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Yes, you read it right. I'm not being threatened with being fired but, rather, I would be threatened when I announce my resignation. Unfortunately, my boss has his "background" so it might happen.

Previously, it had happened that when some colleagues had enough and got a better offer, and then proceeded to resign. Interestingly, their 1.5 month notice period became 3 months. Or, in at least one case, they stayed as they "agreed on" not leaving. And, in some cases, some ex-colleagues continued to work for a while as contractors. And I don't think they got tons of money.

What can I do if it happens to me? I'm planning to resign too.

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  • 5
    What sorts of threats are they receiving upon resigning?
    – sf02
    May 10, 2022 at 19:39
  • 17
    If your boss, or anyone else, threatens you then you should call your local law enforcement agency.
    – joeqwerty
    May 10, 2022 at 19:56
  • 3
    What country? Have you spoken to these other employees directly about this?
    – Michael McFarlane
    May 10, 2022 at 20:01
  • 2
    1.5 month resigning time became 3 monthes How? Do you have a wok contract?
    – Bernhard Döbler
    May 10, 2022 at 20:59
  • 9
    Have you accidentally found yourself working for some kind of organised crime group??
    – AakashM
    May 11, 2022 at 7:27

3 Answers 3

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It seems to me you are frightened of your boss. That's one more good reason to resign. Resigning is a very formalized and straightforward action. You draft a mail/letter which states that you resign, you deliver that letter to your boss, either by registered mail or in person. In any case, make sure you have a proof of reception. Maybe print two copies and let the boss sign both, one for you, one for him. If he refuses to sign, get a colleague to be your witness. Then you serve your required notice.

If he threatens you with bodily harm, you leave immediately and report it to law enforcement. If he tries to "guilt trip" you into staying, you only repeat what's in your letter: "I will resign, the decision is final, my last day is x". Don't go into a discussion about why and when. You don't need to explain yourself.

If it becomes unbearable, check with your local employment laws if it is lawful for you to not serve notice. This will of course burn a bridge to your current employer, but I think your mental and bodily health are more important. As a last resort, go to a doctor who you trust and get yourself a sick leave.

Remember: If you resign now, you have (worst case) 1,5 months of notice period left in this madness. If you don't resign, you'll have to work much longer under that toxic boss. Fear should have no place in a professional environment.

Edit: If you get called into some 1:1 meetings where you fear something fishy is going on, you can demand that someone from HR sits with you in the meetings. Of course only if your company is big enough to have a HR department.

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  • There's a whole lot of difference between how a situation "should" be, and reality. OP is in Croatia.
    – Xavier J
    May 11, 2022 at 20:25
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    @XavierJ well, what do you propose then? Croatia is no 3rd world country ruled by Mafia. It's an EU member. If you are threatened, you can rely on police and courts.
    – jwsc
    May 12, 2022 at 8:03
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    Rather than demand HR sit with you, ask for someone who you know and trust sit in with you. Or to record the meeting.
    – DJClayworth
    May 12, 2022 at 13:22
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What can I do if it happens to me? Im planning to resign too...

If you are threatened with bodily harm by your boss, report this to law enforcement and report it to whatever labor agency your company falls under and let them handle it.

Also, assuming your boss is not the owner of the company, I would report this to HR or anyone with authority over your boss at your company.

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  • can some psychological trick work?
    – John Smith
    May 10, 2022 at 20:48
  • 2
    @JohnSmith what kind of psychological trick? What kind of threats you worried about?
    – Esther
    May 10, 2022 at 20:55
  • He practices shooting and very muscular. Im not say he would kill me, but I totally agree that he is not affraid to something dirty. I forgot to say, but soo many people left that it could endanger the whole company. By "psychological trick", I meant if I can outsmart them.... for example, Im playing idiot?
    – John Smith
    May 10, 2022 at 21:03
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    Before resigning, you could speak to your former colleagues, get them to testify against him to build a case. If you could get a criminal investigation started, the police could perhaps get you to wear a wire when you deliver your resignation. That way you would have irrefutable evidence
    – calofr
    May 11, 2022 at 6:27
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    If he behaves like you say, then there is dirt. Find the dirt.
    – gnasher729
    May 11, 2022 at 7:20
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Carrying on from the comments on sf02's answer:

Firstly, if you want to resign, then you should resign. Croatia is an Eastern European country, that's true, but they are also an EU member and that, at least in theory, means they are a civilized democracy with independent courts and rule of law. At least in theory, that means your boss can't threaten you with anything and get away with it.

Once you resign, if you are afraid of your boss, you should voice record any conversations you have with him. If he says anything threatening to you about your resignation, you should immediately go to the police. You said in a comment that your boss owns a firearm and may intimidate you with it; in Canada where I live, if you own a firearm and you threaten to shoot someone, with proof, that will lead the police to come knocking on your door at the very least (source: I personally know someone who this happened to and I even witnessed it first-hand; there is a zero percent chance the person would have actually gone through on their threat, but the threat itself was enough for the police to come knocking). I'd imagine Croatia would be similar. You should do that: voice-record everything your boss says to you after you resign, and if any of it is physically threatening, go immediately to the police.

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