Despite high-profile portrayals in the media and entertainment industry to the contrary, most managers don’t enjoy firing employees. Indeed, many go through great lengths to avoid firing staff, such as investing in performance improvement plans (PIPs) or looking for other roles within the company that better fit the employee’s strengths.

Still, whether due to poor performance, violation of company policies or some other issue, employees can and do get fired all the time.

Life can be difficult for someone who’s recently been terminated from a job, particularly when looking for a new job. Potential employers are understandably wary of an applicant who has been terminated by their previous employer. For this, and other reasons, many employees would prefer – and even request – to be allowed to resign from a position in lieu of being terminated. The end result is largely the same – the severing of the employer-employee relationship; but this seemingly symbolic distinction can have important implications for both employer and employee.

Why Allow Employees to Resign?

First, let’s consider the obvious question: we know why the employee would often prefer resignation; but why would an employer agree to allow an employee being terminated to resign instead? After all, the employer no longer wants to continue the employment relationship, so things must not be going well.

That being said, just because an employer-employee relationship no longer makes sense (from the employer’s perspective at least) doesn’t mean the employer wants to see the employee struggle to find another job. And having a firing on one’s record often does create such a struggle.

“One could argue that in the majority of situations an employee should be given the opportunity to resign. Many times, an employee is fired for not meeting performance standards, not meeting the supervisor’s expectations, due to personality differences, or they are just not a good fit for the job,” says Denise Heekin, Esq., a labor and employment attorney for Bryant Miller Olive. “Allowing an employee to resign in such situations provides them with the opportunity to start fresh without a negative mark in their employment history. This concept should apply equally to employees whether they are in the top echelon or just starting off in a career. In some jurisdictions, it might also save an employer from having to pay unemployment.”

Allowing an Employee to Save Face

While avoiding putting an employee in a situation in which finding a new job is more difficult than it needs to be is one important reason many employers allow departing workers to resign, it’s not the only reason.

“Just as importantly, letting an employee resign often times gives that person a sense of dignity, control, and power that would be stripped away from them in the event of a termination,” says Damien Weinstein, a partner at Weinstein + Klein, a firm that specializes in management-side employment law for clients mostly in New York and New Jersey. “This is important for obvious reasons – not only do you presumably NOT want to cause this person emotional harm, but by letting them feel like they made the call and it’s on their terms you avoid the hurt feelings that can often result in a legal dispute. Here, a little bit of humanity goes a long way.”

Gene Camm, Director in the Compensation Resources Group at EisnerAmper, says such face-saving motivations tend to apply more to senior staff and long-tenured employees. Camm also points out that it’s relatively uncommon for an employee to be fired out of the blue, and employees often can see the writing on the wall in advance and don’t necessarily need a formal ultimatum to quit or be fired. “Most organizations have some type of progressive discipline policy, so employees become aware of their performance deficiency and may elect to start looking for new employment during their performance recovery period, which allows them to self-select out of the organization,” he notes.

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