Requesting to be laid off?

[nurseypants328, BSN, APN]

I am a home health nurse and recently had a baby. I've been on maternity leave since November and am due to go back to work in June. I was contacted by my employer about a month ago and was told that the company downsized significantly and I would be re-assigned to a new coverage area which is a MINIMUM of a 45 min drive every day, in a really terrible area. I have mentioned to them many times that this area is too far before and I was hired to cover the area near my home which is why I took the job. not to mention having a newborn in daycare and being far away is a problem for me too. I have been wanting to go back to the hospital for a while now but liked the schedule with HH. but now I plan to look for a hospital job again. my question is: Can I ask to be laid off? To me, it seems like they are trying to get me to quit based on the "position" they are now offering me... and they've already laid off other nurses. don't get me wrong, I'm thankful they are offering me a job, but I think its because they HAVE to due to my maternity leave job protection. any advice for me? I've worked there for a year and a half and have a great working relationship with everyone. part of me wants to email my mgr and just tell her straight out, but I want to be professional and tactful when I approach this.

[DextersDisciple, BSN, RN]

Why don't you just resign? Will being laid off instead benefit you in some way that resigning cannot?

[nurseypants328, BSN, APN]

If I am laid off then I am eligible for unemployment pay while I look for a new job. If I voluntarily resign, then I am not eligible.

[MunoRN, RN]

In laying you off your employer would have to confirm that they have no other positions for you to work, so if they were to lie and say they don't in order for to qualify for unemployment insurance then they would be committing fraud, and I doubt they will agree to do that for you, not to mention that a portion of your unemployment benefits will come directly from them.

[DextersDisciple, BSN, RN]

I guess start looking for new jobs sooner than later. If they were to lay you off how long will they pay you? Even if you still don't have a job next May will they continue to pay for the entire year and more?

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

My guess is that if you called your manager and asked to be laid off she would say that you have to resign. Either you resign and work out your 2 weeks, or you will have to quit, on the spot. I'm not an expert in these areas, but I don't think either one will qualify you for unemployment. Either way, I don't think that they will lay you off just because you request it.

[nurseypants328, BSN, APN]

Yeah I understand that, I've never heard of a company laying you off because you ask, but I had a few people tell me that so I thought id ask around some more. If I would have known they were gonna change my location I would have gone back to work early, worked while I looked for a new job instead of using my unpaid family leave for fmla and not spent the money we saved so I could stay home for 6 more weeks. I just have a feeling they are making this position for me because they have to (my job is protected while on maternity leave but I know they can tweak it, just as long as I have a position when I return), then once I'm back they will either lay me off or wait for me to quit. Just sucks.

[nurseypants328, BSN, APN]

I think 6 months. I have to check

[klone, MSN, RN]

Since the company has to pay your unemployment benefits, I'm highly doubtful that they would agree to this arrangement.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

nurseypants328 said:

If I am laid off then I am eligible for unemployment pay while I look for a new job. If I voluntarily resign, then I am not eligible.

Exactly. Your employer has to pay for your unemployment so why are they going to agree to lay you off when they know you want to quit?

[EllaBella1, BSN]

They will not lay you off if they ask unless they are truly an upstanding amazing company to work for. What is more likely is they will agree to this, "lay you off", you file for unemployment, and they bring up that you asked for it and deny the unemployment.

Around 5 years ago before I went to nursing school I was working in a medical office. I had notified my immediate supervisor that I was accepted to my nursing program about a month and a half prior to my leaving. I never put in my official notice that I was leaving, nor did I speak to anyone else about my plan. About a week after I told her I found out that my office was merging with another office, and some positions were being eliminated, mine included. I was contacted by the practice administrator on a Tuesday and was told that Friday would be the last day of my position. After my position ended I filed for unemployment. My unemployment was denied initially, as the practice administrator said that I had quit to go back to school. Mind you this was a full month before I had planned on even putting in my notice, and I was really depending on working for that final month so that I was financially stable going into my program. I'm grateful that I kept good records and had conducted all of our conversations about all of this via email so I had it all in writing. Unemployment led a very short investigation in which it quickly became apparent that they were trying to get away with not paying me and granted me my unemployment.

The reason I tell you this story is to prove that businesses are largely only looking out for their own financial situations. I strongly believe that even if they agree to this plan they will keep clear records stating that they offered you a position which you declined and you will be out of luck.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

Be very careful because they have offered you a job,a friend resigned after the offer was in another country,the unemployment people accepted her answers and she collected for awhile then they took her to court and her old boss spoke against her and she had to pay back all the money.just resign and be done with it they might offer something better afterwards.Stay home with the baby