'Is she being duped?': Boss tries to trick coworker into resigning to avoid paying unemployment [UPDATE]

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Mar 20, 2023 12:00 PM EDT

Getting fired from a job is never a fun experience; it can be a major blow to your self-esteem, and the often sudden disruption to your daily routine, along with a sudden loss of income, can cause significant undue stress. Almost always, it feels like a major step backward, like someone has plucked you up out of your life and placed you down somewhere else entirely.

What's more, there's this sense of failure and embarrassment that you feel follows you into each ensuing job interview, hampering your confidence and making it even harder to get back on your feet.

At least, in most parts of the world, there's some form of unemployment payment to help ease the burden and stress of the fired worker, though this often comes at the expense of the firing employer. So, it's unsurprising then that some unscrupulous business operators will seek to frame things in a way that absolves them of this obligation

That's what seemed to be happening in a post shared by Redditor u/starberrico to the popular r/antiwork subreddit. In their post, the original poster describes a situation in which their coworker had been asked to move into a different role; when the coworker refused, the boss told them that they would "need to leave" the business. The coworker thought they had been fired and was surprised when they were instead asked to write a letter of resignation instead. The original poster suspected that this was because it would absolve the owner of their obligation to pay unemployment.

Readers and community members engaged in the comments to share their thoughts, ultimately agreeing that the worker should not write the letter as it would disqualify them from unemployment payments.

The original poster has returned with several updates regarding the situation (Items #5-8). Keep reading to view selected screenshots of the original post, updates, and comments—or view the original post here.