My real-life experience using a lawyer's resignation assistance service.

I recently used a resignation assistance service when I left my job.
This is a service that has recently been gaining attention, where someone will inform your company of your intention to resign on your behalf.
This time, I'd like to write an article about my own experience using a resignation assistance service provided by a lawyer.

Reasons for using a resignation assistance service

There are many different reasons why people might use a resignation assistance service.
In a workplace where power harassment is rampant, simply submitting a resignation would likely cause considerable psychological stress.

In my case, the biggest reason was probably that I wanted to avoid troublesome situations.
I know that leaving a company I've worked for for many years without saying anything is not the right thing to do.
but,I didn't want to waste any more time on a company I had already decided to leave.That's my honest opinion.
If you say you're quitting, you'll likely be asked to stay, and you can also expect them to drag out your departure indefinitely.
If that were to happen, I would feel bad for the company I was going to transfer to, and more importantly, it would cause me a lot of stress.

I feel that having a third party handle the process would allow both parties to set aside emotions and proceed in a purely businesslike manner.
Also, it can be difficult to express a desire to use up all of your paid leave.
If there hadn't been a service like resignation assistance, I might not have even considered changing jobs in the first place.
In that sense, I believe this service could become a mechanism that promotes labor mobility and eliminates companies.

退職代行の3つのタイプ

この記事を書いた2019年当時に比べると、退職代行サービスの選択肢はかなり増えました。
大きく分けると「弁護士型」「労働組合型」「民間企業型」の3タイプがあり、料金も対応できる範囲も違います。

弁護士型

弁護士が直接窓口となり、退職の意思表示だけでなく、有給消化や未払い賃金・退職金の交渉まで代理人として行えるタイプです。
料金は他のタイプより高め（相場は5〜10万円前後）ですが、法律上「本人の代理人」として正式に交渉できる強みがあります。

労働組合型

運営元が労働組合であるタイプです。
弁護士ではありませんが、労働組合には団体交渉権があるため、法律上は会社と交渉すること自体が認められています。
料金は弁護士型より安め（相場は2.5〜3万円前後）で、弁護士型と民間企業型の中間的な位置づけと言えます。

民間企業型

弁護士でも労働組合でもない、民間の代行業者が行うタイプです。
料金は一番安く（相場は2〜3万円前後）手軽ですが、法律上、本人に代わって「交渉」を行うことはできません（非弁行為に該当するため）。
あくまで「退職する意思を伝える」ところまでが業務範囲になります。
自分が実際に利用したのは弁護士型だけなので、労働組合型・民間企業型については一般論の域を出ませんが、この違いを踏まえたうえで、なぜ自分が弁護士型を選んだのかを書いていきます。

Reasons for choosing a lawyer-led resignation service

mohamed_hassan / Pixabay

Resignation assistance provided by lawyers is slightly more expensive than that offered by other agencies.
However, even so, it's reassuring to have a lawyer personally negotiating on my behalf.
If a non-lawyer agency acts as a representative, negotiating on behalf of the client may constitute the unauthorized practice of law and could violate the Lawyers Act.
If the other party is not a lawyer, the company can refuse to negotiate by saying, "We will not negotiate with anyone other than the person themselves."
Recently, the service of assisting employees with their resignations has become more widely known, and some companies will refuse to deal with companies that engage in unauthorized legal practice from the outset.
To avoid such situations, I believe it's worthwhile to use a lawyer's resignation assistance service.

I also think that the word "lawyer" has a significant impact on the company.
The larger the company, the less likely it is to engage in pointless legal battles with legal professionals over employee resignations.

Ultimately, I think this comes down to how much money users are willing to pay for the value of "peace of mind."
If you think it's too expensive, there are other agencies that offer this service, and choosing a service that prioritizes affordability is also an option.
However, personally, since this is an important decision that could mark a turning point in your life, I would recommend paying a little more for peace of mind.

費用は「ペイできるか」で考える

弁護士型は費用が高めですが、有給が十分に残っているなら、その分の給与でほぼペイできるという考え方もできます。
たとえば、有給消化に1ヶ月近く使えるのであれば、その間も給与は発生するわけですから、代行費用を差し引いても十分プラスになることが多いはずです。
逆に言えば、有給がほとんど残っていない状態で、とにかく早く・安く済ませたいという場合は、無理に弁護士型にこだわらず、労働組合型や民間企業型を検討するのも一つの手だと思います。

ここまでのまとめ

・有給消化までしっかりやりたいなら、多少高くても弁護士型が一番安心
・有給が十分残っているなら、給与でその費用はペイできることが多い
・有給がほとんど無く、とにかく手軽に済ませたいだけなら、労働組合型・民間企業型でも十分な場合がある

ここからは、実際に自分が弁護士型の退職代行を依頼したときの、具体的な流れとリアルな感想を書いていきます。

Request Process

The service I used was the resignation assistance service from "Shiodome Partners Law Office".

In a previous article I wrote about resignation assistance services..."I strongly felt that I'd like to use it when I retire."I wrote that,I never thought the day would actually come when I'd need to use it.
No matter how much it might make for good blog material, I'm certainly not going to quit my job just for the sake of writing an article.

To request our resignation assistance service, you can start by contacting us via LINE or email for a consultation.
LINE seemed easier to use, but I chose to communicate via email.
After filling out the online form, I received an email from the office a short while later.
The request was to outline the next steps and to provide some information.

The flow is as follows:

1. Sending client and company information, etc.

2. Telephone consultation with a lawyer

3. Contract documents + bank transfer processing

4. Commencement of retirement assistance

That's the general flow.

Sending company information, etc.

The initial email contained many items that the agency wanted me to know, so I will fill those out.
There are some things you won't know unless you look them up, but it seems okay to leave those parts blank for now.
The items to include are your own information, company name and employment type, length of service and desired resignation date, whether you have paid leave and how many days, and the names of the HR manager and your supervisor.

Telephone consultation with a lawyer

In your initial email, there is a section where you can specify your preferred date and time for a phone interview.
You write down several preferred dates and times, and after you fill them out, they'll tell you when they'll call you.
On that date and time, the lawyer himself will call you and explain the process of resignation assistance.
As expected from someone so experienced, they cover all the points I'm curious about and explain them thoroughly.
They always ask if there's anything else you're curious about, which makes it easy to ask questions.

Contract documents + bank transfer

After the phone interview, you will receive information about the contract documents and payment procedures.
You will need four documents: a power of attorney, two copies of the power of attorney agreement, a copy of your photo ID, and a bank transfer receipt.

It might seem difficult, but it's actually not that hard.
The power of attorney and power of attorney agreement can be easily printed at online printing services located in places like Seven-Eleven stores by entering the print reservation number sent by the service provider.
The main body of the document is already completed, so I just need to fill in my current workplace name, my name and address as the client, and affix my seal.
Since contracts often require the use of seals, those unfamiliar with the process might find it a little confusing.
However, it's not that difficult, so for now, just prepare a stamp that isn't a Shachihata stamp.

Once you've filled in all the necessary information, take pictures of the documents and send them to the agency.
This might be to allow for quick execution even if there isn't much time before the resignation process begins.
Even if a company receives a request from a lawyer to handle an employee's resignation, they can buy time by asking whether they have a power of attorney from the employee or a power of attorney agreement.
Therefore, it is only natural for a lawyer who has been formally retained to prepare documents early on to show that they have been formally retained.
Regarding various documents, we will send not only image data but also the original documents by mail.

Things to prepare before starting a resignation assistance service

Before using a resignation service, I'd like to share some of the preparations I made in advance.
Those with some free time should keep this in mind.

• Notes regarding the retirement date
If you've used up all your paid leave and your bonus payment date falls around that time, make sure to schedule your bonus payment for a date that allows you to use your paid leave before the payment date.
If you can use your paid leave until the bonus payment date, you will receive your bonus.
However, if the payment date falls on a non-working day, it is recommended to check the company's employment regulations in advance to see if payment will be made earlier.
Even if you're just one day away from receiving your bonus, if you don't have enough paid leave, the company will naturally try to make your resignation date before the bonus payment date.
However, if you have remaining paid leave and wish to use it, the company cannot refuse.
You're not the one doing the negotiating, so plan carefully to make sure you get everything you're entitled to.

- Preparation of documents related to retirement
Even if your resignation is approved, your employer may ask you to prepare and submit a formal resignation letter according to company regulations as part of the process.
If the content doesn't require much effort to fill out, that's fine, but if there's a lot to write, it's easier to prepare it in advance.
However, this might be difficult unless you work in a place where the necessary forms are readily available.

Organizing personal belongings
In my case, I gradually started taking my personal belongings home with me even while I was in the process of looking for a new job.
On the final day, only keep items that you don't mind getting thrown away.

As for anything you need to return to the company, I think it's best to leave it there when you leave on your last day.
However, in the case of unscrupulous companies, they may lie and claim that the item has not been returned even if you have left it there.
In that case, it might be more reliable to send it by mail at a later date.

I probably could have left the unnecessary items in the drawers as they were, but I felt bad for the person who had to clean them up, so I got rid of almost all of them.
Towards the end of the trip, the lockers and drawers were almost empty, so it might have been dangerous if someone had seen what was inside.
Even if they notice, there's nothing we can do to stop it, so it's fine.

・Handover
This was my biggest regret.
However, company work isn't something that only certain people can do; anyone can do it.
However, to minimize inconvenience to clients, I printed out documents detailing ongoing projects and upcoming schedules.
Furthermore, after requesting a resignation assistance service, I made sure not to schedule anything after the scheduled date and avoided taking on any new work.
This is mostly just for my own satisfaction.

Day of commencement of resignation assistance

Well, I was filled with a sense of relief right after my last day of work, but I was definitely nervous on the morning of the execution.
My lawyer advised me to take the day off in advance, so officially, I'm taking the day off from work.
Apparently, if they don't give him the day off, it will cause a fuss when he doesn't show up for work in the morning.
This would mean having to perform the substitute duties before the start of work, which would cause a lot of rushing around.

On the day of the appointment, everything was supposed to be carried out exactly as planned, so I didn't receive any prior contact from the lawyer.
I was getting anxious wondering if they had already put it into action, when I received a call on my personal cell phone from my boss at work.
Of course, there was no need to participate in this, so I ignored it.
However, I started to feel a little uneasy, so I sent an email to my boss at work explaining that I had missed a call and asking if he had already taken action.
Shortly afterward, I received a phone call from the lawyer himself, informing me of the progress.

I was told that the employee had informed the company of their intention to resign, and subsequently sent a fax confirming their intention to resign, their request to use up their paid leave, their desired resignation date, and their bonus.
The agent has now become a proxy service, and they apparently instructed the company not to call the person in question, but it seems that the message may not have been properly conveyed during the process of HR contacting the company's supervisor.
Although the contractor was not at fault in any way, they did apologize to us for that.
Furthermore, they reiterated their request not to contact the person in question, which I found to be a very sincere response.

If I had been the one to announce my resignation, I don't think I could have said, "I want to quit, let me use up all my paid leave, and since there's a bonus payment date, please pay me my bonus properly."
Even just considering the fact that I could use all of my paid leave without any worries, I felt that using a resignation support service was definitely worth the money.

Real-life experiences using a resignation assistance service

In my case, I continued working for about two weeks after deciding to use a resignation service.
During this period of employment, keeping the fact that I was using a resignation service a secret from everyone was incredibly stressful.
It was like planning the perfect crime and then living a completely normal life until the day of execution.

I've come to realize that stress can really make you feel unwell.
I was hungry but had no appetite, lost several kilograms, and couldn't sleep well at night.
Even at work, when talking with my boss or colleagues, I can't easily join in the conversation.
I'm not skilled enough to have a pleasant conversation about what will happen after the scheduled date for the resignation service to be carried out, and it's difficult for me to answer those questions.

It seems I'm a more serious person than I thought.
Despite being a diligent person, planning to resign in this manner must be overwhelming him with feelings of guilt.

Perhaps the correct way to use a resignation service is for people who are actually in a much more desperate situation, and who use it as an emergency measure.
If you use it like I did, just to delegate some of the troublesome tasks to someone else, you might end up having a hard time if you're a conscientious person.
However, if I think about whether I could have brought up the topic of resignation on my own, I think it would have been quite difficult.
I'm the kind of person who's easily swayed by emotions, so it's easy to imagine that the situation would have become even more difficult for me.
Therefore, I have no regrets about using a resignation assistance service.

In any case, you probably won't ever see or speak to anyone from the company you quit using a resignation service.
Although this is the path I chose, I do feel a little lonely.
However, the people at your company won't take care of your future life, health, or mental well-being for the rest of your life.
Those are things you must protect yourself.

If you can leave your job on good terms, that's definitely the best outcome.
However, I didn't have the capacity to do that.
"Running away is shameful, but it's useful."There is a Hungarian proverb that became the title of a drama series.
I think this is a message I'd like to share with everyone who is considering retiring.