Quitting and giving notice: What employees need to know.

• Author: Bowal, Peter

Introduction

Since employees like to be in control of their lives, they think they can quit an employer any time it suits them. But woe to the employer who feels the same way about terminating employees. Somehow employees think employers cannot freely dismiss employees but employees can dismiss employers as they choose.

As it turns out, there is more legal mutuality in the relationship than employees would like. They also have to be careful about quitting employers. Usually, employers can and will think 'good riddance' to disloyal workers and find replacement ones rather quickly. They rarely pursue employees who quit them. But this is changing.

This article considers what obligations the employee has to the employer when he or she quits. Does an employee need to provide notice? If so, how much notice must the employee provide to avoid liability for breach of the employment contract?

The Basics of Quitting

Employment law is found in legislation and the common law.

Labour Relations Codes

Labour relations legislation sets out the framework for unions and management to negotiate a collective agreement which governs the working relationship between employees and employer. Quitting the relationship by employer or employee is often regulated in the collective agreement, which is enforceable by grievance and ultimately arbitration.

Employment Standards Codes

The approximately two-thirds of employees who are not part of a labour union enjoy an array of minimum employment protections, as well as a few legal duties, in employment standards legislation.

Alberta's Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000, c E-9 [2], (Part 2, Division 8) is typical. It covers the subject of termination of employment by both employee (quitting or resignation) and by the employer (dismissal).

Section 58 states that to terminate employment an employee must give the employer a written notice of termination of at least one week if the employee has been employed between three months to two years, or at least two weeks if the employee has been employed for longer than two years. This short written notice of quitting is not onerous for most employees, yet many still quit on shorter notice, including no notice when they choose to never return to work.

Even then, section 58 notice is not required if:

* there is an established practice in the industry to give less quitting notice;

* the employee is quitting for personal health or safety reasons;

* the job has become impossible for the...