Reminder that if it’s not an actively toxic environment, please give your notice whether it’s required or not; most people in “western countries” work at-will jobs and they can fire you any time without notice, and you can fire them that way too, but …
Giving two week’ notice is polite to your fellow coworkers, and it puts your employer on notice that if they don’t already know how to train someone else to do your job, they’ve got a limited window to learn. If you ever think you might want to work there again, or with anyone who works there someplace else, then give notice. Employers can and do note that you left without notice. People remember when you leave them in the lurch. If you’re a professional and it’s going to be hard for them to hire a replacement, and you like them, and you’re leaving for a reason other than them being an outright abusive environment, you can give more notice– but you don’t have to.
If you’re leaving and they ask you for an exit interview, give it to them. Maybe you can make it better for someone else, or maybe you just get a chance to tell someone in a sanctioned environment how bad an employer they are.
Skip the 2nd paragraph, though. Absent a contract you signed, (your job description is NOT a contract unless your signed offer letter says it is) you don’t need to train your replacement or wait around until they hire them. It’s your manager’s job to staff your department and to understand how your work is done. If they haven’t had you cross-train anyone, if you’ve never been asked to document your workflows or processes, or write a job aid, or write a list of contacts and resources for the next person in the job, then… Do that in the last two weeks if you have time, but otherwise just do what you can and then leave.
You also don’t have to thank them for the opportunity if you’re not grateful; try “working here was a learning opportunity I will never forget.”
If your employer accepts your notice early and ends your role earlier, just go with it. They’re clearly feeling petty. In some places, this might count as being fired, so file for unemployment.
If your employer “refuses to accept your notice,” make them say why in writing, citing the applicable legal regulation in your region. Unless you have a contract that specifies your notice period, or you live in a place where employment at will is not the default (check your applicable department of labor), they are gaslighting you and trying to exploit you. No regs and no contract? They have no right to claim you can be held over.
If they dump extra work on you or assign extra shifts in your last two weeks, you write a new letter that describes the change, explain that this is illegal harassment and retaliation for resigning, and move up your last day. Hit the bricks.
If they “refuse to accept your notice,” or request a longer notice period,don’t give your reasons why you’re saying no, just say, “No, that won’t be possible, I stand by my initial notice.”
Before you give notice, check your area’s department of labor to see what rights you have to vacation, sick time, or holiday payouts. Some places might have a rule that they have to give you your last check on your last day, even if it’s not normally a payroll date.
Check your employer’s policy handbook. Find out how long your benefits will last after you leave, and (in the US) before you have to decide whether to pay for benefits continuation (COBRA) coverage.
Then, put that you expect that paid time off in your last check, and that you’re expecting your benefits to cover you until whatever date you have a right to under local law or your policy handbook.
Keep a copy of your resignation letter. Email yourself to your personal email anything documenting why you’re leaving. Email yourself anything you would want as a writing sample or resource later on, but be mindful of any policies in your handbook about “work product.”
If you’re worried about what kind of reference they will give you in retaliation for leaving, ask for a copy of your entire personnel file to be given to you before your last day. Also, it’s not a bad idea to ask a colleague or a manager to write you a letter of reference for your work there that you can save and present in a hiring situation elsewhere. References move or change contact info; get a contemporary reference when you can, them scan it and save it somewhere as well as email the copy to yourself.
I would hope that most employers wouldn’t act so that you need to know and assert all your rights, but better safe than sorry.
Googling “wage and hours law in ___” or “what are my rights to work in ____” or “what are my rights if I get fired in ____” will usually get you a link to your area’s applicable laws, but your local courthouse might have a library and a list of self-help resources, or your local library and their staff can help you research, or your local legal aid may have a self-help guide as well.
If they mess around with your last check or your file or anything else, report them ASAP to the right regulators– your union if you have one, the region’s wage and hour/labor department, any special industry regulator, unemployment, hell, even OSHA if you’re in the US.
Protect yourself, and good luck.
