Your employer likely wants you to give them two weeks’ notice when you quit your job. It may be in the company handbook, but even if it’s not, it is considered standard practice. They may just assume that you’re going to do it, or, if you tell them that you’re going to quit without it, they may inform you that you’re not allowed to do so.
But do you really need to give that much notice to your employer just because you want to switch jobs? What if your new job wants you to start sooner?
You decide if you’ll give them two weeks’ notice
You have no obligations if you’re an at-will employee. You do not have to give your employer two weeks’ notice or even two hours of notice. You decide how much advance warning you want to give them. If you choose to give them a bit of a grace period so they can find another employee for your position, you can do so. You’ll likely get a better reference in the future. But if you’d rather just hurry to another job, you can inform them that you’ll be gone the next day, and you haven’t broken the law.
One exception to this is if you have a contract that lays out how you are expected to leave your job. If it tells you that you have to provide a certain amount of notice, and then you fail to do so, this can be viewed as a breach of contract. But, if you’re an at-will employee like most people in the state, there’s no requirement at all.
If you do find yourself in a dispute, just make sure you know about all of your legal options and what obligations you really have.
