Going to be laidoff

[Padma Priya]

Hi folks,

I need a bit of an advice.


I was given the news that I am being laid off and I was given a 2 weeks notice. I am a Java/J2ee developer

I asked if it was performance but they said it was because of restructuring and budget.

On those lines i had a few questions and I was wondering...


1) If an employee is going to be fired, during the discussion do they give any indication as to why they are fired(instead of layoff).

2) If it was performance, does the employer hint at it, at some point of time, before giving the 2 weeks notice.

3) Finally once the news of layoff(not firing) has been communicated to you and you are given the 2 weeks notice, what are expected from you?

4) Should I still attend the daily standup meetings, or should I concentrate in my job search?

5)Should I be regular to office or can I WFH. If i am in office there is no way to go on with a job search?

6) If my colleagues are planning on an sendoff, Should I accept it or can i gently decline.(I will be in no position to sit through a sendoff with my present state of mind).

7) In short what is expected by the employer from the Employee in those 2 weeks??

Thank you!

[Henry Wong]

First, you have my sympathies. It is always bad to have a job loss, especially during the holidays. And I find it a bit mean when companies pick this time of the year for a round of layoffs...

BTW, it may help us if you also give your location (assuming that you are willing to name the country/city), as there are local laws that may be in effect.

Henry

[Padma Priya]

Henry,

I live in California, fremont.

Thank you!

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Henry Wong wrote: And I find it a bit mean when companies pick this time of the year for a round of layoffs...

Yeah. 2016 budges are being created though so I can understand how it happens.

Padma Priya wrote:1) If an employee is going to be fired, during the discussion do they give any indication as to why they are fired(instead of layoff).

I think it depends on the employer. t that point, it is too late though as the employer as already decided. And depends on the reason for firing if that is what it was.

Padma Priya wrote:2) If it was performance, does the employer hint at it, at some point of time, before giving the 2 weeks notice.

Yes. Ideally with an actual discussion and not hint. Most employers want you to perform better. It is expensive to fire someone and replace them. It is far less expensive if you can work with the person and get them to perform better.

Padma Priya wrote:3) Finally once the news of layoff(not firing) has been communicated to you and you are given the 2 weeks notice, what are expected from you?

You are expected to finish up what you are in the middle of and transition knowledge to others on your team. And if you have extra time, it is good to complete other small tasks as well. Remember that you never know when you will work with your teammates again. Or one of them will know about another opportunity. You want to leave on good terms.

Padma Priya wrote:4) Should I still attend the daily standup meetings, or should I concentrate in my job search?

In general, you should attend the standups. Your employer is paying you for the two weeks; it is to work for them.. In some cases (especially a bulk layoff at a large company), they will give you a package so you can concentrate on your job search after you leave. That said, if you have an interview during the timeslot of the standup, tell whomever runs that meeting. I'm sure they'd be ok with you missing a few.

Padma Priya wrote:5)Should I be regular to office or can I WFH. If i am in office there is no way to go on with a job search?

Do you normally work from home? I'd expect you to keep something to your normal work schedule. If you telecommute 4 days a week, I'd think that would be fine. If you normally work from the office, I'd expect that would continue. Remember, your employer isn't paying you to do a job search in those two weeks.

Padma Priya wrote:6) If my colleagues are planning on an sendoff, Should I accept it or can i gently decline.(I will be in no position to sit through a sendoff with my present state of mind).

Wait a few days and see how you feel. If you can, you should accept it. It isn't your colleagues fault you are leaving. If you any team dynamic at all, your colleagues like you and want to say goodbye/thank you for your work. Also, keep in mind they are going to do this anyway. If you decline the sendoff, it is likely to happen individually which means you are going to have to sit through the conversations one at a time. Also, remember that this is an opportunity to network. You never know who knows someone who knows someone who is hiring.

Padma Priya wrote:7) In short what is expected by the employer from the Employee in those 2 weeks??

In a nutshell, knowledge transfer is the most important. Your employer will understand if you are less productive than normal and do SOME job search work. However, it looks bad if you appear not to be working at all.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Henry is right; you are in an unhappy and unfortunate position. Sorry to hear such news.

Padma Priya wrote:. . . 1) If an employee is going to be fired, during the discussion do they give any indication as to why they are fired(instead of layoff).

Usually, yes.

2) If it was performance, does the employer hint at it, at some point of time, before giving the 2 weeks notice.

They should do a lot more than hint. They should have you up before them for performance meetings.

3) Finally once the news of layoff(not firing) has been communicated to you and you are given the 2 weeks notice, what are expected from you?

Probably, to continue working as normal. To leave enough information that whoever is left can complete the work.

4) Should I still attend the daily standup meetings, or should I concentrate in my job search?

You should continue to attend meetings but you will surely be able to excuse yourself if you have to travel looking for a new job.

5)Should I be regular to office or can I WFH. If i am in office there is no way to go on with a job search?

You should work as normally as far as possible. I would have thought you could look for jobs from the office, under the circumstances.

6) If my colleagues are planning on an sendoff, Should I accept it or can i gently decline.(I will be in no position to sit through a sendoff with my present state of mind).

If at all possible, attend the sendoff, otherwise, your colleagues may consider it rude. Say you are too unhappy to do it now, can you delay it for a few weeks.

That is what I think. If the employer do not want you to attend as normal, they will instruct you to clear your desk or stay at home. If they had been unhappy about your performance they would surely have told you. You should be asking for references; they will take it for granted that you will look for a new job.


At least that is my opinion. Others will doubtless have differing opinions.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Sounds as though Jeanne and I largely agree.

[Somnath Jamdar]

Employer might not be expecting you to work on any critical task he may expect necessary support from you though. You should attend daily stand ups and send off meetings but give priority to your job search.

I lost one onsite opportunity because I gave less importance to the interview and kept on working on tasks assigned to me . Manager may assign tasks to you but it is you who can best prioritize the things.

All the best for your next assignment.

[Campbell Ritchie]

If you have opportunities to look for jobs I think you should be assertive about it. Tell your boss, “I am going to be out of a job in two weeks; there is a job going at XYZ Inc. just round the corner paying $8347598359734 more than I am getting here. I really need a half‑hour to go and see them.”

No, say two hours. If you ask for a half‑hour they will give you 5 minutes. If you ask for two hours you will probably get the half‑hour you wanted.

[Ahmed Bin S]

I am sorry you got laid off.

I don't know about the US, but here in the UK, we have pretty strong employment laws, so an employer cannot fire you without telling you why. If they fire you, then have to tell you why they fired you, imagine if employers didn't have to tell their staff why they fired them, an employer could fire you just because they don't like you, or because they want to give a job to a friend and therefore they are firing you so they can give your job to them - how stupid would that be? Thankfully, here in the UK (and I am pretty sure within the rest of the EU too), if an employer fires you, they must tell you why, so that you can challenge the decision if you feel it was unfair dismissal.

[Giovanni Montano]

Padma Priya wrote:Hi folks,

I need a bit of an advice.

my suggestions are two
one is focus on the solution. Maintaining acceptable references working enough, but think over the new company.Relax you are a java programmer, one of the most researched fields in the world at the moment.

two do not take personally. I think coding is all about enthusiasm. so I if you have previous experiences in similar jobs you know you are good enough and was just politics, if you do not have previous experiences, you took this experience to exceed expectations over your next job.

I have the feeling shortly you will be happy to have changed job. In our job experience and knowledge are more coincident than whatever comparable field, and for sure you made a lot of experience.
I come from the financial world where people are fired and cannot find any job because of the automatization, so you are lucky that you are hitting a really blowing market, just consider since 2008 half a million jobs in the banking financial sector disappeared.


good luck mate, you look as a nice person from your words, this should make you already a 50% nice asset to a company in my advice, your acquired knowledge will be now the other 50%

[arulk pillai]

Getting laid off for some can be a blessings in disguise to do bigger & better things.

[Padma Priya]

Hi all,

Thank you for your replies and clarifications.

But looks like bad luck is really following me around.

I got a position shortly after I was laid off. The commute was good. The technologies they use are good too.

My hiring manager is a good person. The job started off well and everything was ok.

But during the onboarding process, I fell under another manager.

Now she was a different story. I have two kids and one of my kids start his KG at 9:40 am PST. I told her the same and asked her for some flexibility either in the morning (when I can drop them and my hubby can pick them up) or in the eve when I can pick them and my hubby can drop them. Because she was setting the meetings at 5:30pm in the evenings which was really making it difficult for me to pick up my kids (as my hubby drops them and 6:00pm is the pickup time). That's when she actually started speaking rudely. I got scared and sent her an email copying my hiring manager and told her my situation once again and also told her in the email that if wrapping up the meeting was not possible everytime, its ok and its just a request from my end.

2 days after that email, they said my contract has been ended. Saying my timings were not appropriate.

I was shocked, because I come at 9 and go at 5:30 (I eat at my desk) which is 8 hours.

I told the same to my hiring manager, he understood and finally he said they are not terminating my contract. But now I will be directly working under my hiring manager.


But the whole incident has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Should I look out for another position. I am not sure if I can trust them.

Please advice. Did I do anything wrong.

I have started to lose confidence in myself though I am up to date with latest technologies.

Thank you!

[Giovanni Montano]

Padma Priya wrote:
I have started to lose confidence in myself though I am up to date with latest technologies.

Thank you!

since 2008 half a million of jobs in the banks disappeared, please consider that you as coder knowing the latest technologies are a really lucky person, so are the majority of the people in the sector.
What you maybe miss is politics, put your self in the shoes of your colleagues and everything will go right.
Writing emails, putting in copies people means make things legal, formal, official, and is different that remain calm when your colleagues lost her temper and try to get the best from that situation.

you can learn about politics, with experience, asking to colleagues, peers, reading on the internet the best practices to manage colleagues

[Giovanni Montano]

Padma, how is going?
did you manage to find another job again?