This week I was informed that the CPA firm I worked for was restructuring the firm to use only CPAs on a contract basis. I was told that my position was therefore eliminated. I was then told, "If you want to just say you resigned, so that you don't have to explain this to prospective employers, that will be fine. You can write me a letter or it can be a verbal resignation, and I will give you a reference." I was in complete SHOCK, and I'm afraid that my brain picked up what it viewed as the positive points -- better to resign than be fired, and better to leave in a way that she will give me a good reference because this job is my main source of experience in my field. And so I resigned! It was just sort of a blur and now I'm regretful. I was given 2 weeks severance, but that means I must find new work by the first of October.

From viewing other posts, I see responses along the lines of it being extremely unlikey to receive UI if one resigns, however, I was looking at the ADWS Law website (link below) and it states that one "will be disqualified from benefits if he, voluntarily and without good cause connected with the work, left his last work." My question is - did I have good cause? http://www.arkansas.gov/esd/WorkersUnempBenefits/A_subchap5.htm#c513

Please advise.

Thanks

I am skeptical about the "better resign then fired" logic. Sure, if you are terminated for cause, but you are basically being laid off. It happens. No harm. No foul.

This might come as shock, but candidates lie all the time about why they left their last job. I would prefer to not base hiring decision on how good a liar someone is. If you ask for a story, you will probably get one.

If I am interviewing someone I would consider layoff or restructuring to be a "good" reason if everything else looked alright. Of course HR would shake the trees and see if any nuts come tumbling down, but speaking as someone who is normally a department manager who hires people, unless HR comes up with something, I am much more interested in the candiates qualifications then what "story" they tell me about their last terminiation. I am interested however in patterns of employment. Someone who historically changes jobs every few months is IMO likely to keep doing so if I hire them. If someone spends most of the interview bad mouthing the former employer or making up excuses for leaving, I would assume that the same behavior will continue if I hire them. Anyone who (for example) worked the last 5 years for the same employer, I am inclined to not look too closely at the reason for termination. Managements and conditions change. I have worked for employers who someone could have made bad movies about. Not all "devils" wear Prada.

File for unemployment.

It won't hurt you.

There is no telling what the UI folks will decide. If you can show that your resignation was because you were going to be terminated for reasons not related to misconduct, they might rule in your favor.

It can be better to resign rather than be fired if you are about to be terminated for misconduct and the company won't mention the misconduct to any potential employers.

In your case, had you not resigned and been laid off, you could have truthfully stated that. Layoffs happen. A layoff of one is questionable, but when there are many in the same boat, prospective employers won't hold it against you.

Thank you for your replies. There definitely was not any misconduct, and I was not the only person let go on the same day this week.

The idea that resigning was better was something that I decided very quickly without any reasoning, and now I see that what both of you are saying is true - the layoff would've been sufficient and wouldn't have hurt me in my job search. Regardless, I do not intend to say one negative word about any former employer - I know, that is a no-no.

If I go ahead and file for unemployment, will my former employer be contacted and given a chance to contest it? I'm not sure how I "show" that I would've been terminated regardless of resignation, and not for misconduct. All of my former co-workers know that this is the case, and I would hope that, if asked, my former employer would be honest about it. Does the severence pay lend positively towards my claim - meaning that it helps to prove that I was being let go? I'm just a little afraid that if they receive notice of a UI claim, they will spitefully give me a not-so-wonderful reference.

Also, can you help me get a handle on the "base period" for benefits? http://www.arkansas.gov/esd/WorkersUnempBenefits/A_subchap2.htm#c201

I had been employed at this firm since July 26, 2006, which is around five quarters ago, and so it looks as though it would be the wages from this most recent employer that my benefits would be based on - am I figuring that correctly?

will my former employer be contacted and given a chance to contest it?

Absolutely. What they will say is that it was a voluntary resignation. Unless the person makes the initial decision digs deeper (or you explain that your resignation was suggested by the employer in advance of the layoff), expect you to not get benefits.

You then appeal. The second level of the process is much more formal and involves testimony under oath with the opportunity to call and cross-examine witnesses.

I am no expert on how benefits are calculated, but the five quarters rings a bell.