Resignation or Termination?

If you are given a choice to leave the organization rather than be terminated, take the resignation and run! Well, before you run, do your due diligence with HR and get something in writing that shows how your employment will be coded in their system. If they code you as a termination, and you have nothing to support that it was a resignation, there is really not a lot you can do. Documentation is important when the story doesn’t match. The organization has no vested interest in your future, so don’t put yourself in the position where you have no recourse. Ask questions, read all documentation thoroughly before signing anything. If you need more time before signing the paperwork ask for the time. Most HR professionals want to avoid lawsuits, so if you ask for 24-48 hours to review paperwork before signing, they will usually allow you the time. Especially if they are asking you to leave, and giving you the opportunity to resign.

Take a look at this question I received from a reader:

“So I recently resigned from a job I worked at 8 years for and I contacted the unemployment office in California and I find out that my last job reported me as terminated for not showing up. I turned a signed resignation to a manager and it seems like they are breaking a law.”

My recommendation to you is to contact the organization and ask them to review their records. Don’t call angry. Assume there was a mistake or a misunderstanding. Give them an opportunity to explain. Take notes. If their details don’t match your details, share your side of the story. Names and dates are important. Who did you speak to? Who agreed to what? What did you sign? Do you have a copy? Are the people who were involved with you and your employment still in the organization? If not, and you don’t have documentation, you may not be able to do anything.

It is very important for you to be on the same page that the organization is on concerning your exit. If it is voluntary, make sure that they agree it is voluntary. If it is involuntary, make sure you are clear that it is involuntary so that you appropriately report to the next organization how you left. Don’t assume that organizations will not find out about a termination. Your integrity is at stake. Full disclosure is better than half truths and assumptions. It may make the difference between whether you have an extended unemployment or whether you can transition quickly into a new job. In the end, it is your responsibility.