It must be the rainy season but I’ve noticed a surprisingly uptick of people resigning from their jobs despite the pandemic. Chances are, people most likely resign because they’ve already received their 13th month pay and annual bonuses. Sometimes, it’s just to try something new.

Even I had some loyal employees resign despite my best efforts. Both resigned to rest in the province, and while it hurts to see them go, so I can totally understand why good employees resign and the legal implications when this happens. So let’s start with our discussion for today, the Top 17 Questions About Resignation Answered:

1. I Have Worked for my Company for 30 Years, But I Want to Take a Break and Resign. Should My Employer Pay Me Separation Pay?

2. Do I Need to Indicate a Good Reason for My Resignation in my Letter?

3.  If I Want to Resign, Can I Resign Immediately? Or Do I Really Need to Render Any Notice?

4.  I Had Been Asked to Render more than 30 Days Notice. My Contract Says 60 Days. Is this Legal?

5.  But I was told by my friends that I can just submit my resignation letter and not report to work. Anyway, my employer cannot force me to work. Now my company has charged me with AWOL. Is this legal?

6. I Only Worked for a Week and I Got a Better Offer. I Want to Resign. My HR said I needed to Render 30 Days Notice. But I Worked for Only 7 Days! I am Rank and File and there’s NOTHING to Turn Over. Is this Legal?

7.  I Tendered My Resignation for a 30-Day Notice, and My Company Exited Me Immediately. Is this Legal?

8. My Employer Says He Does Not Want Me to Resign. He Said There’s Nobody to Take Over my Job. Can He Stop Me From Resigning?

9. My Employer Says He Does Not Approve My Resignation. Is This Legal?

10. I Resigned Properly but in the midst of my Notice Period, I Changed my Mind. What are my Rights to get my Job Back?

11. I resigned after 10 years and was cleared properly. Now, my new job offer fell apart so I want to go back to my old job. My boss says he will take me but he gave me a probationary contract. Is this legal? Sayang naman pinasukan ko?

12. But I was forced to resign! They talked to me about my failing performance and I was so pressured that I resigned. Can I get my employer for constructive dismissal despite my resignation letter?

13. I was Undergoing my Notice Period after Resigning when I was put on Preventive Suspension or Given an NTE for an Offense I did. Is this Legal?

14. I Got Sick for 10 Days while Undergoing my Notice Period. When I returned, the HR said I Needed to Extend my Notice Period by 10 Days More. Is this Legal?

15. The Employee Said He Will Resign and He Did Not Report to Work Anymore. Is that Valid?

16.  The Employee Went AWOL and Did Not Report to Work Anymore. A Few Weeks Later, He Came Back and Asked for His Pay. Do We Have to Pay? What Can We Do?

17. My Employer is Withholding my Certificate of Employment (COE) Because I Did Not Resign Properly. Can He Do That?

Let’s start….

Top 17 Questions About Resignations Answered

1. I Have Worked for my Company for 30 Years, But I Want to Take a Break and Resign. Should My Employer Pay Me Separation Pay?

Unless your boss is super nice, you get ZERO separation pay if the resignation was voluntary. Remember, an employee is NOT entitled to separation pay when he/she resigns voluntarily unless it is a company practice, or provided in the CBA (Hanford Philippines Inc. vs. Shirley Joseph, 454 SCRA 786, March 31, 2005).

Even if you worked for 25 years, if you resign, your employer is NOT obliged to give you any separation pay UNLESS there was a prior agreement that they would give you one.

“Thus, the elementary rule is that an employee who voluntarily resigns from employment is not entitled to separation pay, except when it is stipulated in the employment contract or Collective Bargaining Agreement or based on established employer practice in the company.”

This is the law — No separation pay if you signed voluntarily.

Why?

Because it is not the employer’s fault if an employee wants to leave his work because of (Insert reasons here). So why should they pay you any separation pay?

The most you will get is your Final Pay which is composed of the last unpaid salary, pro-rata 13th month pay, leave credits if applicable, and tax refund if applicable. The entire list can be found here.Hence, you will get what is due you. Yun lang, walang separation pay.

HR Talk: How Much Separation Pay Do I Get in the Philippines?

See more

2. Do I Need to Indicate a Good Reason for My Resignation in my Letter?

First, resigning and leaving a job are an employee’s RIGHT.

Work is NOT slavery, and hence, if you wanna go, there’s really little that an employer can do to keep you with them. Hence, you DO NOT need to give a good reason to resign.

Actually, you can draft your resignation as such:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for the opportunity for me to work in (Insert Company Name Here). It has been a joy for me to work with you over the last (Indicate Tenure Here) months/years.

However, I would like to tender my irrevocable resignation today, (Insert Date Here). But please do not worry; I will be rendering my 30-day notice from  (Insert Date Here) to (Date 30 days later) so as to ensure that there is successful task and documents turnover and to give you time to hire a replacement for me, of whom I am happy to train if they come in within my 30-day notice. My last day is on (Date 30 Days Later).

Thank you so much for your support and guidance. I really learned a lot during my time here.

Warm regards,

(Your Complete Name & Signature)

As you’ve read above, the Resignation Letter DO NOT need a good reason to be valid. The letter I wrote above does not even state a reason for leaving.

Resignation is the voluntary act of an employee who “finds himself in a situation where he believes that personal reasons cannot be sacrificed in favor of the exigency of the service, then he has no other choice but to disassociate himself from his employment.”

Technically, you do not need to divulge the personal reasons if it inconveniences you.

So you can resign because you want to take a rest, take care of your kids, go overseas, take a sabbatical, etc. You can even resign just because you feel like it. All reasons are valid. Rule of thumb is, if you’re leaving because you can’t stand your boss or your company, there’s little point to indicate that anymore.

As your mommy say, “If you can’t say anything nice, just don’t say anything at all.”

So if you’re leaving because your workplace drives you nuts, then give that resignation letter and undergo proper clearance. Nobody naman is forcing you to stay.

3.  If I Want to Resign, Can I Resign Immediately? Or Do I Really Need to Render Any Notice?

We refer back to the Labor Code’s Article 285 (Now 300). Termination by Employee.

An employee may terminate without just cause the employee-employer relationship by serving a written notice on the employer at least one (1) month in advance. The employer upon whom no such notice was served may hold the employee liable for damages.

Article 285 states it clearly — Employees can successfully resign from their employer SO LONG AS they give AT LEAST 1 MONTH (Or 30 DAYS) NOTICE.  Without the 30 days notice, an employer can chase an employee for damages. Such damages include cost of business disruptions, cost for finding an emergency replacement, cost for training a brand new employee very quickly, etc. 

Quick Tip: It is better if the employer states a reasonable amount of monetary damages (e.g., Php 20,000.00) onto the contract so that everything is clear. 

4.  I Had Been Asked to Render more than 30 Days Notice. My Contract Says 60 Days. Is this Legal?

Yes — the Labor Code only said AT LEAST one month, or 30 days notice. Hence, if your employment contract stated that you needed to render 60 days notice for a successful departure AND YOU SIGNED THE CONTRACT, then the 60-day notice stands.

In the absence of a contract though — for example, your company does not have a policy at all on how many days notice an employee needs to give — then, the 30 day notice stands.

And no, the company CANNOT insist you render for over 30 days notice if there is ZERO written agreement between the two of you.

In the absence of any written agreement, your company CANNOT hold your resignation over 30 days notice just because they could not find a replacement. Because honestly, it is not your job to find a replacement. It’s THEIRS. Hence, their negligence in not finding a replacement for you is NOT your problem anymore.

5.  But I was told by my friends that I can just submit my resignation letter and not report to work. Anyway, my employer cannot force me to work. Now my company has charged me with AWOL. Is this legal?

Let us go back to English basics — Giving your resignation notice is DIFFERENT from management AGREEING to waive your 30-day notice period. Hence, even if you have expressed your intention to resign, management still has the absolute prerogative to ask you to finish the 30-day notice period for a successful resignation. 

There are only a handful of reasons when resignation can be immediate. In the same Article 285. (Now Art. 300) Termination by Employee:

An employee may put an end to the relationship without serving any notice on the employer for any of the following just causes:

1. 1. Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee;
   2. Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative;
   3. Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and
   4. Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.

So no, the following reasons DO NOT fall under the reasons that make immediate reasons possible:

• Employee finding a new work
• Employee cannot find a caregiver for his/her kids/parents
• Employee has to go back to the province because his/her parents said so
• Employee got pregnant and pregnancy is sensitive
• Employee just gave birth and she does not want to leave the baby elsewhere
• Employee is afraid to report to work due to COVID-19 or any other pandemic
• Employee does not feel like going to work anymore
• Employee not liking her colleagues or boss
•  Employee feeling stressed on her workload and want to take a break
• Employee self-diagnosing mental health issues. If you have mental health issues, please ask a licensed psychiatrist to see you and give you a certificate. You are NOT a doctor. Make sure if you’re going on a mental health route, you have a doctor’s certificate.
• All other reasons similar to the above

Be fair — Maayos kang pinasok and pinasahod, maayos ka din dapat umalis. The world is small and everyone talks.

If you do not resign properly or leave your company immediately for reasons cited above, you will forever bring this record with you onto your next jobs, which might hinder your ability to find work.

No company wants a staff who is unprofessional. The professional way is to resign properly, and render 30 days notice unless management agrees to shorten the 30 days.

Do not shoot yourself in the foot.

Even if you don’t feel like working anymore, render your resignation properly. Trust me, this is something you’ll never regret and shows how professional you are.

6. I Only Worked for a Week and I Got a Better Offer. I Want to Resign. My HR said I needed to Render 30 Days Notice. But I Worked for Only 7 Days! I am Rank and File and there’s NOTHING to Turn Over. Is this Legal?

Yup, it’s legal.

The 30 day notice period is required for turnover of documents and duties. But more importantly, the 30-day notice period is for the benefit of the EMPLOYER to ensure that there is no business disruption upon your departure.

While it is employee’s prerogative to resign at any time for any reason — the employer by the way cannot stop an employee from resigning — the employer is also assured that the company have the time to find a replacement when you leave.

In Hechanova vs. Matorre (G.R. No. 198261, October 16, 2013), the judge writes:

The 30-day notice requirement for an employee’s resignation is actually for the benefit of the employer who has the discretion to waive such period. Its purpose is to afford the employer enough time to hire another employee if needed and to see to it that there is proper turn-over of the tasks which the resigning employee may be handling. As one author⁴² puts it,

x x x The rule requiring an employee to stay or complete the 30-day period prior to the effectivity of his resignation becomes discretionary on the part of management as an employee who intends to resign may be allowed a shorter period before his resignation becomes effective. (Emphasis supplied.)

So the 30-day notice requirement is NOT for the employee’s benefit but the employer’s benefit. So even if you only worked for 7 days, you still have to render the entire 30 days notice if requested by HR.

Again, let us revisit the few reasons when a person can immediately resign. And this is listed by the same Article 285 as follows:

1. Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee;
2. Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the employee by the employer or his representative;
3. Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or his representative against the person of the employee or any of the immediate members of his family; and
4. Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.

Outside the reasons stated above, then no, standard is, you cannot immediately resign. Also note that if you want to immediately resign, you need evidence that the employer truly hurt your honor and person, or you have suffered unbearable treatment.

Just saying, “I hate my employer because I feel hurt when he corrects me,” is NOT the same as “Serious insult by the employer or his representative on the honor and person of the employee.”  But if you use this reason, you’d better ensure that you can defend it to DOLE, otherwise, they will allow the employer to charge you for damages if you resigned immediately.

7.  I Tendered My Resignation for a 30-Day Notice, and My Company Exited Me Immediately. Is this Legal?

Yup, it’s legal.

While the Labor Code indicate that a staff MUST render a month’s written notice before exiting a company’s employ, the company does have the right — and management prerogative — to shorten the said 30 day notice, and exit you even immediately after you have submitted your resignation letter.

Legal Basis:  Paredes vs. Feed the Children Philippines, Inc. (G.R. No. 184397, September 9, 2015) — the Supreme Court decided that management has the discretion to shorten the 30-day notice period as written:

“Thus, the act of respondents moving the effectivity date of petitioner’s resignation to a date earlier than what she had stated cannot be deemed malicious. This cannot be viewed as an act of harassment but merely the exercise of respondent’s management prerogative. We cannot expect employers to maintain in their employ employees who intend to resign, just so the latter can have continuous work as they look for a new source of income.”

8. My Employer Says He Does Not Want Me to Resign. He Said There’s Nobody to Take Over my Job. Can He Stop Me From Resigning?

Absolutely NOT.

A company/boss cannot stop an employee from resigning.

Again, resignation is the VOLUNTARY act of an employee who “finds himself in a situation where he believes that personal reasons cannot be sacrificed in favor of the exigency of the service, then he has no other choice but to disassociate himself from his employment.” The employer has ZERO control if his employees want to resign.

The only thing an employer has control over is to insist on the 30-day notice, which he can lessen, to ensure that there are no work disruptions as a consequence of the resignation.

That’s why, if your boss stops you from leaving, holding your COE or final pay hostage, even after you have successfully tendered your 30-day notice period (or more depending on your contract), THEN you can ask help from the Department of Labor and Employment for its release. Under the guidelines, a requesting party may access the SEnA form at https://sena.dole.gov.ph.

Remember, when an employee resigns, the clock has started.

While it is the job of the employee to turnover his/her duties, documents and company-owned equipment, AND train the replacement, it is NOT THEIR JOB to find a replacement. Recruitment is still the job of management. Hence, if you cannot find a replacement in time, and the job is vacant, the company/boss can ask the employee to stay for a few more days/weeks, BUT THIS CANNOT BE FORCED.

If the employee says SURE, then great!

But if the employee starts in his/her new job or flies out, the Employer has ZERO right to ask the employee to stay IF the employee has successfully and cleanly finished his notice period, which is standard 30 days.

9. My Employer Says He Does Not Approve My Resignation. Is This Legal?

Patawa talaga ang employer mo (Translation: Your employer is funny).

Employee resignation is is Employee’s right. Hence, the resignation does not need to be approved or formally acknowledged for it to be valid. If your employer does not want to receive it, you can print three copies of your resignation letter and have:

• Human Resource Staff or the security guard receive it — Have him sign on your copy
• Email it to your line manager, HR Manager, and the President if needed
• Send it to the company address via LBC and registered mail with reply via post office

Once you have sent your resignation letter, the clock starts already. If your boss don’t take action or ignore it, that’s not your problem anymore. Basta, respect the 30-day notice and properly report within the notice period. Do a proper turnover to the best of your abilities. Hand them over one by one to your colleague and have your colleague sign the receipt.

If everything is documented, your boss/company cannot stop you from resigning. And if they do, they are wrong in doing so. Hence, they need to process your resignation if you don’t want to work anymore from the 31st day, and release your final pay within 30 days from your last day. 

So to employers, don’t be too much of a jerk when people resign.

Remember, you exit your people with grace and don’t stop them from leaving. As the saying goes, “Love is like a bird. Hold it too tight and you will kill it. But if you let them go and they truly come back, then they are truly yours.”

What do you do when good people resign?

See more

LET THEM GO.

10. I Resigned Properly but in the midst of my Notice Period, I Changed my Mind. What are my Rights to get my Job Back?

Once you resigned AND your resignation was accepted by your employer, you have lost the rights to your job tenure. The resignation is deemed final UNLESS your employer agrees to accept your notice to withdraw your resignation. Otherwise, the exit process is to be followed and you cannot ask for your job back even if you want it back. This is evidenced by the judgment in Intertrod Maritime, Inc. vs. NLRC (G.R. No. 81087, June 19, 1991):

Resignations, once accepted and being the sole act of the employee, may not be withdrawn without the consent of the employer. In the instant case, the Master had already accepted the resignation and, although the private respondent was being required to serve the thirty (30) days notice provided in the contract, his resignation was already approved. Private respondent cannot claim that his resignation ceased to be effective because he was not immediately discharged in Port Pylos, Greece, for he could no longer unilaterally withdraw such resignation. When he later signified his intention of continuing his work, it was already up to the petitioners to accept his withdrawal of his resignation. The mere fact that they did not accept such withdrawal did not constitute illegal dismissal for acceptance of the withdrawal of the resignation was their (petitioners’) sole prerogative.

Once an employee resigns and his resignation is accepted, he no longer has any right to the job. If the employee later changes his mind, he must ask for approval of the withdrawal of his resignation from his employer, as if he were re-applying for the job. It will then be up to the employer to determine whether or not his service would be continued. If the employer accepts said withdrawal, the employee retains his job. If the employer does not, as in this case, the employee cannot claim illegal dismissal for the employer has the right to determine who his employees will be. To say that an employee who has resigned is illegally dismissed, is to encroach upon the right of employers to hire persons who will be of service to them.

So always think very carefully before you resign.

11. I resigned after 10 years and was cleared properly. Now, my new job offer fell apart so I want to go back to my old job. My boss says he will take me but he gave me a probationary contract. Is this legal? Sayang naman pinasukan ko?

Again, think very carefully before you resign.

If you voluntarily and with sound mind resigned, you no longer have the right to the job. If you later change your mind, you have to re-apply with your company. This means that your employment start back to zero, unless your company agrees to still give you the benefits you enjoyed as a longer tenured employee.

Even if you left for a few weeks and returned, if you resigned, you risk:

• Having your salary and benefits changed. The new offer might be lower than before.
• Being returned as a probationary employee especially if you’re given a new job description
• Being given a new job description
• Being transferred to another location
• Having your Service Incentive Leave (SIL) count back to zero. Hence, you have to work for a complete year again before enjoying that 5-days of leave.
• HMO or any other benefits your company might have given a longer tenured employee

So please, before you resign, think. Because resignations are deemed final.

12. But I was forced to resign! They talked to me about my failing performance and I was so pressured that I resigned. Can I get my employer for constructive dismissal despite my resignation letter?

If you want to fight this battle, you’d better have enough evidence to prove that you were FORCED to resign. Because typically, the courts will assume that you are of sound mind and body before you submitted that resignation letter unless proven otherwise, especially if you are a college graduate, working for above minimum rates, and/or hold a higher-level position.

If you resigned, you need to prove that your resignation was not voluntary, but was actually a case of constructive dismissal, with clear, positive, and convincing evidence. This is clearly cited in Hechanova vs. Matorre (G.R. No. 198261, October 16, 2013).

To reiterate, in line with settled jurisprudence,⁴³ since Atty. Matorre admittedly resigned, it was incumbent upon her to prove that her resignation was not voluntary, but was actually a case of constructive dismissal, with clear, positive, and convincing evidence.

In short, resignation is presumed VOLUNTARY unless you do the following:

a) You signed a blank document or a document that was written in a language you do not understand, which turned out to be the resignation letter the company presented

b) There was an employment of FITS, or other similar means:

          F:  Force
          I:  Intimidation 
          T:  Threat
          S: Stealth

There is a big difference with employers creating an environment of force, intimidation and threat vs. you in a fit of heightened emotion, tendered your voluntary resignation because you don’t want to work there anymore.

Please note that if you are allowed to immediately resign due to the above-mentioned reasons, it just means your 30-day notice is waived. It does not mean you should be paid separation pay because you resigned.

Don’t be the boy who cried wolf.

Make sure if you said you were threatened, the threat is true. Because your employer can easily prove that the resignation was not co-erced especially if you willingly and voluntarily handed him your resignation letter without any prompting on a work day.

13. I was Undergoing my Notice Period after Resigning when I was put on Preventive Suspension or Given an NTE for an Offense I did. Is this Legal?

Yup, this is legal.

Even while undergoing the notice period, the employee must still follow the same rules and regulations just like everyone else. Hence, if there’s an offense that was made, the employee must still answer to the due process done by the company, which includes Preventive Suspension or NTE.

Please note that if the time spent on Preventive Suspension — meaning the staff is not reporting to work — is NOT included in the count of the 30-day notice period.

14. I Got Sick for 10 Days while Undergoing my Notice Period. When I returned, the HR said I Needed to Extend my Notice Period by 10 Days More. Is this Legal?

Yes, this is legal and correct.

Please note that you have to SERVE the 30-day notice (unless shortened by management), which means you actually have to physically do the work and turnover. If you are absent due to sickness, vacation, etc., then you are not rendering your notice. Hence, this will not be counted towards the 30-day notice period (unless shortened by management).

The rule is the same even when you are using your Vacation Leaves, Sick Leaves or whatever leave you still have.

Again, ONLY MANAGEMENT have the prerogative to shorten the Notice Period. Vacation leaves or company issued leaves follow company policy.

If company deems that the Vacation leave is not counted in the notice period, you would have to respect that, especially since Vacation Leave follows the rule of the company, and is NOT MANDATED by law. So if you use up 20 days for vacation while undergoing your notice period, you may do so, but please do not frown, sulk or look surprised if HR asks you to render 20 additional days for a successful clearance.

15. The Employee Said He Will Resign and He Did Not Report to Work Anymore. Is that Valid? 

Again, we go back to Article 285. Termination by Employee.

An employee may terminate without just cause the employee-employer relationship by serving a WRITTEN NOTICE on the employer at least one (1) month in advance. The employer upon whom no such notice was served may hold the employee liable for damages.

So to answer the question, without a WRITTEN NOTICE, the resignation is invalid. Given that a resignation is merely loosely said, you have to ensure that the employee submits a resignation letter. Do not assume a person has resigned if it’s mentioned on a call or text message or PM, Para walang sabit, you need a resignation letter talaga.

And without a submission of a resignation letter, the person is still employed at the company, and you as the HR SHOULD still ask the person to continue to report to work following due process.

Do not be lazy and not do anything after the person stops reporting to work. Always follow due process when a person stops reporting. If the absence is not without approval, this is called an Absence Without Leave (AWOL), which is a terminable offense following due process.

If you are confused on how to ask the person to continue to report to work, click HERE — Follow it up with a Return to Work Order (RTWO), an Incident Report with Notice to Explain, before issuing a Notice of Decision. If you want to be extra careful, make sure you schedule an Admin Hearing to ensure that the employee was given a chance to be heard before his/her termination, para walang issue sa DOLE.

15-A.  The Employee Went AWOL and Did Not Report to Work Anymore. A Few Weeks Later, He Came Back and Asked for His Pay. Do We Have to Pay? What Can We Do?

Employees who worked have the right to their pay. They can receive the pay so long as they underwent the clearance procedure.

In our company, we insist that the staff finishes their notice period and turnover for them to successfully clear themselves from the company, and only then will we process his/her final pay.

Some employees choose not to bother as they are happy with their new employers, while others do come back and finish the notice period, AND they 1000% get their final pay. Others who want their final pay without any notice are happy to deduct the monetary damages from their final pay, which is also fine with us.

This is why, it’s very important that companies:

• Indicate in their contracts a reasonable amount for monetary damages in the instance an employee goes AWOL or do not return to work especially while under notice period,
• Follow due process in asking the employee to return to work (RTWO), follow the twin notice rule and duly terminating the employee following the twin notice rule.

That way, there’s no misunderstandings. And there won’t be any employees bothering you after they go AWOL and chasing after their final pay.

16. My Employer is Withholding my Certificate of Employment (COE) Because I Did Not Resign Properly. Can He Do That?

Of course, he CANNOT.

According to Labor Advisory No. 06-20 Guidelines on the Payment of Final Pay and Issuance of Certificate of Employment | Department of Labor and Employment (dole.gov.ph), Certificate of Employment (COE) is an employee’s right, and is demandable within THREE (3) Days of Request. An employee can request for a COE even while employed, even while resigned, and even after he/she leaves her employer.

Now, I want you to re-read what I highlighted in RED BOX above.

Here, it says that the COE specifies the dates of an employee engagement and the termination of his employment and the types of work he/she has done. It DOES NOT include that this is the ONLY thing an employer can mention. The lack of the word “Only” is important. If this was the only thing that can be written in a COE, then trust me, DOLE will add that in.

Hence, in the absence of the word ONLY, an employer can write details of your employment SO LONG as they are factual, backed by documentation and not malicious. Stating that you have not finished clearance IF TRUE is definitely factual if documented. Adding details of your compensation is also allowed if factual and backed by your contract.

A lot of employees complain that employers have added details onto the COE. Again, let’s go back to Labor Advisory No. 06-20 Guidelines on the Payment of Final Pay and Issuance of Certificate of Employment | Department of Labor and Employment (dole.gov.ph), so long as it is not libelous, false and malicious, an employer can add that in.

But can you demand a COE within 3 days of request?

ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY.

FINAL WORDS

TIP TO EMPLOYERS: BE GRACEFUL AND LET THEM LEAVE. WHO KNOWS? THEY MIGHT COME BACK.

To employers, if your employees decide to leave you, no matter how good they are or how much you need them, graciously allow them to leave you and give them their final pay and COE in a timely manner. Remember, how you exit your employees matter. Because if you take it personally and you’ve been such a b*tch when they exit, I promise you, none of your employees will return to you.

So many employees have complained, “My employer does not want us to leave. They always make it so hard for us to leave. Kaya marami sa amin ang nag-AAWOL.” 

Don’t be that employer who make it tough for employees to leave you. It’s like the girlfriend who threaten suicide every time the boyfriend wants to break up. Just don’t do it. It’s very unprofessional and improper. When they want to leave, immediately start looking for a replacement and prioritizing their turnover. If you want them to extend, communicate properly and ask for consideration. But if they cannot, respect their decision and keep to the notice period indicated on your contract (And if there is none, follow the standard 30 day rule).

TIP TO EMPLOYEES: LEAVE PROPERLY. DO NOT BURN BRIDGES

For employees, pumasok ka ng maayos, nasahuran ka ng maayos. Ayusin mo din ang pagalis.

In English, you were recruited properly. You were paid for your services. If you want to resign, also leave properly. There has been several employees who completely trashed their notice period. Some did not come in to work anymore. Others did not turn over properly and there were many documents missing. While there were super few who even complained against the company sa DOLE.

And what’s the result?

So many of them remained jobless. Their new job opportunity did not turn out better than expected, and they became unemployed. They could not get complete requirements. Those who complained lost their case, was embarrassed, and was surprised that nobody would hire them after knowing they complained in DOLE when they were not abused.

The world is small. I have rehired some employees who resigned properly, left properly and re-applied properly. I have also referred ex employees, who were looking for jobs and wanted to do something else, to my friends.

Nobody regretted leaving properly.

Everyone regretted burning their bridges.

So please, do not burn bridges when you leave. It will not kill you to render the days notice, and all these days are paid anyway.

Anyway, if you have any more to add, please do so on the comment box, and if you like my content, please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to my blog below.