Re: Not Blackmail?
The whole "blackmail" thing seems to me somehow related to a unionized environment with tribunals, etc. I have no union experience at all, so I can't judge how "cruel and unusual" it may seem.
In the union-free "at will" employment contracts I see (including my own) the normal stipulations include a "termination notice" followed by a "notice period" during which the employee is required to work as usual, including possibly transferring knowledge and/or training a replacement, while getting the salary and all the benefits. In addition, at the sole discretion of the employer, the employee may get everything he/she is owed for the "notice period" and be asked to never come to the office again. I don't think anyone sees this as "blackmail" or "discrimination" or "offense". In general, it is understood by everyone that an employee who has just been made redundant will have no motivation for working hard through the notice period, and this will not be good for staff who have kept their jobs, either.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
