Image shown for illustrative purposes; person depicted is a model.
A man speaks angrily to a woman in a business meeting
My former manager says I'll lose my bonus and two weeks' pay if I don't reveal the name of the company I'll be working for next
I gave my two-week notice after accepting a better job in medical sales in another state. My manager clearly didn't expect this at all. In less than an hour, my laptop was locked and I could no longer access any of the company's systems, even though no one from HR had contacted me.
She started sending me messages from her personal number and kept asking where I was going. I told her I wasn't ready to say yet and would inform my network when I felt the time was right.
A sticky note that reads "I quit" on a black keyboard
It's a natural thing to want to move on from a job. Maybe you are being offered a better salary somewhere, you want to transform your career, or you just need a change of pace. Whatever it is, you don't have to justify it. It's your life and you get to do what you'd like to do with it. But some employers don't see it that way. They feel like they're owed more than they actually should be. The boss in this story threatened to do something pretty drastic in order to get some information. Information that should have been kept private.
Then she told me that my Q2 bonus, which is a relatively large amount, and my salary for these two weeks, won't be paid unless I tell her the name of the new company I'll be working for. This sounds illegal, especially since the company revoked my access to the systems immediately. Should I give her this information, or should the matter be handled directly through HR? And does she really have the right to withhold money I've already earned because of this?
Individual pictured is a model used for illustrative purposes.
A man in a suit talks sternly to a female employee
This felt a lot like blackmail. Nobody wants to be exploited and extorted into something, especially at work. We should all have enough good will between each other that we can communicate without blackmail. Messing with someone's money is never a good idea. There are lots of ways to convince someone to tell you something, but if you're having to pull some trickery to do it, it's not a good thing to do in the first place. That's what this employee was struggling with in this story, and they reached out to the internet for a little bit of advice. Keep reading to see what they said.
Did she put this in writing?
Did she put this in writing?
Did she put this in writing?If not, coax it out. "are you saying that if I do reveal it I won't lose my bonus?" or something.
Then reply
"I talked to a lawyer and he said that if the company does not pay this would be an interesting case, but not a long one".
Can't withhold money that you have earned (as long as it's not discretionary). Go to HR.
A person carries a box of stuff out of the office after quitting
Quitting before a big bonus is paid is an odd decision. Will always carry some risk. Commission is a little different, bonuses are often discretionary.
What harm do you think will happen from her finding out today vs 2 months from now?
Hard lesson but people don’t leave sales jobs unless the bonus is in the bank. Alternatively the new company may have offered a sign on bonus to make sure you could leave on their timeline. Now you will know.
You are owed wages for the past two weeks of work.
You haven’t been fired yet. You are just locked out of your computer. So you are still owed wages until you are officially fired by the company.
Bonus is tricky. Check the laws in your state and employment contract.
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