Formal act of quitting one's position
Resignation
is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by
election
or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choosing not to seek an additional term, is not considered resignation.
When an employee chooses to leave a position, it is considered a resignation, as opposed to
involuntary termination
. Whether an employee resigned or was terminated is sometimes a topic of dispute, because in many situations, a terminated employee is eligible for
severance pay
and/or
unemployment benefits
, whereas one who voluntarily resigns may not be eligible.
Abdication
is the equivalent of resignation for a reigning
monarch
,
pope
, or holder of another similar position.
Political examples
[
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]
A resignation is a personal decision to exit a position, though outside pressure exists in many cases. For example,
Richard Nixon
resigned from the office of
President of the United States
in August 1974 following the
Watergate scandal
, when he was almost certain to have been
impeached
by the
United States Congress
.
[1]
Deliberate manoeuvre
[
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]
Resignation can be used as a political manoeuvre, as in the
Philippines
in July 2005, when ten
cabinet
officials resigned en masse to pressure
President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
to follow suit over
allegations of electoral fraud
. Arroyo's predecessor,
Joseph Estrada
, was successfully forced out of office during the
EDSA Revolution of 2001
as he faced the first
impeachment
trial held in the country's history.
In 1995, the
British Prime Minister
,
John Major
, resigned as Leader of the
Conservative Party
in order to contest
a leadership election
with the aim of silencing his critics within the party and reasserting his authority. Having resigned, he stood again and was re-elected. He continued to serve as prime minister until he was defeated in the
1997 elections
.
However, ascertaining whether an employee had an intent to resign depends on all the circumstances. As the Ontario Supreme Court noted, an employee's storming off may not legally be a resignation.
[2]
When criticised
[
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]
Although government officials may tender their resignations, they are not always accepted. This could be a gesture of confidence in the official, as with
US President
George W. Bush
's refusal of his
Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld
's twice-offered resignation during the
Abu Ghraib
prison abuse
scandal
.
However, refusing a resignation can be a method of severe censure if it is followed by dismissal;
Alberto Fujimori
attempted to resign as
President of Peru
, but his resignation was refused so that
Congress
could impeach him.
Delivery
[
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]
For many public figures, primarily departing politicians, resignation is an opportunity to deliver a valedictory
resignation speech
in which they can elucidate the circumstances of their exit from office and in many cases deliver a powerful speech which often commands much attention. This can be used to great political effect, particularly as, subsequent to resigning, government ministers are no longer bound by
collective responsibility
and can speak with greater freedom about current issues.
[
citation needed
]
"Spending more time with family" is a common reason credited during public resignations,
[3]
[4]
especially as a euphemism when receding from scandal.
[5]
Other organisations
[
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]
In academia, a university president or the editor of a scientific journal may also resign, particularly in cases where an idea which runs counter to the mainstream is being promoted. In 2006, Harvard president
Lawrence Summers
resigned after making the provocative suggestion that the underrepresentation of female academics in math and science
[6]
could be due to factors other than sheer discrimination, such as personal inclination or innate ability.
In a club, society, or other
voluntary association
, a member may resign from an officer position in that organization or even from the organization itself. In
Robert's Rules of Order
, this is called a
request to be excused from a duty
.
[7]
A resignation may also be withdrawn.
[8]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"The Last Hours of the Nixon Presidency"
.
history.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2014-08-08
. Retrieved
2018-02-14
.
- ^
McKechnie, Dave (January 19, 2017).
"Indignation Not Resignation: An Employee Storming off Does Not Mean She Is Quitting"
.
Mondaq Business Briefing
. Archived from
the original
on October 17, 2018.
- ^
Daly, Kerry (1996).
Families & Time: Keeping Pace in a Hurried Culture
. SAGE Publications. p. 117.
ISBN
978-1-4522-4888-2
.
- ^
Friedman, Stewart D.; Greenhaus, Jeffrey H. (2000).
Work and Family--Allies or Enemies?: What Happens When Business Professionals Confront Life Choices
. Oxford University Press. p. 152.
ISBN
978-0-19-802725-6
.
- ^
Smith, Nick (2014).
Justice through Apologies: Remorse, Reform, and Punishment
. Cambridge University Press. p. 29.
ISBN
978-1-139-86730-6
.
- ^
"Understanding current causes of women's underrepresentation in science"
. PNAS. 2011-02-22. Archived from
the original
on 2011-09-18
. Retrieved
2018-10-03
.
- ^
Robert, Henry M.; et al. (2011).
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised
(11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. pp. 289?292.
ISBN
978-0-306-82020-5
.
(RONR)
- ^
"Frequently Asked Questions about RONR (Question 18)"
.
The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site
. The Robert's Rules Association. Archived from
the original
on 2018-12-24
. Retrieved
2015-12-11
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
Look up
resignation
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.