Voluntary resignation, how is it done and what does it involve?

There are two types of people. First, we refer to those who value stability and who, when they find a good job, try to keep it at all costs. However, there are also those who, in order to advance professionally, do not hesitate to change their position. In both cases, it is essential to know what is a voluntary leave of absence.

What is a voluntary resignation?

Voluntary resignation of the employee is understood to be a procedure whereby the employee expresses to the company for which he/she works his/her desire to resign from his/her position. That is to say, to terminate the employment relationship that unilaterally unites them.

We must never confuse the concept of sick leave with that of abandonment of the job. The difference lies in the fact that, in the first case, the employee communicates his decision to the company, while in the second case, the employee simply stops going to his job during the hours stipulated in the contract.

If the employee requests voluntary resignation, he/she has a series of rights that we will see below. On the other hand, if he leaves his post, he does not. In fact, the employer may claim compensation for damages if the employee proceeds to leave without notice.

What are the possible causes of a voluntary resignation?

According to the Workers' Statute, any employee may request the termination of his or her contract unilaterally without justifying any cause. In other words, there is no need to give a reason for the request and the employer is obliged to grant it in all cases.

However, all employees who resign from their position do so with a good reason. For example, they may ask for voluntary redundancy to improve their employment if another company offers better conditions and the current one does not improve them, or simply because they want to take on new professional challenges. It is also often requested because the family's financial situation has changed (for example, if the partner has a good source of income) or to care for children or family members when the reduced working hours are not sufficient.

What can never happen is a voluntary leave of absence if it is motivated by threats or coercion from the employer in order to save compensation. In this case, it will be declared null and void.

Employee's obligations when requesting voluntary resignation from his/her position

The requirements for requesting it appear in Article 49 of the Workers' Statute. In this regard, it leaves to the collective bargaining agreements the power to establish the minimum notice period. If they do not say anything, case law indicates that the company must be informed of this decision at least 15 days in advance.

This notice must always be given in writing, otherwise there will be no record or record of the decision. There is no specific model to follow, but it is mandatory that the letter includes the following information:

• Name and surname of the employee.
• Date of presentation of the letter of notice.
• Effective date of the resignation.
• Signature of the employee.

The employee must make two copies of his resignation letter and both must be signed by both the employee and the company. Obviously, one will be kept by the employee and the other will be recorded by the company's human resources department.

What rights do I have if I leave the company?

The first of these is that of withdrawal. By this we mean that, if an employee gives notice of voluntary resignation to his employer and, during the 15 days mentioned above, regrets it, the employer is obliged to maintain the employment relationship under the same terms stipulated in the contract.
This is so as long as the effective date of the voluntary resignation has not been reached. This is supported by the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.

Is there a right to indemnification?

The answer is no. Let us not forget that severance payments are compensations that the company gives to the employee in case of dismissal. In this case, the termination of the contract is not the will of the employer, but of the employee. Therefore, there is no right to collect it.

Similarly, there is no right to collect unemployment benefits, although the contributions generated during the entire period of service are maintained. Therefore, if the next company you work for lays you off, you can apply for unemployment benefits and have all that time counted. The only requirement is that you remain at least 3 months in your new position.

What the worker will receive is a severance payment or liquidation. This consists of:

• The days of salary for the current month up to the effective date of the resignation.
• The vacation days generated that have not been enjoyed.
• The proportional part of the extraordinary payments that have not been paid and that were not prorated in the salary.
• Any other type of remuneration provided for in the contract that has not been paid.

In short, this is all we need to know about voluntary sick leave. A right that every employee has, but which is also subject to various obligations.