Notice periods and employee “loyalty” continue to cause tension in the workplace, with some resignations escalating into full blown arguments. A recent case making the rounds online is about a tech worker who claimed that their decision to leave after just a few weeks resulted in threats, withheld pay and verbal abuse from the company’s CEO.
Heavy Workload and Sudden Resignation
According to a Reddit post, the employee joined a US-based law firm as a full-stack developer but found the work environment overwhelming. They said deadlines were unrealistic and they were expected to work weekends to complete tasks. Three weeks into the role, after receiving another heavy workload, the employee decided to resign.
They told their team leads who had no objections. But the CEO contacted the employee via WhatsApp and threatened legal action if they didn’t serve the full 2 month notice period in their contract.
Threats and Withheld Salary
During the conversation the CEO accused the employee of wasting company resources on training, despite the employee saying no training was provided and they used their personal laptop for work. The CEO was also upset about lack of loyalty among employees.
The matter was escalated to HR who told the employee no salary would be released until the notice period was completed. Although the resignation was sent to HR and team leads via email, the employee said no formal acknowledgement was received.
Mixed Reactions and Legal Advice
Reactions were divided. Some told the employee to walk away and treat the short stint as a career break, others warned that the contractual notice period might be enforceable.
One commenter said absconding from a job is not a criminal offence but doing so before completing the notice period could result in disciplinary termination and potential claims for compensation. Another pointed out since the employer is a law firm the chances of them pursuing legal action might be higher.
The employee later confirmed they consulted a lawyer who recommended either serving the notice period or getting a medical certificate to justify early termination. The employee said they were willing to buy out the remaining period but no longer wanted to be in the role.