Anyone know if there are any ramifications for quitting during parental leave?
12 replies (most recent on top)
: @2Yvqu
I put in notice before my leave was over and did not return. I’ve know. Others who have done this, there’s nothing wrong with doing it this way. It’s really no different to them if you gave notice prior or after returning..
@2Whlc+1bSrJj1P
Did you return, provide notice and put in 2 weeks voluntary time off? Or did you put in notice 2 weeks before return date?
Job abandonment would just be not returning after the leave is up -3 days of no show and they can fire you
No, that’s not job abandonment. Most people will stay through the leave that was approved and then provide notice. It’s basically that you won’t return from leave. And no, that doesn’t put you on do not really hire. I did this previously and came back a year latter.
@2Vlnv+1bSrJj1P
Isn't that considered job abandonment? Dont they put you on "do not rehire" list?
There’s not ramifications except you’re leaving money on the table.. I’d wait the leave out and turn in your notice 2 weeks prior to your return date. There’s no payback penalty if that’s your question.
Most people in this situation complete leave, come back for a week, then put in notice
Why would you quit while on leave rather than quitting on the day you due back? Serious question. I doubt you even have to come back that day.
@OP+1bSrJj1P
Did you quit? Any ramifications?
I am in the same boat. Employee handbook did not help.
I'm not familiar with parental leaves, but with FMLA, your salary gets paid by WF for the first "X" # of weeks, then after that they coordinate with your state's disability insurance program, where "Y" % of your salary comes from WF and "Z" % comes from SDI. Something to that effect. It's been a while since I went on FMLA. And for your elected benefits that normally get deducted out of your paycheck, you get billed separately because there's no payroll auto-deduction for them while you're on leave. You have to pay for them separately if you want to keep those benefits intact.
It's a confusing mess.
Again, I don't know if parental leave is similar to, or the same as FMLA. Hopefully someone with experience can confirm that.
To avoid complications and headaches with payroll and benefits, I agree with the posters below that the best strategy would be to cut short your parental leave before resigning. You can always communicate that you intend to come back to work - on so and so date - sooner than originally intended. You don't have to give any reasons why.
Once officially back at work, I would probably wait for 1 paycheck cycle just to confirm that payroll+benefits are back on track - to how they were before the leave - and then give my 2-week notice of resignation, with a clear last day of work (LDOW).
After giving the notice of resignation, I would immediately go to Time Tracker and put in a request for time-off for the 2-week notice period. I don't remember the exact labels, but you have to select something like: Other > 2-weeks voluntary resignation.
Unless you have a sh---y relationship with your manager or PTO approver, I don't see why it won't get approved. Then you won't have to work during the 2-week notice period until your LDOW.
Instruct your manager (or delegate) to review your PTO balance to make necessary adjustments to your final paycheck. If you have any accrued - but unused PTO balance, then you will get paid for them, and your final paycheck (until LDOW) will get adjusted accordingly. On the flip side, if you've used more PTOs than what has accrued so far, then you will have to pay that back.
Your eligible PTOs will be prorated. E.g. If your LDOW is exactly mid-year, and you're normally eligible for 80 hours of PTO for the entire year, then your prorated eligible PTOs = 40 hours. Your manager/delegate will check to see if you have any accrued - but unused PTOs within those 40 hours.
Your medical coverage will run through the last calendar day of the month of your LDOW.
I'm confident about everything above. Not so confident about below:
401(k) company match. I don't think you get any of this if you resign prior to December 31. At least that's how I understood it, when I last read the updates to the 401(k) plan. This can be significant, depending on your level of participation. We're talking 6% of your (base salary + bonus), if bonus eligible.
Bonus (if bonus eligible). It's normally be paid out in February of the following year. I'm not sure if you get any of this, prorated or otherwise, if you resign. I could be wrong. I haven't checked the employee handbook (or relevant documentation). My cynical gut says you get zero.
However, if you get displaced (instead of resigning), I do know that you get paid your bonus (if bonus eligible) on a prorated basis (including the 60-day notice period). E.g. At mid-year you receive a 60-day notice of displacement. Then your prorated bonus = (6 months + 2 months) / 12 months. In other words, 2/3 of your eligible bonus had you worked the whole year. This would get paid out the following February, not earlier than that.
Come back for a day and then give notice.
I quit when I was on unpaid leave and had to pay back what I think was some employer health insurance contributions from that time, which didn’t amount to a whole lot. You could probably avoid that by quitting the same day you return from leave, but don’t quote me on that