Manager tells employee he 'doesn’t approve' of her resignation — she responds with a move he didn’t see coming

When you decide to leave a company for whatever reason, you hope the procedure will be as smooth and efficient as possible. You also hope to leave on good terms for future networking purposes and to hold that part of your career as a good memory. A user who goes by u/factor_wafts4a on Reddit revealed that when it was her daughter’s time to resign, her manager refused to approve it. Despite doing everything as per the policy, the man was adamant on his decision, and it turned into a whole stressful situation before the employee was able to leave. Fortunately, her December 17 post revealed that she stood her ground and ensured she got to move that very day. 

The mom noted that her daughter had been considering quitting her job. After giving it thought for many days, she finally fixed a date to make it happen. “She had prepared for everything and studied the matter well, and reviewed the company's policy to make sure everything was in order. The only thing that was clearly written was the procedure for paying out her remaining vacation time,” the post revealed. As best as she could, the woman prepared herself for the day and got her resignation letter. When she took it and went to her manager, she discussed everything in person with him, only to receive an unbelievable response.

“She called me right after to tell me that he literally said to her, 'I don't approve of this,' with no further explanation. Seriously, who does that?” the mom remarked. It was disrespectful, unprofessional, and rude to refuse a resignation when everything had been carefully planned to the T. The employee refused to budge and ruin her flow of things because of a ruthless and careless superior. After being refused, she didn’t argue or plead; she went straight to her desk and typed an email to her manager, and CC’d the department head in it. The woman clearly stated that she was handing over her resignation and was on her 2-week notice period.

According to Hall Payne Lawyers, your employer can refuse your resignation only under certain serious conditions. Sebastian Gutierrez-Hood, a graduate in Law, who deals with Industrial & Employment Law, Unfair Dismissal, Workplace Discrimination, Professional Conduct and Discipline Law, and more, shared deeper insight. He mentioned that an employer can refuse a resignation only if the employee hasn’t written a valid resignation letter, is resigning without serving the recommended notice period, or has not fulfilled the terms of the company's contract policy. Even Goldman and Ehrlich note that unless the terms of a contract have not been met, an employer cannot refuse a resignation. To her surprise, HR arrived at her desk a few minutes later and asked her to pack her stuff.

“My daughter was well prepared for this situation and had packed most of her personal items a few days ago as a precaution,” the mom noted. So when she got the go from HR, she was up and out. The manager then realized he could have handled the situation better and tried to plead for a few minutes to figure out a handover. To this, she gave a bold reply. “She looked at him and said, 'Sorry, you already made it clear you don't approve of the resignation. So I guess this is the result.' Then she just kept walking and left,” the mom proudly wrote. u/Exception-Rethrown said, “Resigning is not you asking permission to quit, it’s a heads up to management that you’re outta there. I’m not sure why so many managers think it’s the former.” u/QualityAdorable5902 remarked, “The manager got the shits, said it in a bit of an awkward way. He's the one in a bind now.”

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