Giving short notice when leaving a job

It's really sketchy that your potential future employer expects you to start one to two working days after making you an offer. Like mr vino says, this is so standard as to be expected by all involved. If your potential employer isn't operating under that, I'd be concerned about what else they are/aren't doing that might impact you down the line. As for your current employer, expect them to be really pissed. While you legally can quit and leave at any time, giving that little notice is horribly unprofessional, and I think you need to expect some backlash (no consulting work, no references, no good will, etc.). My two cents: You need to find a way to get your future employer to move their anticipated start date out so this works for everyone involved.

Nobody gets two week notice on a layoff Actually, it's very common to give laid off employees a severance package that includes at least two weeks of pay (if not more, when possible), in part because giving two weeks notice is so common.

In the US, for professional jobs, the standard protocol is 2 weeks notice (this is so standard, in fact, that the new employer should expect you to tell them you can't start for 2 weeks). Your situation sounds different, but offering to help out for a max of 2 weeks seems more than fair.

We just had a dishwasher/server assistant call in and say he was offered a job in his field of study and would be leaving as soon as we could find a replacement. He was working a constant schedule with us though and it was only 2-3 days a week so he'd started the new job when he called us. The big thing here is what's already been said above me, and how easy it would be to find a replacement for you. Is there somebody in house who can pick up the hours without getting massive overtime? Can you shuffle people around in house, and possibly open up a low level position that it would be easy to hire for?

I realize 2 weeks notice is standard, and I'm not terribly pleased that they want the new hire to start immediately, but I don't want to do anything to endanger my prospects for this job. The place I currently work is pretty casual and flexible, generally people give notice but (from what I remember) tend to slack off towards the end and/or not finish the two weeks. Not that this justifies being a jerk, but we're all very friendly and understanding here and even after leaving them hanging like this I think I could expect a good review/references. They could end up being pissed, but I guess that's a risk I'm willing to take. I also don't think there's too much pressing work coming up for me here, so I think my responsibilities could fairly easily be covered by other people and by my working remotely a few hours a week. Oh, follow-up question: I hear about the job tomorrow (Thursday) and our office is closed with everyone working remotely on Friday - I'm hoping I'll hear before everyone leaves tomorrow so I can break the news (fingers crossed) but it could turn out that I have to inform them from home on Friday. Is this something I should make a phone call about? (our main mode of communication is skype IMing) or wait until Monday when I can do it in person? I think they'd appreciate the extra time but I would feel bad being overly casual about letting them now what's going on.

I think sooner is better than later. You can even say, sorry I can't do this in person, but here's what's going on. You'll want to negotiate a contract for the remote work you'll be doing, in writing, though. I charged my previous employer more per hour for contract work, but I was leaving under different circumstances.

I always submit my notice via email so it's documented. So you can do that. You could do it right now. Just say you've accepted a new position that unfortunately has to start Tuesday and you're really sorry for the short notice, but you'll be happy to work up a contractor agreement on Monday for X duration of time. Watch the new job to make sure they haven't permanently categorized you as a sucker now. I had to deal with some fallout from bowing to pressure to not give reasonable notice myself last year.

The place I currently work is pretty casual and flexible, generally people give notice but (from what I remember) tend to slack off towards the end and/or not finish the two weeks. that may be, but these folks may also be resented greatly by those asked for references later on. As a manager, I would very much want an employee to take a new job if it was a good opportunity, but I wouldn't be ok if the employee's departure meant added work/ stress for the employees still there. Anything to mitigate that, even if not actually in the office, would be appreciated and probably good enough given your description of the work place. Also , is there any way you can start the new gig part time?

Start with a voice communication (in person is best; phone call works but isn't ideal). Have the conversation so they understand what's going on, and why. Once that's done, follow up with a brief written notice (email, no Skype IM).