Giving Notice, Want to Get Max $$$

September 23, 2015 2:45 AM

I'm a veteran, no-contract, no-union teacher. I just got a much better job offer and I'd like to be able to leave my current position and get maximum $$$ from them by getting paid out for sick days. How to do this?

Teachers and administrators are all jumping ship at my current school, and I'm about to give my notice as well.I can't start at my new position until my criminal background check clears, which could be anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks.

I'm an employee at will with no signed contract. I get 8 sick days yearly, and I want to get that money.

What I'd ideally like to do is work for 2 more weeks then get paid 8 paid sick days. I will actually use those days to finally get a whole lot of dental and doctor's appointments done, so I won't actually be lying. But our sick day policy is to call in the morning we're taking it; we can't take them in advance.

What's the best way to do this?

posted by kinetic to Work & Money (14 answers total)

What state are you in?
posted by the agents of KAOS at 3:11 AM on September 23, 2015

Response by poster: Massachusetts, and I just checked; I actually have TEN sick days.
posted by kinetic at 3:12 AM on September 23, 2015

That might be tricky then, because Massachusetts doesn't appear to require that the employer pay it out:

. Employers shall have the option, but are not required, to pay out unused earned sick time upon separation from employment. link
posted by the agents of KAOS at 3:20 AM on September 23, 2015

Response by poster: As I will never use the current admin as a reference, is it okay to give 4 weeks notice and call in sick for the last 2 weeks?
posted by kinetic at 3:23 AM on September 23, 2015

Best answer: Schedule the medical appointments during the period of time that you have between now and when you'll be starting your new job. This is not unethical.

Any other manipulation of the system could be considered inappropriate in some manner, and, although you may never use these individuals as a reference, Karma sucks.
posted by HuronBob at 3:36 AM on September 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

Schedule your appointments, then take your sick days on those days. If you really and truly don't have a system for "I know I'll have a doctor's appointment next Tuesday, could we get a sub ahead of time?" and you really do have to call in that morning, Welp, sucks to be them. Should've set it up better.

If you're at-will, they can fire you with no notice. So get all your appointments taken care of before you give notice.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:36 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Do you have to give a specific amount of time notice at the current job, like two weeks or something? How quickly can you schedule your appointments? Do them all as soon as possible and don't give notice until you have a firm start date.
posted by mareli at 7:37 AM on September 23, 2015

Response by poster: Don't mean to threadsit but I'm not sure I understand this:

Schedule the medical appointments during the period of time that you have between now and when you'll be starting your new job. This is not unethical.

I'm not clear on how I give notice. Do I give them 2 weeks and call in sick every morning for those 2 weeks? Do I tell my supervisor 4 weeks but let her know I'll be taking those last 2 weeks as sick days?

We don't get subs at this school (part of the reason I'm leaving), so calling in sick every morning definitely will put the admins out (but it's a problem they created).
posted by kinetic at 8:26 AM on September 23, 2015

As I will never use the current admin as a reference, is it okay to give 4 weeks notice and call in sick for the last 2 weeks?

No.
posted by Automocar at 9:28 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Plan for 4 weeks and schedule your appointments. Don't call in sick for the last two weeks, space the days out over your remaining 4 weeks. You'll probably get a 'talkin' to' when you take so many days off, but you're already out the door anyway.
posted by 26.2 at 9:55 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Please don't do this.

Sick days are not an employer saying, "You are entitled be paid not to come to work for X days per year."

Sick days are an employer saying, "If you are unfortunate enough to suffer an illness, we want you to have some income and job security during that time. We want you to be able to take care of your health by going to the doctor regularly."
posted by Ausamor at 10:00 AM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Sick days are not an employer saying, "You are entitled be paid not to come to work for X days per year."

I'm allowed to use sick days for medical appointments for myself and my kids. That is what I would do. I'm not asking for a paid day off.
posted by kinetic at 10:09 AM on September 23, 2015

Best answer: I agree with 26.2 - I would plan 4 weeks notice, schedule those medical appointments for you and your kids (spaced out a bit, if you can), and let someone know in advance that you have them scheduled. Then if they still want you to call in the day of, it's on them.
posted by jabes at 10:52 AM on September 23, 2015

Best answer: Make sure you do not have a stipulation in your employee policy handbook that prohibits taking paid sick days after you give notice. I recently left a job where that was the policy. I had to schedule the appointments I needed before I gave notice in order to get paid. Sick days after giving notice were OK to take (as in not penalized for being absent) but were not paid.
posted by citygirl at 3:55 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]