Question re notice of leaving

sentient_6

I'm currently working a short term job, 4 month contract. Its a job relevant to my degree that i jumped at taking to start building up more experience, which has been very stop/start since leaving college. Two other (seperate) opportunities have come up since i started & i've interviewed for both recently & got a call back from each this evening for second interviews. One is a permanent position similar to what i'm currently doing & closer to home & i'm feeling really positive about it.

Thing is i just looked at my current contract & it looks like im supposed to give 4 weeks notice of leaving. To be honest i never read it fully at the start. That seems excessive to me?

So if i where to get offered this new job im wondering what to do? Be honest with my potential new employers re the length of notice & hope it doesnt negatively affect/change any job offer? Or tell my current employer im leaving in 2 weeks & thats that? Is there anything they could actually do?!

Eoin

4 weeks is the norm in permanent jobs; don't know about temp contracts. I'd say most reasonable employers would expect to have to wait this long for a candidate.

In practice, there might not be a huge amount your current employer might actually do if you breach the terms of your contract, but it should be a last resort IMO. You might not care about not being able to ask them for a reference, but you never know when it might come back to bite you.

Shelflife

If after signing a 4 month contract and 3 weeks into it the employer said that he no longer needed you, would you expect him to honour the contract?

a contract is a contract and if you want to break it then you should honour the conditions, you cant have it every way.

If you up and leave, the employer can sue you for breach of contract if they want.

tatli_lokma

how long into the 4 mths are you? you willhave some form of AL accrued anyway, so this could give you a day or two less. And most employers who hire someone are flexible on the issue of start date as they know there is a notice period to be worked.

At interview, if they ask how soon can you start (if successful) tell them that your contract states 4 weeks notice, but that you would be hopeful that because your contract is only a 4 mth one you may be able to arrange a shorter period. That way you are being open but giving them the hope you can get out sooner.

If you get offered the job, ask your employer if they would be willing to allow you a shorter notice period. They either will or they won't. But at least you will have given the new employer a heads up about it.

And one final trick - if you get paid monthly, you can try giving your notice mid-month. Then when handing in your notice say 'I hereby give 4 weeks notice, as per my contract, however if it is more preferable to the company for me to work only to the next pay date I am happy to accommodate this'. Sometimes, for the sake of simplicity they will let you finish at the end of the pay period, rather than have to have you on the pay roll for 2 weeks out of the next month. Its worth a try!

Mrs OBumble

Shelflife wrote: »

If after signing a 4 month contract and 3 weeks into it the employer said that he no longer needed you, would you expect him to honour the contract?

No. You'd still be on probation, so I'd expect the employer to say "sorry, it's not working out for me, I'll pay you 'til the end of the week, but you're finished today".

Eoin

JustMary wrote: »

No. You'd still be on probation, so I'd expect the employer to say "sorry, it's not working out for me, I'll pay you 'til the end of the week, but you're finished today".

Probation doesn't mean they don't have to honour the contract. The contract would have to state that there is a shorter notice period during probation.

Shelflife

JustMary wrote: »

No. You'd still be on probation, so I'd expect the employer to say "sorry, it's not working out for me, I'll pay you 'til the end of the week, but you're finished today".

No you would still have to honour the exit terms of the contract, in this case 4 weeks.

I am pie

One month shouldn't be a deal breaker for your new employer in terms of getting good permanent staff in.

When (i'm staying positive here for ya!) you get the job offer, go to your new employer and explain you have a month's notice but are negotiating an early termination of your contract to be available sooner than 1 mth if required.

Explain to your current employer that you would like to agree a list of tasks to complete which allow you to exit your contract and you want to discuss how soon that exit can be.

Nothing to worry about here, stay professional and be clear, honest and polite in communicating with both parties.