Handling Resignation Letters

Question:
We just received a resignation letter from an employee with a five week notice eriod. We'd like to let her go immediately and pay her for two weeks. We do not have a formal resignation policy, but two weeks notice is our standard practice. Does anyone see any concerns with paying her out only two weeks when she offered five weeks notice?

Answer:
"Code of Conduct" is the operative word here, in lieu of a stated policy.If you can document multiple instances of a two week period being the standard practice, so you actually do in fact have a policy in place, not to mention that once you accept the 5 weeks, you start to go down a slippery slope that effectively voids your existing de facto 2 week policy.

My feeling is that you will get less than zero performance from her for even the two week period, especially since she is going to blab to everyone about whatever her new adventure is, so the sooner you get her down the road the better.

Frankly, if you don't need her to train her replacement, I'd pay her for two weeks and let her go because anything other than giving her what she wants is going to result in poisoning the workplace while she is there.