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I just accepted a job offer. My start date is Oct 9th (non-negotiable), which gives me 3 weeks from now. My notice period at my current job is 2 weeks.

First problem, I have a big family vacation/holiday the week of Sept 25th. We've been planning it for months and I've had the PTO request for the week off approved a long time ago, too. Unless there's no alternative, I do NOT want to work that week. I checked company policy & I'm allowed to take PTO during my notice period.

Second problem, I have some company stock vesting on Wed Oct 4. If I finish my 2 weeks notice before then, I forfeit a very large amount of money. (I don't plan to take a break between jobs, so I'd be fine working up to Fri Oct 6th and starting a the new place on Mon Oct 9.)

So my question is, when do I give notice? The options (as I see them) are:

  1. Give 3 weeks notice this Monday (sept 18), so I'll have 2 working weeks of transition time + the week of vacation in the middle. However, I'm concerned that my manager will say something like "oh dont worry about the vacation, this can be your two weeks notice & it'll be 1 working week" and then I'd lose the stock since my last day would be Sept 29th. (I'm NOT worried that they'll fire me or anything; I just think my manager would be trying to be nice by giving me an extra week off).

  2. Give 2 weeks notice next Friday (Sept 22) before I leave for the vacation. The first vacation week would be my first week's notice but I wouldn't work, and then I'd have 1 working week for transitions, etc. However I don't want to leave with bad feelings, and there's definitely some stuff I'd have to transition/knowledge transfer before I leave. How bad is it to do this? Is this "done" or is it considered super nasty?

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    Please add a country and maybe federal state. Your answers will be somewhere between "don't give notice at all, they will fire you before your stock vests" and "this is not a problem, the following labor laws apply". None of the answers will help you, if you don't know whether they even apply to your locality.
    – nvoigt ♦
    Sep 15 at 9:28
  • If your notice is 2 weeks, and your thinking of giving 3 weeks, keep in my your company can only accept a 2 week notice. That would have you leaving before your stock option are vested. However, you should probably check the terms of your stock options, normally there are terms that prevent receiving them and immediately leaving
    – Donald
    Sep 15 at 12:17
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    @Donald: you maybe confusing "granting" and "vesting". receiving options is called "a grant" and indeed there is a staggered schedule before than exercise them. That process is called "vesting". But once vested, they are good to go. That's exactly what vesting is all about.
    – Hilmar
    Sep 15 at 12:53
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    Aside from anything else, go back and re-read the terms and conditions on your stocks, and check for clauses about giving notice before the deadline. I’ve worked some places where bonuses and awards were withheld if you had given notice, even if you were still working the notice period and it ended after the bonus deadline.
    – mclayton
    Sep 15 at 16:50
  • @Hilmar- You focused on the least important part of my advice, the author is dealing with "a very large amount of money", it's in their best interest to schedule working until the stock is vested. The company, who would be within their rights, if notified of his intention of leaving in 3 weeks, could indicate they only need two weeks. Which would mean, if the author did not plan for that fact, could face a situation where they have left the company before the vested date. I did not use the incorrect term, I do in fact, understand the difference.
    – Donald
    Sep 15 at 18:27

4 Answers 4

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I'm NOT worried that they'll fire me or anything; I just think my manager would be trying to be nice by giving me an extra week off

If your manager did do that, thinking he was being nice, then couldn't you just respond by telling him that you'd prefer it if your last day was on or after Wed Oct 4 for the reasons you explained to us? I mean, if he's nice in one direction he might be just as nice in the other direction as well.

Give 2 weeks notice next Friday (Sept 22) before I leave for the vacation. The first vacation week would be my first week's notice but I wouldn't work, and then I'd have 1 working week for transitions, etc. However I don't want to leave with bad feelings, and there's definitely some stuff I'd have to transition/knowledge transfer before I leave. How bad is it to do this? Is this "done" or is it considered super nasty?

You could justify your actions by explaining your vesting schedule. Were it not for the vesting schedule, I would say giving notice like that would be uncouth but your vesting schedule concerns are legitimate as well.

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In the US, the usual convention is:

  1. Having given notice, you probably aren't entitled to any more paid vacation. Unpaid time off, you say, is ok per their policy. However...

  2. If the notice period is two weeks, that means ten working days to close out what you're doing and transfer it to those who will be taking over that work. You can't vanish for a while and claim it counts toward that total. What the company will want to do about this is outside our scope; talk to your manager.

  3. My own answer would be that you had the freedom to consider the family outing when scheduling your termination and start dates, and your failure to do so is in no way the company's fault. Find a way to make it work. If that means you miss the vacation, chalk it up as your own bad planning and an investment in moving to the new job. You'll know better next time.

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    what "notice period" means depends a lot on local laws and customs. In most US states the notice period just a "common courtesy". Two weeks is expected and appreciated but there is absolutely no legal obligation to put "10 work days".
    – Hilmar
    Sep 15 at 12:56
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    True. One can quit and walk away immediately too, but I wouldn't.
    – keshlam
    Sep 15 at 13:45
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    Could you add a locale for your answer please? Points 1 and 2 do not match my experience (UK, EU, Malaysia).
    – simonc
    Sep 18 at 12:35
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Second problem, I have some company stock vesting on Wed Oct 4. If I finish my 2 weeks notice before then, I forfeit a very large amount of money. (I don't plan to take a break between jobs, so I'd be fine working up to Fri Oct 6th and starting a the new place on Mon Oct 9.)

This actually the more important issue, even though management might not realize it immediately.

My advice is always the same when there is a deadline that has financial implications, what until after the deadline to tell the company you are leaving. Once the event has been triggered, or the money transferred they can do little to prevent it.

Telling them you are leaving, when they have a way of saving money by letting you go early is inviting them to consider that option.

Your situation has the added complexity that you also want to take PTO. They could decide to ask if you would work 10 days, but unless there is something in the law or your contract, they can't really force you to stay.

They could decide that they will terminate you before the vacation starts. It makes little difference to them if you work 5 days and take PTO, or work 5 days and cash-out the unused PTO, if they are only going to get 5 days of work out of you.

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IANAL, but if you resign before Oct 4 and they show you the door and cancel the vesting, I doubt you have recourse. Even if you do, it will be through a lawsuit and be expensive and time consuming.

Unless you are REALLY sure that they are ethical people all the way up the food chain, I would resign on October 5 effective on October 6.

If asked why you are behaving unprofessionally (which you are), tell them the truth. You had options vesting on October 4 and were concerned that the company would not honor a notice period.

Please, fill us in on what you decided to do and how it worked out. Good luck!

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