When it comes to most professions, the general rule of thumb is to give your employer two weeks’ notice before departing. In this story after their two weeks’ notice was refused, this employee researched if their manager could legally demand them to work longer hours. You can read the employee’s complete explanation below, and then let us know how you feel about the matter in the comments.
Source: Reddit
Note: I’m in Canada and we don’t have “at will”
I accepted a job offer and put in my 2 weeks notice. Except the holidays are coming up so technically it’s not fully 10 business days but 14 calendar days. My boss was pissed that I “tried to pull a fast one on her” for that but I just wanted to leave ASAP. It would end up being 3-4 weeks notice if I delayed it and I desperately want out.
My boss denied my 2 weeks notice saying it wasn’t even 10 business days and I can be pursued legally for breach of contract by not providing enough notice. She went on to say even a full 2 weeks isn’t enough and I should be providing 4 weeks or better yet 8 weeks like my coworker. I insisted on 2 weeks since my contract said to provide 2 weeks minimum and I also have a start date.
My boss told me to push back my start date because 2 weeks isn’t enough to train someone and the team cannot function without me. I told her I couldn’t push back by start date but my boss stated I could be pursued legally for breach of contract. Not to mention given the holidays and my short notice, they won’t be able to find a replacement in time.
My boss tried to guilt trip me by saying that no one else can fulfill my role. She accused me of deliberately trying to sabotage them because I’m leaving right before the month gets busy again. She then told me that I would have to work holidays, weekends, and overtime which are not regular business days to make up for it since we are understaffed. I said I couldn’t do that but she said I had no choice and ended it there.
I can tell she will make the next ~2 weeks a living hell for me.
What can I do? (I don’t want to burn any bridges with the company)
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
