Is this normal in your notice period?

[Toupee]

I'm currently working my notice period and feel like I'm being treated really unfairly and I don't know if I should raise it with HR or just suck it up and deal with it.

My every day duties have been completely changed and I've been assigned tasks that are much more junior than my role. I'm completing all of these tasks as requested and I've been very polite and cooperative and done everything to the best of my ability, but I'm being "pulled up" for not doing things in a certain way even though I've followed the instructions given. It's felt like I can't do anything right and any communications I get are very abrupt and cold.

I was unwell at the start of this week, and had to take a couple of sick days, I followed the correct procedures etc. I've had no communication from my manager other than to assign me further tasks to complete when I returned.

Then today I was asked to leave a team meeting midway through which was really quite humiliating.

I'm feel very isolated and anxious and just generally quite rubbish about things, I don't have long left but already feel the dread of returning to work next week.

Is it normal for employers/managers to behave this way during notice periods?

I once had a manager that if you put your notice in he refused to speak to you for the 4 weeks you had left. He did it to every single leaver. It's like he took it as a personal slight that you were leaving. So yes it does happen. Just keep your head down and get through the time left.

You are leaving - there may well be things in the meeting that are completely irrelevant to you as it's for the future - also, maybe it's a kind of 'gardening leave' type situation where they are removing you from accessing info that could be taken to your next role maybe?

How much notice period do you have left? Why were you asked to leave the meeting?

Things can indeed change during a notice period. Don't take it personally.

If they want to give the more demanding things to someone else and you get the easy stuff, fine.

However if you get told to do things one way and subsequently pulled up for doing it another way just refer the person to whoever it was that gave you the directions in the first place.

Hope you're not there too much longer.

I have a week left (grateful it's not longer).

The only reason I was given was "we don't need you in this meeting thanks". I've attended and contributed to all of the others that have taken place since handing in my notice but have been asked not to join any others now until I leave.

Coast your way through your last week..

It’s only one more week. Just quiet quit!

It's grim but yes I have had the same kind of thing to, I went from getting 30 ish emails a day ( I was not office based ) and meeting with and arranging subcontractors or sorting shift patterns to visits 2 or 3 emails a day and actively told I could not have anything to do with the subbies .
They realised their mistake when some of the subbies turned up and no access or permits had been sorted out. A process that takes at least 5 working days , aww shame !

You only have a few days left now , grit your teeth and keep your head down . Don't blow your top , in the long run it's not worth it.

I'd have a tummy bug for the last week. Honestly not worth the hassle.

I think it is a bit weird you even care.

This is the best time with the company because you should be giving zero fucks.

Even if you messed up every single piece of work you are given from now until your last day or if you took emergency sick leave, there is nothing they can do. So don't let them get to you.

Head down and hide that smile.

Just do the bare minimum. They can hardly sack you. 😂

They're not handling it very well but with just a week left, just wind down and look forward to your new job.

Some companies are concerned that someone who is leaving will take sales data or planning information to a new competitive employer, and therefore block their access, effectively demote them, or tell them to go on gardening leave.

But as pp said, why do you care, you are still getting paid, but not given much to do, coast through the last week and move on.

Working somewhere after handing in your notice is always a strange time. You are leaving. Of course you aren’t their favourite employee right now. Of course they don’t need to have you there for every discussion. Suck it up, keep your head down. Keep thinking about what is coming next for you.

In your position if all references have been sent to your new employers, I would develop a stomach bug for the last week. Why put yourself through that kind of pettiness - unless it’s as a pp said you have been put on a form
of gardening leave.

It is always super weird and uncomfortable, it’s something very primal to do with being ‘in’ or ‘out of the tribe. Literally stick a smile on, go ‘lalalalala’ in your head to block them all out and then do the bare minimum. If they are particularly shitty feel free to leave no handover notes etc.

Gosh just get all your personal chores done and don't sweat it.

I also had a manager who didn't speak to me for my entire notice period.
He was like a child. 😂

Have they asked someone to act up, doing the more senior work you used to do?

Why are you going to team meetings anyway?
You have decided you no longer want to be part of the team by leaving.

Yes they can switch your duties (assuming like most contracts it allows them to) and yes they can exclude you from meetings if they want to. They simply can't take any benefits away during the notice period. Many people are placed on gardening leave ie. asked to stay home during their notice period but are still technically employed

I think that part of the problem has been that they could have (or rather should have) put me on gardening leave but for whatever reason they decided they didn't want to. Now it just feels like they're doing everything they can to try to make my time unpleasant it's so odd. It's feels like there's a new plan concocted each day to try to ruffle my feathers or be unkind.

I'm not sure why I care really, I generally always try to remain positive and respectful and it can be hurtful when that's not reciprocated.

You're all right that I only have a few days left, even less given that Monday is a bank Holiday. I still feel anxious about next week purely because I'm not sure what surprises await me, I also need to meet with my manager to hand over equipment which I'm dreading

I once had a horrendous time after handing my notice in - wanted me to either use my holidays or just not come in but also not get paid for my notice. It was a small salon run by 2 sisters, they said why should we pay you your holiday after you leave? Eh because that's how it works, you need to pay me any holiday I have accrued.

Told me that another girl who left used her holidays for her notice period - well that's her choice, not the choice I have made.

Endless phone calls complaining about how it's ok for me, as I can just leave at the end of the day whereas they have x, y & z still to think about and do - well yes that's because it's your business, not mine and another reason why I was never interested in having my own salon.

Anyway on my last day they had a new girl (been there a week at the most) practise her spray tan on me, now she was qualified but they wanted to see how well she did it - I'm convinced they told her to make it extremely dark just to spite me. I could tell as soon as she was doing it, it was so wet, so much tan was used - I tried to wash it off as soon as I could which was around 2 later but still ended up with one of the worst spray tans I've ever had, and there has been a few 😂.

I have never been more happy to leave somewhere.