Taking vacation time before quitting

[StetsTerhune]

I've been planning on a 4/1/16 "retirement" date, but recently found out I will likely be getting a decent sized bonus (5k-ish) in late april or early may. I'll know for sure whether I'll get it in February, but the exact timing will stay uncertain. If I give notice before I get the bonus, I think it's pretty likely they'd still give me the bonus, but it's certainly not guaranteed.

My original plan was to give notice March 18th, with last day being 4/1. I'll have 4 weeks or so of vacation time that I'd be paid out at that time. 

To be sure I'd get the bonus, I'd need to give notice mid-may with last day being june 1st-ish. So basically I'd be working 2 extra months at 130% or so my normal salary. Which I'm not sure is worth it. Or... I could take my 4 vacation weeks between april 1st and may 15th, then give my notice. So I'd be working 1 extra month at 160% my normal salary. Much more worth it.

My question is, how much of a jerk move is this? Taking 4 weeks of vacation out of 6 weeks, then give notice and quit? I definitely don't want to burn any bridges, but I also don't want to work 2 full extra months, or leave money on the table.

[sandandsun]

don't give notice until you get the bonus... I would use vacation a little more liberally between now and giving notice, but then use the balance as a pay out when you do give notice... using vacay more liberally will make the extra few weeks fly by :)

[ketchup]

If you can retire on 4/1, do you really need the extra $5K?  Once you've hit your "numbers", does extra really matter?

[Gone Fishing]

don't give notice until you get the bonus... I would use vacation a little more liberally between now and giving notice, but then use the balance as a pay out when you do give notice... using vacay more liberally will make the extra few weeks fly by :)

+1 That's what I am doing.  Also just found out that a guy that left last year prior to payouts got screwed out of his bonus despite the fact he was entitled to receive it per the rules.  Trust no one!

[nobody123]

Don't give notice until the bonus is in your bank account.  I know at my company if you have a retirement / resignation on file, they won't pay any optional bonuses to you.

So, you'd get 4 weeks of vacation paid out upon retirement.  Isn't that bonus enough?  It's your call if hanging around a couple of more months is worth $5K plus 2 months of salary to you. 

At my company, a ton of folks put in their retirement papers on 1/2, since they are vested in that year's vacation on 1/1 and they get it paid out to them.  I don't think it's a jerk move at all, and it's pretty much expected of long-term employees.  The only way it'd be a jerk move is if you take an unusual number of sick days in lieu of burning vacation time and then quitting.

[Villanelle]

Assuming it is a sizable bonus, I would have trouble walking away from that money, unless I was utterly miserable at the job.$5000 would be enough to cause me to adjust my plans for a few weeks.   I'd wait until the bonus was in my account, and then give notice, making sure it was at least 2 weeks, even if that pushed my date by a week or two.  If I thought I might ever need those connections, I might even give more than a couple weeks. 

And until the bonus came, I would be exceptionally tight-lipped about my plans.  No one would know anything was different, I wouldn't mention my excitement about big changes, or my plans to travel to Tahiti this fall, or anything else. 

[AZDude]

I would use the vacation time liberally during the last two months, then get the bonus and give notice. Remember, this company could fire you or eliminate your job tomorrow. You owe them nothing. Do what is best for you.

Congrats on FIRE!

[MrsPete]

If you can retire on 4/1, do you really need the extra $5K?  Once you've hit your "numbers", does extra really matter?

Um, yes.  I assume this is a bonus earned for work put in, standards met, or something similar.  So take it.  Your "number" plus 5K is better than just your number.  Totally worth another -- was it two months? 

Incidentally, I intend to do something similar.  I'll reach my date November 1 (not this year), but if I stay 'til the end of the semester, I'll be paid for Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, and the end-of-semester county supplement.  We're talking about 10 weeks of extra work so I can pick up those benefits I've earned over the years -- I'm not going to leave earned bonuses behind. 

Similarly, my sick days can be used to add years to my service /increase my pension.  Every 20 days = 1 more month, and it "rounds up".  So 21 days = 2 months service; however, 25 days still = 2 months service.  Since sick days are an earned benefit, I'm going to make sure I don't leave with 39 days!  A friend of mine who's retiring this year decided to work the rest of the year (he had been planning to retire at Christmas) because he figured out that if he stays that extra six months, the sick days he'll add will put him "over" a significant number. 

Having said that, I'll add this clarification:  When I'm nearing my date, I would not do anything that would add work to other people (for example, sometimes we don't have substitute teachers -- I would NOT burn through my sick days if I knew that other teachers would have to fill in for me). 

[StetsTerhune]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's very interesting to hear people have been screwed out of bonuses after giving their notice. I consider it fairly unlikely that my company would do that, it's a huge companyand it probably wouldn't be worth anyone's time to stop the bureaucratic wheels in motion to prevent me from getting a bonus... but you never know until it's in the bank.

I agree with Mrs. Pete on pretty much everything. I work at a huge company and I'm definitely not worried at all about any obligations to "the company." But I don't want to do anything in my last few months that puts an undue burden on my team mates. A. because I don't want to be a jerk. B. because I want to keep the option of working again open, and those are the people that will hire me (or not) a few years down the line.

I guess my only real issue is that I've mentally been looking forward to a 4/1 retirement date for quite a while now.  I even have a countdown spreadsheet (107 more work days remaining!!!) I just gotta mentally adjust to a 6/1 retirement date. 43 extra work days!  Poor me, lol. Mustachian People Problems.

[MissStache]

I guess my only real issue is that I've mentally been looking forward to a 4/1 retirement date for quite a while now.  I even have a countdown spreadsheet (107 more work days remaining!!!) I just gotta mentally adjust to a 6/1 retirement date. 43 extra work days!  Poor me, lol. Mustachian People Problems.

Take some sick time (mental health days are LEGIT...so's the flu) and use up some of your vacation now.  You can whittle that 43# down quite a bit, I bet!

[Jack]

I suggest planing a nice long vacation in March, and then retiring June 1.

[Gone Fishing]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's very interesting to hear people have been screwed out of bonuses after giving their notice. I consider it fairly unlikely that my company would do that, it's a huge company and it probably wouldn't be worth anyone's time to stop the bureaucratic wheels in motion to prevent me from getting a bonus... but you never know until it's in the bank.

I work for a huge bureaucratic company.  I have had to fight over more "errors", that happen to be in the companies favor, than you could imagine.  My guess is that they just decided to hold it to see how hard he would fight.  Apparently he didn't fight very hard.

[TomTX]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's very interesting to hear people have been screwed out of bonuses after giving their notice. I consider it fairly unlikely that my company would do that, it's a huge companyand it probably wouldn't be worth anyone's time to stop the bureaucratic wheels in motion to prevent me from getting a bonus... but you never know until it's in the bank.

It's probably no effort at all to stop the bonus. Once you have a termination date entered, the system automatically suspends bonuses. Very very common.

Bullshit, unfair - but common.

[MrsPete]

I agree with Mrs. Pete on pretty much everything. I work at a huge company and I'm definitely not worried at all about any obligations to "the company." But I don't want to do anything in my last few months that puts an undue burden on my team mates. A. because I don't want to be a jerk. B. because I want to keep the option of working again open, and those are the people that will hire me (or not) a few years down the line.

Yeah, I said that because in my job if I'm out, my co-workers are affected:  They have to pick up some slack if I'm not here.  I've been a burden to others at times, and I've done my share of working to help others ... but I wouldn't put people in that position without a good reason. 

I hadn't thought of it from the "don't burn your bridges" point of view, but that too is valid.  Even if you're retiring next week, it's wise to keep open the option of working again in the future. 

[formerlydivorcedmom]

Is the bonus plan in writing?  You may be able to tell from there what the consequences will be of quitting.

I was pleasantly surprised in my last job to find out that the bonus amount would be paid as long as you were an employee as of Dec 31.  They announced the amounts in February and dispersed the funds in March.  They'd mail you a check to your home address if you quit after January 1.

[Retire-Canada]

Use your vacation. Get the bonus. Retire. I bet you'll find the last few months are much more fun knowing they are your last.