Anyone ever request to be laid off?

[Andrew Michaels]

I'll be leaving my job at the end of May to build up my own business, which is currently not making enough money to support me. While I have some savings, being able to collect unemployment for a few months would really help.

If my job fired me they would likely have to replace me, which makes me think they probably won't want to lay me off.

But anyone ever ask for this? How did you approach it? Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[James81]

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask. But I highly doubt they would do it unless you have a very good, close, friendship with the boss/owner of your business.

But at the end of the day, this sounds very unethical to me. You want to take out the risk, and to do so at the expense of other people's tax dollars.

IMO, a more logical, ethical, and sensible route would be to reduce yourself to something part time while building up your business instead of expecting a handout to get you by.

[InterfaceLeader]

If you are self-employed you are not unemployed.

There are a lot of people genuinely hurting for those unemployment dollars. Just ask for a reduction in your hours :/

Or look for small business grants etc to fund you.

[MattMacola]

Originally Posted by James81

But at the end of the day, this sounds very unethical to me. You want to take out the risk, and to do so at the expense of other people's tax dollars.

Totally agree with this. I wouldn't do this for sure. You might be able to get your boss to do this but it doesn't make it right.

[Marc Robertson]

One way to seed a company is to work at a day job while moonlighting your new company. This will allow you to survive until the day the the day job is no longer needed.

A friend of mine did this to support his part time business years ago. About a year later, he got laid off and collected unemployment. He was able to develop a substantial product base during this period. By the time his unemployment wore off, he was making much more money with his business than his employer paid him previously.

Asking to get laid off when it is unnessesary for the company to do so is like asking "I want to get paid for many months without having to do much actual work. Thank you" While the company doesn't directly pay you unemployment, you do become a liability to them. They more than likely won't take kindly to that.