---
title: "Leaving a job or reducing hours"
canonical: "https://www.joinandwise.com/crossings/termination-and-hours"
checked: "2026-10-21"
claim: "andwise:crossing/termination-and-hours@2026-10-21"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Leaving a job or reducing hours

Leaving a job or cutting hours is where the costs agreed at signing come due: notice, the non-compete, bonus repayment, tail coverage and PSLF eligibility. This page lists each one and the tool that computes it.

**The decision:** Giving notice, reducing hours, or setting a last day.

## What changes

- The AMA recommends mutual without-cause termination with at least 90 days' notice and a 30-day cure period. Employer and physician notice periods are often unequal. ([AMA, physician contracting do's and don'ts](https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-residents/transition-resident-attending/physician-contracting-do-s-and-don-ts-interviews); checked 2026-10-21)
- PSLF counts a payment only while the borrower works full-time, an average of at least 30 hours a week, for a qualifying employer. The borrower must also work for a qualifying employer when applying and when the loan is forgiven. ([34 CFR 685.219, Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.219); checked 2026-10-21)
- Tail coverage typically costs 150% to 250% of the mature annual claims-made premium. A new employer's prior-acts (nose) coverage can replace it. ([Andwise: malpractice tail coverage costs by specialty](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/tail-coverage); checked 2026-10-21)
- Individual disability policies commonly define the insured's occupation as the one held when disability begins, and measure residual benefits against average prior earnings over a period the policy sets. How hours reduced before a claim count depends on the policy's own definitions. ([The Standard, individual disability outline of coverage, form 9145(2/10)CA](https://www.standard.com/eforms/9145ca.pdf); [Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission, disability income uniform standards review](https://insurancecompact.org/media/590); checked 2026-10-27)
- A non-governmental 457(b) plan pays deferred compensation from the employer's assets, which stay subject to its general creditors until paid. Separation from employment is one of the events that permits a distribution. ([IRS, non-governmental 457(b) deferred compensation plans](https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/non-governmental-457b-deferred-compensation-plans); [26 U.S.C. §457](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/457); checked 2026-10-27)
- In 30 of 51 jurisdictions, a statute voids physician non-competes or sets their limits. Some statutes turn on how the job ended: Texas SB 1318 (2025) voids a physician covenant after an involuntary discharge without good cause. ([Andwise: non-compete laws by state](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/noncompete); [Tex. S.B. 1318 (89th Leg., R.S. 2025), enrolled text](https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/SB01318F.htm); checked 2026-10-21)

## Who is paid for what

- **Malpractice carrier.** Collects a one-time tail premium when a claims-made policy ends, unless a new policy's prior-acts coverage takes over. ([Andwise: malpractice tail coverage costs by specialty](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/tail-coverage)) Not part of its role: Deciding who pays for tail; the contract decides that.
- **The departing employer.** No published source recorded yet. Not part of its role: Releasing or narrowing a covenant, unless the contract or state law requires it.

## Costs that come later

- Notice period (at signing or renewal) → The earliest possible last day — https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/check
- Non-compete (at signing or renewal) → Where and when the next job can be — https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/noncompete
- Bonus and relocation repayment (at signing) → The last paycheck, or a repayment from after-tax pay — https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/clawback
- Tail coverage (at signing) → The last day of coverage — https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/tail-coverage
- PSLF progress (since training) → Hours below 30 a week, or a for-profit next employer — https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/loans

## Deadlines

- The notice period — Set in the contract
- PSLF: employment at a qualifying employer when applying and at forgiveness — Set by law

## Tools

- [Leaving a job](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/termination): The exit in order: how the contract ends, notice, repayment, tail, the non-compete.
- [Contract checker](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/check): Restates the exit terms it finds at a chosen month.
- [Part-time and reduced hours](https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/schedule): Hours a week to cover a spending floor, and months of savings.
- [Employed, part-time, contract or nonclinical work](https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/career): Employed, part-time, independent and nonclinical paths side by side.
- [Tail coverage costs](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/tail-coverage): Estimated exit cost by specialty.
- [Bonus repayment after tax](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/clawback): What repaying a signing bonus costs.

## Questions

### Counsel

- On the planned last day, which covenants and repayment terms still apply?
- Does the reason for leaving change the non-compete or who pays tail?

### The employer

- Does reducing hours change benefits eligibility, the non-compete, or the tail obligation?

### The malpractice carrier

- What does tail cost on the planned last day, and does a reduced schedule change the premium before then?

## Sources

- [AMA, physician contracting do's and don'ts](https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-residents/transition-resident-attending/physician-contracting-do-s-and-don-ts-interviews)
- [34 CFR 685.219, Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.219)
- [Andwise: malpractice tail coverage costs by specialty](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/tail-coverage)
- [The Standard, individual disability outline of coverage, form 9145(2/10)CA](https://www.standard.com/eforms/9145ca.pdf)
- [Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission, disability income uniform standards review](https://insurancecompact.org/media/590)
- [IRS, non-governmental 457(b) deferred compensation plans](https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/non-governmental-457b-deferred-compensation-plans)
- [26 U.S.C. §457](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/457)
- [Andwise: non-compete laws by state](https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/noncompete)
- [Tex. S.B. 1318 (89th Leg., R.S. 2025), enrolled text](https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/SB01318F.htm)

Reviewed 2026-10-27; oldest source check 2026-10-21. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The site describes what the law and rules say; it does not say whether a clause is enforceable or what you should do.