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Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 11:47 am
by Anonymous User
I’m going to be lateraling firms soon but want to take at least a week off in between. I have a lot of vacation time accrued and would normally just cash it out, but I can’t risk having a gap in health insurance at the moment. Is it possible to give, say, 3 weeks notice to HR, but tell my teams that my last working day is in 2 weeks, and then have a week of vacation while I’m still on payroll/insurance?
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:27 pm
by Anonymous User
Good chance your insurance will last through the final day of your last month at your old job, or you could COBRA it.
You should also confirm with your new job that your coverage starts on your first day there.
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:30 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 11:47 am
I’m going to be lateraling firms soon but want to take at least a week off in between. I have a lot of vacation time accrued and would normally just cash it out, but I can’t risk having a gap in health insurance at the moment. Is it possible to give, say, 3 weeks notice to HR, but tell my teams that my last working day is in 2 weeks, and then have a week of vacation while I’m still on payroll/insurance?
You can definitely ask, but as a reference point someone at my firm tried this and was asked to leave after the 2 weeks (i.e., the firm wasn't willing to pay them salary/benefits for that extra week of vacation).
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:35 pm
by 12YrsAnAssociate
I know a guy that went in house did lots of research on timing for the insurance thing and took about a month off between jobs, and only went to the new job after the (roughly) month off because it was the absolute last day he could while maintaining continuous insurance coverage for his family, so its doable without asking the firm you're leaving to play ball with your plans. The firm might be willing to do so, but it also might have no interest at all, and it might even tell you that two weeks isn't necessary and you can leave the day you put in your notice.
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:46 pm
by nixy
Yeah, definitely check on the last day of medical insurance with the old job and the first day with your job. It's common for coverage to extend through the last month you're enrolled, and not start until you've been at a job for 2 weeks. I also second the recommendation to consider COBRA for a month if you can afford it and are really worried. That said, I've seen something somewhere that you have X number of weeks to decide to take advantage of COBRA, and that if you do, it's retroactive to the date that you left the job. Absolutely confirm this rather than relying on a rando from the internet, but I've seen people say that it often allows for a situation where if you find you do need medical coverage, you can sign up for COBRA and get it covered retroactively.
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 5:51 pm
by TUwave
This is the best part of being on a spouse's plan... I'm going to take like 6 weeks when I head in-house/lateral!
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:34 pm
by Anonymous User
How soon is your departure and how busy are you now? Could you just take the vacation then give notice on your first day back? I’ve seen people do this after much longer leaves. It might rub a few people the wrong way, but firms would drop any of us in a second if things slowed down enough.
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 10:35 pm
by Anonymous User
nixy wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:46 pm
Yeah, definitely check on the last day of medical insurance with the old job and the first day with your job. It's common for coverage to extend through the last month you're enrolled, and not start until you've been at a job for 2 weeks. I also second the recommendation to consider COBRA for a month if you can afford it and are really worried. That said, I've seen something somewhere that you have X number of weeks to decide to take advantage of COBRA, and that if you do, it's retroactive to the date that you left the job. Absolutely confirm this rather than relying on a rando from the internet, but I've seen people say that it often allows for a situation where if you find you do need medical coverage, you can sign up for COBRA and get it covered retroactively.
I did this COBRA retroactivity "hack" for a month or two between quitting my job and starting law school. I didn't ultimately need COBRA, but it seems like it would have worked if I had.
Edit: As I recall it was 60-90 days to decide if I wanted COBRA, then I had the opportunity to elect coverage, and then another 45 days to pay. I was told that I could elect coverage and then not pay with no consequences- that may not be true. But my impression was that if you were injured or sick at any point during that time, you'd be covered.
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 10:50 pm
by Anonymous User
Anecdotal, but I lateralled recently and the official email from HR after I gave notice said I would not be able to take any paid time off during my notice period. Maybe ask someone you know who recently left your firm if they have a similar policy.
Re: Taking vacation between jobs
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:01 pm
by Anonymous User
I took six weeks off between jobs. Highly recommend it; take more if you can. The COBRA strategy works. Also your insurance should be covered through the month even if your last working day is the 1st.