Legal Considerations When Quitting Your Job Abroad
When you’re thinking of leaving your job abroad, it’s crucial to think carefully before packing up and walking out. This is because laws can vary across different countries and, if you hold a temporary work permit as a foreign employee, your employment status could be in a precarious position.
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This Pacific Prime article will delve into the legal considerations and tips when quitting your job abroad to help foreign employees safely leave their job abroad.
Common Reasons Why People Quit Their Jobs
Before we delve into the key considerations when you decide to quit your job abroad as an expat, let’s first discuss some common reasons why people quit their jobs in the first place. These include wanting better work-life balance and further career development opportunities.
Below are brief explanations on each common reason people quit their jobs.
A Desire for Better Work-Life Balance
One of the main reasons people tend to quit their jobs is the desire for better work-life balance. This means they may want more time with friends, their family, or their hobbies, all of which are the fundamental necessities of a healthy work-life balance.
Constant work reminders or peer pressure could impact employees’ personal time and leave them feeling burnt out, leading them to reevaluate whether their existing job is really suitable for them if they wish to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Career Development Opportunities
Another common reason people tend to quit their jobs is because they may want further opportunities for career development. For instance, after working in a particular position for some time, employees may feel the desire for more challenges through career development opportunities.
This could be the case if the employer is limited in promotion or career advancement opportunities, leading the employee to consider further career development opportunities elsewhere.
Factors to Consider When Quitting Your Job Abroad
Now that we’ve discussed some general reasons why employees tend to quit their jobs, let’s now move onto key factors to consider if you’re an expat quitting your job abroad. These include carefully considering your departure context and whether your work permit allows you to resign without risk.
Below are each of the factors to consider as an expat when you decide to quit your job abroad.
Resignation or Contract Expiry? Consider Your Departure Context
When deciding to leave your job abroad, it’s crucial to consider the particular context of your job departure to avoid losing any of your rights as an employee. Is the reason you leave your job due to a resignation or just the end of your contract?
This is because certain countries do not offer unemployment benefits like severance pay in case of a resignation while others may provide unemployment benefits for employees resigning.
For example, in Canada, you won’t qualify for unemployment benefits if you wish to resign from your job unless you are forced to leave because you have no other reasonable options available and provide evidence that all other options were exhausted before choosing to resign.
Meanwhile, the French law states that employees who wish to resign to start their own business are entitled to unemployment benefits provided they can prove they’ve worked for their employer for at least five years.
The Work Permit Problem
If you decide to quit your job abroad as an expat, another crucial factor to consider is whether your work permit is tied to your employer. Knowing your work permit rights is crucial for organizing your resignation from the company under the best conditions, such as respecting the notice period.
If your work permit is tied to your employer, resigning will leave your visa’s validity in question, and you will need to find a job within the same sector within a limited timeframe or you will risk deportation.
For instance, layoffs in the tech sector of the United States revealed that the H-1B visa is tied to the employer. If a foreign employee’s contract is terminated or the employee decides to leave, they have a limited amount of time to find a new job and risk being forced out of the country.
Conclusion
As an expat overseas, it’s crucial to consider key factors such as whether you’re quitting your job through a resignation or you’re leaving as it is the end of your contract and if your work permit is tied to your employer to maintain your rights as the foreign employee.
While there are considerations when deciding to leave your job abroad, you can always craft a safety net for yourself and your family with a health insurance plan. A suitable health insurance plan can help alleviate financial stress from unexpected medical bills in case of illnesses or injuries.
While searching for an adequate health insurance plan, considering the numerous options available with different benefits at fluctuating price points, may be daunting for expats, the search and comparison doesn’t always have to be a headache and that’s where we come in.
As an international health insurance broker with more than 20 years of experience, Pacific Prime has helped various clients, such as local citizens and most notably expats, seek out health insurance plans that suit both their budget range and unique health insurance needs.
Whether you’re a local citizen yourself or an expat living abroad looking to insure your safety and wellbeing for peace of mind, we are more than happy to help you out. What’s more, we can go the extra mile in helping you by offering completely impartial advice at no additional cost.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Or, if you would like to compare plans from multiple insurers, you can click here to get a free quote with us.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts, Media & Communication major (concentration: Creative Content) from Mahidol University International College (MUIC). During the compulsory major elective period in the summer of 2021 and voluntarily during the summer of 2022, he also interned as a video and photo editor at Mbrella Films.
He has experience working as an English Content Writer at a real estate buying/renting/selling platform in Thonglor. There, he crafted company blog posts on a multitude of topics. Topics include market trends, legal issues and disputes in property businesses, financial guides, expat guides, home insurance, home decoration and maintenance, and weekly real estate news quick-recaps. Occasionally, as part of the blog-writing process, he would also translate existing Thai blogs to English.
In his free time, Guy enjoys doing scriptwriting and storytelling for comic strips, watching movies, and listening to music (particularly film scores).
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