Ran across this piece, “Time Off Prior to Layoff?”, in Human Resources Executive Online that brought up an interesting question.  Someone wrote in with a question as to whether employers are required to give exiting employees time off for job interviews after notice of the layoff has been given, but before the actual layoff date.

The short answer is no, but wouldn’t you want to?  The best case scenario for both the employer as well as the exiting employee is for that employee to have a new job to go to when their last day rolls around.  From the employer’s perspective, risk of employment litigation is reduced and you save on unemployment costs (currently estimated at $6,000 per employee).  It’s also important to protect the company’s brand and employees left behind pay attention to how you are treating those folks that are walking out the door.   

It is currently taking the unemployed an average of 35 weeks to find a new job, that’s 35 weeks collecting an unemployment check (both state and federal funded) and anything an employer can do to cut down on that time saves them money.  From the individual’s perspective too, a lot can happen in 35 weeks.  People are becoming depressed and discouraged.  They are losing their homes and worrying about how to feed their children. 

So, from a business perspective, as well as a humanitarian perspective, it just makes sense to go ahead and let them interview.  You might have to deal with how to handle the workload in the short-term, but it’s probably best for everyone in the long-run.

Tammy Mullin