want to burn any bridges because i actually did want to go back and work after my classes were done.

- Am i entitled to my 2 weeks pay?

I called the HR manager for the district, no answer...i left a message and will hope to hear from him soon.


Seeing what your guy's opinion is and how i could go about this....any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Kg810]

Leaving out the fact that you handed in your 2 weeks notice, if he decides to lay you off without any reason, I believe you are entitled to a severance package.

I would check the company handbook on how the company handles situations like this.

[Masked Bandit]

I think (but am not sure) you are entitled to your two weeks pay. With that said, do you really want to go back to work for a company that treats their people like this?

[nickyh]

I think you are SOL.

Less than 2 years you are not required to hand in two weeks, it's more of a courtesy to your employer - so they would be allowed to do the same ie: tell you now to come back.

I think the only thing they would be required to pay for would be any wages owing if hourly, plus vacation pay accrued.
They would not owe you for two weeks of work though as they were no longer in need of you.

Not 100% sure, but this is what I have seen in the past.


Edit: You should receive a week of wages, not two. Things have changed since i last looked at this:

http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/Termination-of-Employment-and-Temp-Layoff.pdf

[cet]

You are entitled to 1 week's notice or pay. See here:
http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/Termination-of-Employment-and-Temp-Layoff.pdf

Edit: ^ Just beaten to it.

[sabad66]

IMO, don't think you're entitled to the 2 weeks pay. As mentioned above, the 2 weeks notice is just a courtesy you're providing. If they don't want you for the 2 weeks and would rather start training someone else, why should an employer have to pay you? It's little tricky though since the words of the text message can be interpreted two ways:
- you're fired
- we don't need you for the 2 weeks, thanks tho

I'm no expert though, so best to talk to someone who is (their HR or Alberta Labour).

[Grogador]

Alberta has this great website that lays it all out for you:

http://employment.alberta.ca/

[nguyen]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
I think (but am not sure) you are entitled to your two weeks pay. With that said, do you really want to go back to work for a company that treats their people like this?

I was planning to go back to work for them before this happened. After this, i definately look at them differently and will not be going back there whatsoever. It's unfortunate because i wanted to use them for a reference too because i thought that i had built pretty good relationships with the managers and GM. Guess i was wrong there...

So overall, should i still bring it up for attention to the HR manager? Or should i wait my 2 weeks to get paid and if i dont, stir it up again? I still haven't heard back from HR yet and i left him a message yesterday around dinnertime.

[Kg810]

You could consider seeking some clarification. I mean if you feel you had/have a good relationship I'm sure they'll be willing to clarify what the next steps will be.

[03ozwhip]

were the night classes in relation to another job within the company? if not, i can see/understand their side as you are not coming into work when you would otherwise be scheduled and instead getting schooling to benefit yourself and not the company.:dunno: just a theory, i might be completely wrong.

[nguyen]

Originally posted by Kg810
You could consider seeking some clarification. I mean if you feel you had/have a good relationship I'm sure they'll be willing to clarify what the next steps will be.


Well the guy that "relieved" me, is a new manager in that department that just started last week or so...so i have absolutely no relationship with him. but the general manager and other managers that have been there around the same time as me i feel otherwise about

[90accord]

from previous experience you are entitled to 1 week of pay if employed less than 2 years... severance as everyone said.. i would call the labor board and explain what happened and see what your rights are then go from there. If you follow the rules of the labor board then they stand behind you and will pay you in the event the company doesnt and then they will go after the company! Been there done that on more then 1 occasion!

[nguyen]

Originally posted by 03ozwhip
were the night classes in relation to another job within the company? if not, i can see/understand their side as you are not coming into work when you would otherwise be scheduled and instead getting schooling to benefit yourself and not the company.:dunno: just a theory, i might be completely wrong.

it's schooling to further my education. Working towards getting my project management professional certificate. Nothing to do with work, but in the long run, could help them out because i am getting the education to be able to look over and delegate a group of team members.

[craigcd]

You got a text? Classy hahaha

[nguyen]

Originally posted by craigcd
You got a text? Classy hahaha

oh ya...first time i've ever seen that done. new boss out of that department. he's definately got some balls, that's for sure.

[gretz]

Originally posted by nguyen


oh ya...first time i've ever seen that done. new boss out of that department. he's definately got some balls, that's for sure.

Show up for work (you never got the text)... would make for an awkward situation with "bras-balled" boss lol

[nguyen]

Originally posted by gretz


Show up for work (you never got the text)... would make for an awkward situation with "bras-balled" boss lol

haha and then get fired twice from the job. humiliation

[lasimmon]

Not entitled to anything if you gave two weeks. Giving two weeks is essentially quitting and giving them the respect to work the two extra weeks. They do not have to allow you work those two weeks.

I quit my job a few months ago and was told not to bother with my two weeks and then looked into whether they owed me money or not and apparently they did not.

[dexlargo]

^Wrong. Giving notice doesn't mean they can terminate immediately without cause and without paying any severance. You are just setting the upper end on the payout you would receive if they decide to terminate immediately.

If you give 3 months notice, but under the labour laws (or your contract, whichever specifies a longer notice period) the period is shorter and they decide to terminate immediately, you'll just be entitle to be paid the labour law or contract amount, not the full 3 months of your notice.

That said, if you gave 2 weeks notice, but your contract or the Labour code specified a longer notice period, I think the employer would be within their rights to accept your notice (despite it being shorter than the required notice periods), terminate immediately and pay out just the two weeks.

[codetrap]

You could always just show up for work as if nothing happened. There's no proof that you actually got that txt. Then you could talk to them in person.

As for your particular case, I had a similar experience with Telus. I handed them my notification of my intent to leave in 30 days, and they chose to make it immediate. They did pay me severance, because they effectively beat me to the punch of me leaving. I only got 3 weeks severance pay from that, even though my notice was for 4 weeks.

[dexlargo]

Originally posted by codetrap
You could always just show up for work as if nothing happened. There's no proof that you actually got that txt. Then you could talk to them in person. Interesting point. In general terminations are done in writing. I suppose verbal notice could be sufficient, but by whatever method, they have to prove that you received notification (this is all in regards to a hypothetical court case - which would never actually happen). I wonder if a text could be shown to be proper notification of termination? I suspect it wouldn't be.

That said, there's nothing to stop them from making the termination good the second he walks through the door.

I would just contact Employment Standards. They're pretty good about forcing employers to meet the minimums set out in the Labour Code, but they won't help you to go even one inch further than what the Code specifies.

[nguyen]

So i got a text message from the district HR manager last night saying that he did not get my message until right after work at 5:01pm...so convenient right? Stated that he did not get my message until so late because the blackberry servers were down. Derp, he must think i'm 16 and can't comprehend life properly because BB servers only affected data. But he basically asked when was a good time to call today...told him around 12-1.

I then get a phonecall later that night from the actual store yesterday clarifying what had happened. They said i got "relieved" because another employee wanted more hours; in doing so, it was effective to let me go BUT they are paying me the 2 weeks. Does this make sense? why would you fire someone to give someone else the hours when you're still paying me? from what i understand from that store, they're all about budget and they do not want to spend money if they do not have to, especially in situations like this where you have someone willing to work their 2 weeks and then be done with everything. They said that the manager that had sent me the text message had been talked to by the sales operations manager and will soon be talked to by the general manager. Stated that he was very aggressive towards his employees and that he will be coached on about that. The sales operations manager also clarified that i was not fired, i had resigned. Even though i am done working for that place and my intentions of going back to work there are no longer existent, to humor the idea, i asked him what would happened if i decided to come back in january, is my name tainted? am i on the blacklist of not being eligible for re-hire anymore? He said "totally not, when you decide to come back just let myself know or one of the mangers, we'll take care of it"

Guess it's good to know i'm getting paid my two weeks but what a shitty way to end things. Don't understand why they wanted to burn the bridge so bad. Either way, I think they only called to clarify because i started to involve HR. I told the manager i was still going to talk to HR because what had happened was so unprofessional and does not reflect how I, or anyone else should do business. We'll see how HR approaches this situation later when i get a phonecall from him.

[gretz]

Originally posted by nguyen


haha and then get fired twice from the job. humiliation

fired? I thought you gave your notice?

...and its not humiliating to see the look on someones face after they burn a bridge and expect never to see you again...

[nguyen]

Originally posted by gretz


fired? I thought you gave your notice?

...and its not humiliating to see the look on someones face after they burn a bridge and expect never to see you again...

It was a notice but he texted me with the intent of firing me. I actually wanted to go back to the store and talk to him directly and ask him what his problem was and why he couldn't tell me face to face.

[JZS_147]

text message? How professional.

Glad you got that sorted out!

[MrSector9]

I would bet they are giving you your 2 weeks pay since the manager screwed up and they are trying to "fix it" without getting HR involved in it.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by MrSector9
I would bet they are giving you your 2 weeks pay since the manager screwed up and they are trying to "fix it" without getting HR involved in it.

Yep. New manager thought he could just get rid of you, and you wouldn't care, or say a peep about it. (lots and LOTS of shitty managers try to screw young workers over, since they usually don't know about their rights)

Now it's biting him in the ass, and they're paying you out.

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by nguyen
Does this make sense? why would you fire someone to give someone else the hours when you're still paying me? from what i understand from that store, they're all about budget and they do not want to spend money if they do not have to, especially in situations like this where you have someone willing to work their 2 weeks and then be done with everything.

It makes sense because they don't want you there. Call it whatever you want, but where I work the person is escorted home the same day the termination is given. Most employers would rather pay out the two weeks than take the risk with having a pissed off employee damage their business.

You still get your two weeks pay regardless. Consider it a vacation.

[nguyen]

well either way, this was just a weekend job. I have a career job on top of this so no harm done. I'm only here 15 hours a week if even that. They've been cutting down hours like crazy. Last week i only worked 1, 5 hour shift. I simply wanted the time off so i could have the weekends to take classes for some designations i've been looking at, didn't quit because i hated the place

[dexlargo]

My take is that they are paying out the notice period so you don't have to come into contact with the manager who handled your situation improperly. They don't want to have any further trouble before they manage to (re)train him on proper procedure.

Glad it worked out for you!

[nguyen]

Ok, so i talked to the HR guy, and he basically told me what he had heard, and wanted to see what my point of view was on the whole situation. I told him everything was so unprofessional and that it should be taken care of. The manager that fired me via text will be talked to and he "assured" me that other stores will be re-coached in terms of termination notice and procedure as well.

I feel like i did not emphasize my point enough about principle and ethics in terms of what happened. I kept reiterating "non-professional" and he kept saying "you will be paid".

He then asked me if i was good on my end of things and i said "i don't personally care about the money, all i want to emphasize is the principle and how he went about terminating me" and the guy was like: "Speaking on behalf of storeX, you are not terminated, you are labelled as resigned". And then he said if i have any questions or concerns that i could contact him again.

Did i go about this wrong? Is it too late to say anything else? I feel like they're paying me not to make this into a bigger issue than it is? or am i actually just blowing it out of proportion?

[BananaFob]

Originally posted by nguyen

Did i go about this wrong? Is it too late to say anything else? I feel like they're paying me not to make this into a bigger issue than it is? or am i actually just blowing it out of proportion?

Many companies do this when you give notice as noted above. It's not unusual and imo you're blowing it out of proportion. Agreed that it's not cool to let you go over text message though.

[Mibz]

You got an extra week of pay -and- it shows that you resigned instead of being terminated.

Dude, big picture, you came out way ahead here.

[sillysod]

There is only 1 way you wouldn't get paid and that is if you are actually Fired. Not laid off, not if you give your two weeks but fired and they have to state a reason (theft, incompetence...).

[Skyline_Addict]

sounds like it's been sorted out. take it and run with it.

[nguyen]

Ya, gotta look at the big picture. What's 1 employee to a multi-national company anyways lol. Kinda see myself as a sell-out even though it's not that way, but make due with what i got and move on.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by Weapon_R


It makes sense because they don't want you there. Call it whatever you want, but where I work the person is escorted home the same day the termination is given. Most employers would rather pay out the two weeks than take the risk with having a pissed off employee damage their business.


I think you mean escorted out of the building, not home.

"Sorry Mark we are relieving you of your position. Please pack up your belongings and I am going to drive you to your condo"


Originally posted by nguyen


oh ya...first time i've ever seen that done. new boss out of that department. he's definately got some balls, that's for sure.

Some balls? You mean no balls that he couldn't terminate you in person.

You ended up ok in this situation it sounds like.

[TeamBestBud]

Another point aside from this...most employers state right on the availability sheet that its up to the managers discretion if your availability changes that it can be grounds of termination, if they cannot accomodate you.