I don't think it's unethical to leave after a short amount of time given the employer has no equivalent expectation.
We also hired a c-level exec who came aboard apparently having already accepted a different offer and came on for under a month to collect pay and get some juicy stock. Apparently they negotiated well and walked off very, very well paid.
Edit: not sure if I have a point there other than both employees and companies can be jerks. We should all be better.
At a previous job, I worked fairly closely with a sales representative who, it turned out, was working in sales “full time” for two different tech companies in different fields.
Needless to say, once he was discovered he was jobless (unless, of course, there were more undiscovered jobs out there).
If this continued for a while and you were happy with his work prior to discovering this, why let him go?
They talked about making him full-time. Negotiated an offer, relocation package, etc., all good. He set about selling his home, finding his kids new schools, etc. And then about a week before his start date, he got a phone call.
"The clinic has been sold to new owners. They are reviewing finances and rescinded any job offers, including yours. They will allow you 30 days to repay your relocation assistance."
Oh hell no. He lawyered up. He'd sold his home. Had a whole bunch of language in the employment contract that the new owners were unaware of, to ensure things went "smoothly".
He didn't end up repaying his relocation assistance. And his "new" "employer" ended up paying three months salary and the closing costs on his house for the inconvenience.
I work in finance and certain hedge funds have a reputation for cutting people quickly they don’t like. It attracts people that are ok with that and most stay away.
That all said - you got to look out for you and your family and friends, so you got to do it sometimes. Just wanted to say that, most of the times, the feeling of a commitment to each other goes both ways during the honeymoon period between company and person.
California at-will employment cuts both ways and requires neither employer nor employee to give notice.
Many employers will typically notify employees 30 days in advance of layoffs and provide severance on top of that.
Many employees give employers two weeks’ notice before quitting.
Some employers and some employees do neither, which is fully within the bounds of at-will employment in California.
* If I am terminated without breach of contract I still will receive full compensation (at least for some months).
* Contract may not be broken related to any unexpected health issues.
* No arbitration requirement if one side accuses breach of contract.
Of course this would benefit me more than the employer :-)