History Main / ResignationsNotAccepted

* An outright heartwarming inversion of this is seen shortly before the climax of ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar By the Sword]]'' when Captain Kerowyn of the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Skybolts Mercenary Company]] calls an assembly to make it clear that they are in an untenable position against a foe that would, even if they surrendered, murder the lot of them out of hand ''[[FateWorseThanDeath if they were lucky]]''. Having been chosen to lead them for her defiance of an incompetent predecessor that came within one battle of wrecking the company a decade ago, she tries to call another vote on whether she steps down in expiation for getting them into this mess... and [[HundredPercentAdorationRating is immediately shouted down]].

Ha! Good luck with that, because once you join a shadowy organization of this sort, you can never leave. If your bosses don't force you to keep working, they'll soon start saying, "HeKnowsTooMuch" and making plans for your elimination. This normally only happens in villainous organisations, so the victim is either a villain or an antihero. Expect {{Retirony}} and a ContractOnTheHitman to follow. If it doesn't, then the author may [[DroppedABridgeOnHim drop a bridge on you]] just to prove that crime doesn't pay.

** In "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E1MembersOnly Members Only]]", Eugene Pontecorvo requests a resignation from the mob to retire to Florida after getting a hefty inheritance from his aunt. Tony Soprano brings up omerta and disallows Pontecorvo's retirement. [[spoiler:It also turns out that Eugene is an FBI informant, and they also disallow his retirement, insisting that he continue to spy on the mob.]]

** In addition, they can recall you to active duty for a time after you are discharged from the service, but the period of time in which they can do so is spelled out in the enlistment contract. During that period of time, you are considered to be a member of [[HomeGuard The Reserves.]] Retired officers, on the other hand, ''can'' be recalled to duty at any time. Though practically speaking, at some point a retired officer would be considered too old to be fit for military service, even in desk duty. So even in the event of a dire national emergency, the odds of being recalled to duty shrink dramatically the longer you've been retired. On the other hand, you're still potentially subject to military law until the day you die, and can potentially face a court-martial for (for example) conduct unbecoming, if your post-retirement actions reflect badly on the service.

** To leave the Canadian Forces before your contract expires you need to submit a Voluntary Release Memo, which begins with the phrase "I, [Rank and name], ''request'' a voluntary release" for a reason. It's rare for such a thing to be rejected, but if they still need you you're not going anywhere.
* This is quite standard for criminal gangs and syndicates the world over. Once you join a criminal organization, you're in it for life, and the only way to leave it is in a body bag... unless you're willing to turn yourself over to the authorities. Only a few individuals have ever been lucky to leave alive. Prison gangs in particular have a "blood in, blood out" policy -- joining the gang frequently requires spilling the blood of someone from a rival gang (blood in), and once you're in the gang, the only way out is death, either at the hands of the gang or at the end of your natural life (blood out).
* Some countries forbid their heads of state to quit office, even if it's the only thing they can ethically do. The closest example of this trope is Mexico since the Mexican Constitution states the only way a Mexican president can be able to quit office is being judged for federal crimes (like high treason) or dying due to natural causes or accidents. This law was created after the Mexican Revolution for preventing a president from quitting so easily and for avoiding coups d'etat -- see the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Lascuráin Pedro Lascuráin case]].[[note]]Victoriano Huerta ousted the President and the next two people in line in 1913. To maintain some kind of legality, Huerta got Lascuráin, being the person highest in the line of succession that was still there, to succeed as president--for just 45 minutes. What Lascuráin did is essentially name Huerta to the office that is next to the line after himself, and then resign himself.[[/note]] However, the term of office was fixed to 6 years, so they're not stuck for life. According to Wikileaks, [[LoopholeAbuse there is a way for a Mexican president to quit office]], but it implies suspending the Constitution (so any laws regarding the presidential mandate will become void), and no Mexican president will resort to that, even in the most dire of circumstances, since it could be used against the president themself at any time.

* On a national scale, once a state is in the United States, it's in for good. UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar showed that secession was unacceptable as a practical matter, and [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts the Supreme Court]] later made it clear that it was also unconstitutional. (In theory, a state could exit the Union by means of a constitutional amendment, but that's rather different.)
** In late 2017, Spain sent the same message to Catalonia. The Spanish constitution is very explicit that secession is forbidden, and Spanish courts held that the Calatan regional government acted illegally by even ''attempting'' to hold a referendum on that subject.
* One theory about UsefulNotes/MalcolmX's assassination holds it was the Nation of Islam pulling this on him after he repudiated their beliefs and converted to Sunni Islam.
* In a less gruesome version, many Asian sweatshops will hold onto their workers' first month's paycheck until they're given permission to leave their jobs, which in practice happens very rarely. While workers aren't technically prevented from quitting, they have to sacrifice an entire month's wages to do so, and the suggestion that they ''might'' someday be granted the elusive permission serves to discourage them from leaving without it.
* After John F. Wallace resigned after one year, and John F. Stevens resigned after two years, a frustrated UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt selected Major George Washington Goethals of [[TheEngineer the Army Corps of Engineers]] to be Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal, explaining that he wanted somebody who wouldn't be allowed to quit. Goethals took up his assignment with a sense of duty and saw the project through to completion.

* Muslims don't take kindly to apostasy. In countries where UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} is the dominant religion, apostates could face severe punishment, including death, for leaving the faith, though this varies wildly from country to country and is mostly reflective of local regime conditions than anything else. For instance, in UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}}, there are no legal repercussions at all (though your neighbors might view you with suspicion). Meanwhile in UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia, apostasy is regularly punished by beheading. However, the average reaction in the Muslim world is closer to UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}}, where the main punishment for apostasy is...er...a fine. Assuming someone else is annoyed enough at you to report it to the public prosecutor. And assuming that prosecutor decides it's worth his time to respond to the complaint. (There are some civil knock-on effects, chiefly that if you are a man married to a Muslim woman, your marriage would be deemed annulled on the theory that Muslim women are forbidden from being married to non-Muslim men. However, the biggest effect is that the government will otherwise ''refuse'' to recognize the change of religion, which affects how family and probate/inheritance cases are handled.)

* A standard in evil organizations (see ComicBook/{{Hydra}} for Creator/MarvelComics) and villains' mooks. No one can leave [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]'s gang alive, or the [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]]. Even AlwaysChaoticEvil races are so: Skrulls (Marvel Comics) are said to be euthanized when old. {{Ninja}} clans in particular are notorious for this rule.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheHand The Hand]] is especially nasty since they can raise the dead. Even ''death'' isn't an escape.
** One that deserves special note was the Scourges of the Underworld, the murderous vigilantes that target super-villains because this policy was what led to their undoing. One recruit, Priscilla Lyons, couldn't bring herself to kill her first mark and wanted out, but she knew they'd be after her; prior to this, ''every'' would-be defector (or failure, or even members who were in danger of being caught) had been killed by the others before they could spill any of the group's secrets. But she was smarter than the others. She quickly called ComicBook/TheAvengers hotline and got in contact with [=USAgent=], and as a result, they both brought the entire organization down. (A few "lone wolf" Scourges have shown up since then, but the actual organization does not appear to have ever recovered.)
* Less sinister version in ''ComicBook/ExMachina''. During a crisis, Mitchell's second-in-command starts saying he's going to quit, only for Mitchell to interrupt forcefully and say he needs him because he needs someone questioning him every step of the way, even if he can't always agree.
* Late in TheSeventies, the Marvel villain the [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Purple Man]] had a CutLexLuthorACheck epiphany. He realized that he didn't really need to be a supervillain to get what he wanted, because he had a CompellingVoice (actually, super-pheromones, but it works the same), so people would just hand him whatever he wanted, and thank him for the privilege. So he tried to quit being a villain and take up a life of hedonistic debauchery. Cue almost a decade of stories in which some BigBad (like [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin The Kingpin]] or Characters/DoctorDoom) would track him down and force him to help with their latest EvilScheme. Since then, he's apparently become resigned to his fate, and his last several appearances have shown him trying to TakeOverTheWorld.
* ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' sees Dirk Anger contemplating/attempting various suicide methods. He eventually succeeds in hanging himself... accidentally, but to his annoyance, Beyond Corporation did not accept the terms of his retirement and brought him back as a ''zombie''. A green one, who craved brains. It's that kind of series.
%%* This trope is the whole plot of ''ComicBook/Red2003''.
* How Al Simmons eventually became ComicBook/{{Spawn}}. He was an assassin who wanted to retire from the profession, only for Jason Wynn, his boss, to screw him on [[OneLastJob his last job]] and send him to Hell.
* ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'': A story featured three scientists who worked developing weapons for a CorruptCorporateExecutive. When they decided to quit, he kept them locked in the lab and said he might accept their resignations fifty years later. The scientists escaped.
* The Agency in ''ComicBook/{{Zero}}'' dispatches agents in order to eliminate enforcers who left the Agency. Edward is sent to dispatch one such enforcer in issue 4.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'', a teleporting supervillain put together a team of fellow bad guys to [[MinorInjuryOverreaction avenge himself on Robin]]. When he found one of the others electrocuting Robin it was revealed that while his recruits were in it for murder he had just wanted to humiliate his enemy and he tried to quit. His recruits quickly decided that a teleporter was far too useful and threaten his family to keep him on board.
* In ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'', soon after TheEmpire rose to power, an Imperial captain questions TheEmperor's decision to {{unperson}} the Jedi that helped them win the war and his WoundedGazelleGambit while he's addressing the new Navy. [[MakeAnExampleOfThem Darth Vader then Force chokes him to death in front of everyone]], and tells them that in response to the galaxy's unstable state "Resignations are not permitted at this time" and that if they don't do their jobs with absolute obedience they'll share his fate.

* ''Comicbook/{{BPRD}}'': Ben Daimio attempts to hand in his resignation out of guilt over [[spoiler:Roger's death]]. Director Manning refuses to accept it, as an EldritchAbomination is rampaging across the country and the Bureau needs all the help it can get.

* ''Series/ThePretender'': The Centre won't accept Jarrod's resignation although he doesn't exactly try and stay below the radar after he escapes. Plus he was never an employee, only a company asset.
* ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' is based entirely around this trope. In the opening titles, an unnamed British intelligence agent (only ever referred to as "Number 6") hands in his resignation, at which point his employers drug him and ship him off to a bizarre isolated "Village" which is really an elaborate, luxurious prison. For the rest of the series, the Village wardens employ bizarre interrogation methods, trying to uncover why Number 6 resigned, while Number 6 tries to escape--and failing that, fights from the inside by screwing with the Village's plans. In this case, he ''did'' officially resign, in the sense that his crossed-out identification picture is shown being placed in a filing cabinet labelled RESIGNED. So technically he's not working for them anymore ... but he's not working for anyone else either, and it's possible that (along with preventing him from revealing sensitive information) was the whole point.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'':

* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', once someone is recruited into Section 31, they're considered to be an active agent for the rest of their career in Starfleet, as Malcolm Reed and Julian Bashir learned. What makes this worse, is that's it's also implied applications are not accepted. Once you're deemed to be a suitable candidate, you're given a brutal SecretTestOfCharacter and then are considered a member, whether you want to be one or not. If you try to resist or go against the wishes of your handler, chances are Section 31 will simply have you killed and replaced with another unwilling agent. [[spoiler:In Bashir's case, he was considered useful enough that Section 31 preferred manipulating him into carrying on their missions. Sometimes capitalizing on the fact that he's not going to ignore a threat to the Federation just because it was Section 31 that informed him of it and other times [[BatmanGambit giving him a different mission than what they actually want to be accomplished, so that his attempts to subvert them will play into their hands]].]]
* ''Series/{{UFO}}'': In "Kill Straker!", Colonel Foster is subject to alien brainwashing. The others contemplate killing him because HeKnowsTooMuch about SHADO, and therefore can't just be fired.
* On ''Series/UtopiaUS'', members of the Harvest who express doubt in the group's mission are assassinated if they don't end up committing suicide first.
* Defied on ''Series/TheWire''. Cutty returns from prison and joins Barksdale's crew (Avon having recruited him in prison). After he can't pull the trigger on Fruit during an attack on a Stanfield corner, he apologizes to Avon, saying "The Game ain't in me no more" and clearly expects to be killed in response. Avon lets him go with a ManHug.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* ''Website/TheOnion's'' list of "[[https://www.theonion.com/excuses-to-get-out-of-work-that-bosses-see-right-throug-1848261557 Excuses To Get Out Of Work That Bosses See Right Through]]" has "I Quit" among the excuses your boss won't fall for.

* In ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' some members of Galactor actually try to leave, most notably [[spoiler:Condor Joe's parents]] but they are killed before they can do so. In fact, Berg Katse [[KickTheDog asks a girl who was told she could leave if she completed a special mission why she ever thought she could leave Galactor alive right after shooting her [[YouHaveFailedMebecause she failed the special mission]] and after she begged him for another chance]]!

* In ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' some members of Galactor actually try to leave, most notably [[spoiler:Condor Joe's parents]] but they are killed before they can do so. In fact, Berg Katse [[KickTheDog asks a girl who was told she could leave if she completed a special mission why she ever thought she could leave Galactor alive right after shooting her [[YouHaveFailedMe because she failed the special mission]] and after she begged him for another chance]]!

* In ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' some members of Galactor actually try to leave, most notably [[spoiler:Condor Joe's parents]] but they are killed before they can do so. In fact, Berg Katse [[KickTheDog asks a girl who was told she could leave if she completed a special mission why she ever thought she could leave Galactor alive]]!

* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' thinks he's free to leave the CIA in the second season, [[spoiler:but he would have been assassinated by his own handler had he actually quit. Furthermore, in a somewhat non-fatal version of this Trope, Chuck quits the Buy-More at the end of the same season, but his job hunt at the start of the third is manipulated behind the scenes by the CIA (because he can be surveyed by them more easily at the store), so no other company ''but'' the Buy-More will hire him]]. As of the fourth season, Chuck's attempts to find a job outside the CIA after being given explicit permission to leave are foiled [[spoiler:by the CIA, which is apparently willing to go back on its deal with Chuck and blackmail him into working for them again]].

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* If you're an agent of the Laundry in Creator/CharlesStross' ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'', you can't quit. Ever. In fact, you probably weren't even given much choice in joining -- most Laundry agents were too close to unleashing {{Eldritch Abomination}}s by accident and simply weren't safe to leave in civilian life. If you screw up they'll put you on unimportant duties but they can't fire you for the same reason. (Bob Howard thinks they might let him go if he [[MagicFromTechnology stays away from anything to do with computers]] but he's not prepared to go that far). It's strongly hinted that Laundry agents don't even get to quit once they're ''dead''. However by ''The Rhesus Chart'', this policy has become impractical due to the large number of people aware of the {{Masquerade}}; they're still bound by the same (magically enforced) secrecy provisions, but are allowed to take ordinary jobs in society, with the Laundry using them as contacts in the larger world or a reserve force to be drawn on in case of emergency.

* If you're an agent of the Laundry in Creator/CharlesStross' ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'', you can't quit. Ever. In fact, you probably weren't even given much choice in joining -- most Laundry agents were too close to unleashing {{Eldritch Abomination}}s by accident and simply weren't safe to leave in civilian life. If you screw up they'll put you on unimportant duties but they can't fire you for the same reasons. It's strongly hinted that Laundry agents don't even get to quit once they're ''dead''. By ''The Rhesus Chart'', this policy has become impractical due to the large number of people aware of the {{Masquerade}}; they're still bound by the same (magically enforced) secrecy provisions, but are allowed to take ordinary jobs in society, with the Laundry using them as contacts in the larger world or a reserve force to be drawn on in case of emergency.

* ''Film/Bloodshot2020'': [[spoiler:Harting]] does not allow anyone to leave his employ in order to maintain strict control of his inventions. All of [[spoiler:Ray's targets]] are former employees and partners of [[spoiler:Harting]] who "betrayed" him be leaving. [[spoiler:KT's respirator]] holds her hostage as it'll shut off if she leaves the building without his permission.

* ''Film/{{Kate}}'': The protagonist announces her intention to retire to her handler, which he reluctantly accepts. [[spoiler:He reveals late in the film that he would allow her to be killed rather than retire but earnestly believed he could talk her back out of it.]]

* Muslims don't take kindly to apostasy. In countries where UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} is the dominant religion, apostates could face severe punishment, including death, for leaving the faith.

## Until the early 20th century, any MP appointed to the Cabinet--including the Prime Minister--had to seek re-election in his constituency in order to hold the seat and the office. At first this wasn't a problem, since most Cabinet members were Lords anyway, but as the number of members of the Commons in the Government rose, an exemption was made for certain situations.

For an example of how difficult this can be: Under the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Agreement Perth Agreement]] of 2011, the Commonwealth realms agreed to change the rules of succession so that brothers did not automatically take precedence over sisters. Most realms passed legislation allowing this in 2013 but it wasn't fully in place until March 2015. Why? Blame the Parliament of Western Australia, which didn't get around to voting on the matter until earlier that month; only at that point could the Australian Commonwealth government commence the federal legislative process. (Amusingly, the "Perth" in "Perth Agreement" is the capital of Western Australia; it was signed not even a mile away from the Western Australia Parliament House).[[note]]Everyone ''thought'' that it would be the government of Quebec, which was run by "sovereigntists" 2012-14, trying to extract concessions, but the federal government has managed to get around the "every province" requirement for now; even if a suit by some Quebec activists manages to knock that down and force the federal government to let the provinces vote, Quebec is unlikely to cause problems as it will be run by the much more monarchy-friendly federalists for the next few years, as the sovereigntists ''massively'' shot themselves in the foot on other issues during their term in office.[[/note]] And if (somehow) you find yourself in the line of succession but want out, don't think that you can avoid this mess by just stepping aside from your place in the succession: that, too is set by Parliament, and would also require an Act of Parliament (well, all the described Acts of many Parliaments) to modify. The only way someone can lose his/her place in the succession is to convert to Roman Catholicism, as it's written into the rules that nobody who is or has ever been a Catholic could be in remainder to the throne.[[note]]This is at this point mostly to avoid the LogicBomb of having a Catholic be the Supreme Governor of the (Protestant) Church of England and protector of the (even more Protestant) Church of Scotland. The reason that former Catholics are still barred is unclear, but it's more likely to be reflective of an attitude of "you can only get on the list if you're born onto it" rather than any inherent anti-Catholicism.[[/note]] This itself is no small undertaking, as while converting to Catholicism is easier than converting to, say, Judaism, they still make you go through several weeks to several months of courses to prove you're serious.[[note]]Before 2015 one could also choose to marry a Roman Catholic but the religion of an heir's spouse no longer matters.[[/note]]

For an example of how difficult this can be: Under the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Agreement Perth Agreement]] of 2011, the Commonwealth realms agreed to change the rules of succession so that brothers did not automatically take precedence over sisters. Most realms passed legislation allowing this in 2013 but it wasn't fully in place until March 2015. Why? Blame the Parliament of Western Australia, which didn't get around to voting on the matter until earlier that month; only at that point could the Australian Commonwealth government commence the federal legislative process. (Amusingly, the "Perth" in "Perth Agreement" is the capital of Western Australia; it was signed not even a mile away from the Western Australia Parliament House).[[note]]Everyone ''thought'' that it would be the government of Quebec, which was run by "sovereigntists" 2012-14, trying to extract concessions, but the federal government has managed to get around the "every province" requirement for now; even if a suit by some Quebec activists manages to knock that down and force the federal government to let the provinces vote, Quebec is unlikely to cause problems as it will be run by the much more monarchy-friendly federalists for the next few years, as the sovereigntists ''massively'' shot themselves in the foot on other issues during their term in office.[[/note]] And if (somehow) you find yourself in the line of succession but want out, don't think that you can avoid this mess by just stepping aside from your place in the succession: that, too is set by Parliament, and would also require an Act of Parliament (well, all the described Acts of many Parliaments) to modify. The only way someone can lose his/her place in the succession is to convert to Roman Catholicism, as it's written into the rules that nobody who is or has ever been a Catholic could be in remainder to the throne. This itself is no small undertaking, as while converting to Catholicism is easier than converting to, say, Judaism, they still make you go through several weeks to several months of courses to prove you're serious.[[note]]Before 2015 one could also choose to marry a Roman Catholic but the religion of an heir's spouse no longer matters.[[/note]]

%%* This trope is the whole plot of ''ComicBook/Red2004''.

%%* This trope is the whole plot of ''ComicBook/{{RED}}''.

When Edward VIII abdicated, it took a full day for the then six Commonwealth Realms[[note]]Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK itself[[/note]] to complete the paperwork, with one of the Realms (Ireland) intentionally taking an extra day as a gesture of independence and as a convenient excuse to mostly write the monarch out of their constitution.[[note]]The Irish government of the time was led by [[UsefulNotes/PrimeMinistersOfIreland Eamon de Valera,]] a Nationalist Republican who would have liked to get rid of the monarchy entirely, but recognized that to be politically impossible at that time.[[/note]] If any future monarch declared an intention to abdicate it would take much longer to obtain approval. In 1936, the UK parliament was able to legislate for the realms on such affairs as long as the prime ministers of the other realms agreed, but today it would require legislation to be passed in 8 of the 16 realms individually.[[note]]The constitutions for the other 8 realms explicitly state they will have the same monarch as the UK, so they don't need to change local laws as long as UK changes its own laws.[[/note]]In Australia and Canada, moreover, it further requires the consent of all States/Provinces.\\