That time I followed my employment contract to the letter
It's a 3 months long malicious compliance but it was the first time I didn't cave in front of a bullying team of managers:
My last job became very toxic with managers insulting employees and telling me to do stuff that was neither ethical nor legal. It was not a matter of life and death, but I could have been sued for trying to destroy the company if I had followed their orders. For a lot of reasons, I decided to give my resignation letter and, since I'm in France, I had to work 3 additional months for them while they were finding someone to replace me.
I also asked for some WFH since I could do everything remotely but they forbid it to get some revenge. They told me that WFH was not a part of my contract, and that's when I read my contract again with some interesting details...
- My job was well specified in the contract.
- I was salaried (and not "hourly") which means that I didn't have specific hours to work.
Since I changed my position in the company without changing the contract (and without a raise), I was free to do almost nothing or at least refuse what they asked. They couldn't fire me because they were waiting for a savior that never came. And without specific hours, I worked from 10 AM to 11 AM in the morning, and from 3 PM to 4 PM in the afternoon after a well deserved lunch break. I sat on a chair doing nothing for 2 hours every day. I was still fixing non-responsive servers because the other employees were not guilty, but nothing more. No one was happy but they shut up because they were freaking out while trying to find a replacement who came during the last week I was there.
My manager told me to train the new guy but, once again, it was not in my contract, and this guy knew nothing about what the job was (even if I had dutifully documented absolutely everything). For example, he was a junior who only dabbled with Windows servers, and we only used Linux servers. They were fucked and they knew it.
On the last day, I went home without saying goodbye. Some employees wondered where I left since I helped them a lot. I saw my old manager a month later, and I thanked him my for the massive raise that I got at my new job. It felt good to tell him that I now earned more than him.
Thanks for reading my rant!
There's a three month period after giving notice of resignation in France? Is that just a blanket thing, or part of your contract? Does it work both ways (like if you're terminated without cause)?
It’s usually 3 month for most white collar jobs and it goes both ways so you can take the time to find a new job.
Of course you can still be fired instantly for huge mistakes but it’s difficult to prove for them which is why I’ve never seen it used.
I have seen it a few times, but there have to be severe and generally repeated offenses, though you can get fired instantly for stuff like serious stealing from the company. But then again, there was once a dude who tried to start a fist fight with his bosses' boss, which apparently wasn't enough for him to get fired instantly.
As far as I know this is standard at least in western Europe, I believe it is required by law, but it could also be defined in general contracts.
And it's not just for the employer, it's mostly for the worker since if you get fired, the employer needs a good reason (repeated or severe breach or contract) to immediately end the contract. So unless you fuck up severely, they still have to pay you for 3 months while you are looking for a job.
And in practice, most are aware that during this time period, they effectively can't really control you all that much. Sure, if you just don't show up for work at all or obviously breache the contract, they don't have to pay you, but otherwise, what are they gonna do, fire you?
In some jobs you can essentially get 3 additional months of paid vacation if they don't need you to teach the new guy or if they are scared that you could be a pain in the ass, so they just send you home while they pay you for 3 months.
In Denmark it's based on how long you've worked there. The most I've got personally was 7 months paid "vacation".
That sounds terrible- the severance sounds good, but being there for 3 months at a place you hate is awful. What happens if you don't stay? In the US, 2 weeks used to be customary or considered polite to not leave your employer blindsided. Now you might offer a week or two and they may or may not accept it. You're usually fired and walked out the door so you don't fuck stuff up on your way out.