To be shocked at treatment following resignation?

[Username1233]

For a bit of background info, I’m based within financial services and secured a job last July (subject to me paying for, and passing my necessary exams - to formally start in October). Completed all of this, and quickly realised that this company is perhaps “not for me”.

I was approached via a much more supportive financial institution a few months ago with a great job offer. I have been mulling it over, and on Monday decided to accept. This is where everything went wrong!

I work from an external office on my own, so called my manager (company owner was away with work) on the Monday. Verbally gave my notice (followed up in an email), promised I would do as much as I can throughout August to make the process as easy as possible for everyone. Manager told me to keep this between ourselves, and he will speak with company owner and let me know next steps.

On Tuesday I’m working as normal, when suddenly I’m locked out of everything! Tried to call manager - no response. Tried to call IT - they hung up on me! Then had a call from an employee to tell me to come to the main office straight away to hand back all equipment.

Hand it back (no management to be seen), and told they will pay me for 1 week and that’s it! A few calls on my part to ACAS, I am now being paid my full 4 weeks as given, but on garden leave.

AIBU to be absolutely miffed how this whole situation has panned out? Is this normal for financial services? No goodbyes, no calls from management, no exit meeting, nothing! I am still in utter disbelief at the way this has been handled. I was told by above employee that the company owner is extremely cross with me, and feels I have used them for my own progression.

I know I shouldn’t care, but I do! I wanted to leave on good terms and feel disappointed that the company think this way of me!

@godmum56 No, I’ve had sales jobs previously, but I suppose they were in a slightly different sector. My first sale job I had left to go and work for a competitor, I just worked my notice. My second job in sales, I had left to go to the one I’ve just left - this was a different sector so I suppose they wouldn’t have had a reason to put me on any gardening leave!

@MermaidMummy06 , are you sure we don’t work for the same employer? 🤣. Such a shame, because it sounds exactly as where I’ve just left.

I'd understand them removing your access straight away if they'd terminated the contract or made someone redundant, but if you've handed your notice in then there seems little point to it. Presumably if you're leaving to go to another job you haven't just decided that on the day you hand your notice in, so if you wanted to take clients with you or whatever, you could line that up before you handed in the notice.

My DP is a director of a business and they do garden leave for alot of their staff.

Various reasons - won't see the project through, clients might go with them or poaching other staff (they might anyway bit thought to reduce risk), taking software the company developed (taken legal action on this a few times).

Yes it is. Her contract is being terminated early upon her resignation, they are not trying to sack her, they are protecting their intangible assets
Same happened to a friend, she brought the start date of her new job forward as they were desperate for her to start and enjoyed the extra money

You could still potentially use your information and contacts and again its one of those things where its normal for people to stay out of the process.

The fact that your ex company owner is annoyed at you for using the job for career progression shows you made a good choice. Does he think people work in Financial Services because of the valuable public service it provides? Or as a favour to him?

You have a new job in a more supportive company and the rest of the summer off to do what you want. You are the winner. They escorted you off the premises because they don't like losing.

I have heard of people being paid Gardening leave instead in some roles but never the way this company did it.

You are better off out of it. Enjoy Gardening leave.

@Username1233 I was told by above employee that the company owner is extremely cross with me, and feels I have used them for my own progression.

If staff leave and move on, then that's your current employer's fault for not doing enough to keep their staff.

People being weird about staff leaving is not your fault.

You made the right decision in leaving if this is how the company treats its staff.

I worked at a financial institution I resigned turned up the next day and asked why are you here. I said I was working my notice. In the meeting the manager was very aggressive. Sometimes better to cut losses and be out of it.

Having read, and read again, and again (!) I think your employer hasn't treated you well at all. It sounds as though your manager didn't know that the owner would take a huff and essentially throw you out. If policy was hand in notice = gardening leave, your manager would have done this.
Hopefully they will have realised that they can't breach contract, and their brush with ACAS will have taught them something about treating people with dignity.
Enjoy your gardening leave and good luck with your next job!

They've handled it badly, but it's not unheard of to give someone garden leave and escort them to pack and leave the building. Apart from that, who cares what anyone says or thinks about you leaving? Just enjoy your extra holiday before starting your new job.
I worked in an IT support job in an county council, working with sensitive services. When I resigned this happened to me - much more politely. My manager asked me to hang about his department and have a cuppa while he arranged for someone to accompany me to pack and leave the building. I didn't realise that was policy, but it was a lovely surprise to get paid my 2 months notice and get to have the time off.

OP was clear that she paid for and took the exams on her own time - she secured the job in July and started in October when she had attained the qualifications.

Where I used to work all the directors refused to talk to you for your notice period, it was ridiculous

Exdh took voluntary redundancy years ago and he wasn't allowed back. I think they paid him 3 months notice. He had only been with them 18 months. They also had him employ a local solicitor (at their expense) to draw up an agreement that he wouldn't work for a competitor for at least 6? months etc and they gave him shares and about £150k as a golden goodbye. This was 17 years ago.

Gardening leave you are employed and paid so taxed. Pay in lieu is a compensation for not getting notice and, in some circumstances, does not go through PAYE. You might be able to research this or speak to CAB to get exact details, obviously also check your contract.

Same happened to me when I resigned as an degree apprenticeship lecturer. Handed notice in at 10am, asked to hand all equipment back at 11am and placed on garden leave for 3 months.

They were terrified I was going to take more staff with me (they'd already lost a couple to the same org I'm with now) or take some clients as I was many students favourite lecturer.

I had this - resigned and was told to shut my laptop and leave there and then. Ok cool.

Equipment was collected with a short email saying that we owe you two days AL which will be paid.

Back and forth argued the toss with them where I said I gave you four weeks notice - YOU told me not to work it. So you need to pay me.

Didnt look like I was going to get it, negotiated to start early with my new employer and then out of the blue got a full months pay. I was willing to leave it to walk out of that toxic mess environment so it was a nice surprise they decided to do the right thing.

The funny thing with garden leave, I understand it to a degree - but if I know I’m quitting and want to take data or client lists with me, surely I would just obtain all that info before I resign???

This is normal - I used to work in sales and every time I changed jobs had to hand over everything and got paid off. I used to temp for 3 weeks to get extra money in much of which I invariably spent on a new work outfit and shoes, then spend a few days researching leads for the next post and then start my next job already fired up for obtaining new business.

I was more miffed Asa small business owner with the lady who I paid £4.8k to recruit and told me she was pregnant 3 weeks after starting . - she told someone else she had been waiting to get a decent role so she could get maternity pay as she wasn’t working before that -

This can be normal, often companies are concerned you might ‘poach’ customers to your new employer.

I thought it was very unprofessional when I worked for a financial services company and they insisted I worked every single day of my notice period - I could have done some serious damage to the company during that month if I'd been so inclined especially as I had resigned on rather bad terms.

Bit them in the backside too, as I was able to tell both the building team (serviced offices) and the building owner representative (had their own offices there, and I had arranged a very good rate with them to use their conference room) - both refused any favours from then on, and the building owner rep said they could no longer hire the conference rooms. Both cited that they had only allowed the arrangements because of me, and the company I had been employed by was too entitled and demanding for it to be worth it to them.

Ah yes, but she's a woman.

yup, its why companies ask leavers to sign NDA's and retain the option of gardening leave (still employed by the company and subject to their T's and C's including confidentiality clauses) as opposed to immediate contract termination. The other thing they can require is a non competition agreement.