Pay in lieu of notice

Kymm

We have an employee who has given us a 30-day notice that he is resigning. He is going to work for a competitor and we would like to have him leave now. We are a California employer - we have had situations like this in the past, where someone has given a 2 week notice and we have let them go immediately but also paid them for that two weeks. But..this one is a 30 day notice - I do not want to pay someone 30 days of pay for not working! Any suggestions?

Don D

Yes, call him in, give him two weeks pay in accordance with your state law on pay at termination, and send him out the door.

Kymm

Just an FYI.. I found out that IF we were to cut him loose and only give him 2 weeks pay (instead of 30 days) that would legally change it from a resignation to a termination and he could be eligible for unemployment. Too much, huh?

HR in CA

Yes, this can happen. Furthermore even if you pay him for 2 weeks out of the 4, he may still be eligible to receive unemployment for all 4 weeks (minus the waiting period).

We are a technology firm and will usually let employees go if we feel there is a risk of the employee taking information with them to our competitor. However, the bad news is that the employees who would do this have already taken the information before they give notice. Seems like a no-win situation.

Don D

And the total downside is that you may actually be among the covered, chargeable employers for some time to come if he remains unemployed. But, you simply have to weigh all that crap against the interests of the business. Government at its best!

Rockie

You'd be better off just letting him go and pay him whatever you would normally require as a notice (2 weeks?). If you let him stay longer, you run the risk of him copying everything in sight for his new employer.