Working your notice...



Slatz63 said:
Lots of jobs do.
Every role I've worked on PAYE in last 20 years have wanted 3 months.
It was fun, when I was contracting, giving 1 week notice a couple of times though.

I'm currently on 3 months notice but, I'm giving them 5 months notice as I respect them and want to ensure a good handover to my replacement.
Click to expand...
Correction. Lots of places ask you to give 3 months. It can’t be enforced. You have to be paid for any work done and holiday entitlement accrued. They are legally not allowed to withhold any of it even if you just walk out.
 
Nero the dog said:
Correction. Lots of places ask you to give 3 months. It can’t be enforced. You have to be paid for any work done and holiday entitlement accrued. They are legally not allowed to withhold any of it even if you just walk out.
Click to expand...

A person can't be forced to work, so a court won't order specific performance. But to say that a notice period can't be enforced is just not true. Subject to the "no specific performance rule" leaving without giving notice is a breach of contract and can be enforced like any other breach.

The employer can sue for any financial loss caused by the early departure.

They can potentially get an injunction to stop the employee from working for others during the notice period if that amounts to a breach of the employment contract.

In practice, this rarely happens outside top executive roles etc, principally because employees are pretty fungible and are unlikely to be good for the employer's legal costs. But that doesn’t mean it can't happen if the employer is vindictive enough.

+ burnt bridge and no or bad references
+ getting a bad reputation if the industry is a small world.

Much easier to negotiate a shorter period or stick it out I reckon.
 
I left in August and was on 3 months - the company said I could leave after a week if preferred on full pay as a goodwill gesture.

We were smack bang on the middle of a tricky project and I knew the lads needed leadership and help so I decided to go in and break its back.

We did this and when we were straight I left - I ve semi retired now so reputation or burning bridges didn’t matter anymore.

It’s just a matter of professional pride and not leaving your workmates in the lurch for me .

I received an e mail from the chaps last week thanking me for mucking in which meant a lot to me .
 
In one recent job I had to give 3 months notice but they only had to give me one month! I thought it was taking the piss at the time I signed the contract but I wasn't in a strong bargaining position, out of work and running a bit low on funds.

About 3 years later COVID struck, I was furloughed then went through the redundancy process. They were a decent company previously but they handled the redundancy dreadfully so I threatened them with court. Ended up with a fairly low out of court settlement. I wasn't really in the mood for a fight after a heart bypass!

Had a couple of fairly well paid but shit jobs after that. 1 was a 6 months contract, I wasn't offered an extension thankfully. The other full time but I only lasted 3 months as I couldn't hack the travel or the job.

Work for myself now, never been happier 😀
Pnematic1 said:
I left in August and was on 3 months - the company said I could leave after a week if preferred on full pay as a goodwill gesture.

We were smack bang on the middle of a tricky project and I knew the lads needed leadership and help so I decided to go in and break its back.

We did this and when we were straight I left - I ve semi retired now so reputation or burning bridges didn’t matter anymore.

It’s just a matter of professional pride and not leaving your workmates in the lurch for me .

I received an e mail from the chaps last week thanking me for mucking in which meant a lot to me .
Click to expand...

Very admirable, I doubt I could have done it myself.

I was working my notice from one job to another in the same company and was rather pissed off. I couldn't wait to get started on the new job so did pretty much the bare minimum in the old job. Mind they did send me to Peterhead twice in 3 weeks which didn't do much to improve my mood 😂
 
Last edited:
Safc_Number10 said:
....it's a weird time being at work once you have handed in your notice.

I was supposed to be at a networking meeting later in the week, ok, so it's just a bit of drinking coffee with others, having a nice lunch and an early finish, but they've said I don't need to go. Sour grapes if you ask me.

I was very willing to advise them how to move forward, help with recruitment and assist with a handover period, I even considered staying a couple of extra weeks to enable this to happen, but after this, I'll get out the door asap, let them sort stuff out, oh, and I'll be using up my remaining holidays.
Click to expand...
They are sending you to the networking events on company time for the benefit of their business not your network. I can totally see why they would not want to send you in fairness.
 
Last edited:
Place I worked at was so sketchy, days into my notice they said they pay me if I left that day instead of working my notice. Never received a penny. 🤣
 
I'm in the middle of my 3 months now, it's desperate. My replacement wil be on 3 months as well so there'll be no handover, just prolonging the misery.

I've no incentive to be doing more than the absolute minimum so the next person is going to be picking up my crap and I fully expect to walk into similar in my next place. God knows who benefits from this situation.
 
Always been on four weeks notice. When I handed it in at the last place they took me off every project I was working on.

I'd only been there six month but they'd taken over my previous place. I was supposed to be doing a handover around our old clients to the lad I was working with. Bit of history on them, what went into the work we did, what the people involved with each was like.

Only, they had so few of our previous clients left after six month it took no longer than an hour to run through them. Decent four weeks that one.
 
Biffo The Bear said:
3 months notice?
What line of work requires 3 months notice?
Click to expand...
Most of the NHS
I’m on my last day tomorrow and it’s been a tricky 4 weeks with some. HR have been frosty and a few of the directors have been very quiet. The reality is that they will struggle to replace me especially the T+ Cs they are offering new starters.
That’s their fight now and I do stand by the theory that it’s easier to maintain the workforce than replace them, especially in healthcare where they don’t make enough of us
 
Last edited:
When working for the NHS I handed my notice in at the same time as another co-worker. I asked if 2 of my 4 weeks notice could be unpaid leave and was turned down because we’d be too understaffed if they said yes. Was gutted but left it at that. The next day the other co-worker went and asked the boss the same and request was accepted :lol:

Never went back the next day.
 
nelford_safc said:
When working for the NHS I handed my notice in at the same time as another co-worker. I asked if 2 of my 4 weeks notice could be unpaid leave and was turned down because we’d be too understaffed if they said yes. Was gutted but left it at that. The next day the other co-worker went and asked the boss the same and request was accepted :lol:

Never went back the next day.
Click to expand...
Bad cough?
 

Back
Top