Handing in my notice
I've been offered another job and am thrilled. Been wanting to leave my current position for ages.
However, I was asked the question about my notice period in interview and I said as there was nothing stated in my contract, it would be the statutory 2 weeks. The thing is I've looked at my contract again and there is a paragraph on notice periods but when the contract was printed and bound, this page was in the wrong order and was at the end of the document after the signature page and I hadn't noticed it. It states that my notice period is 1 month.
My new employer has asked me to call her on Tuesday to let her know a date when I can start.
I intend to hand in my notice on Monday ( :eek:) and I was wondering if I could ask them if I could leave early.
I've never handed my notice in before, do you get any untaken holidays? Do you get payment in lieu of these holidays?
Also, what would my leaving date be if I had to work a months' notice. Is it 4 working weeks or 4 weeks.
Sorry for all the questions but I'm a bit clueless when it come to this
However, I was asked the question about my notice period in interview and I said as there was nothing stated in my contract, it would be the statutory 2 weeks. The thing is I've looked at my contract again and there is a paragraph on notice periods but when the contract was printed and bound, this page was in the wrong order and was at the end of the document after the signature page and I hadn't noticed it. It states that my notice period is 1 month.
My new employer has asked me to call her on Tuesday to let her know a date when I can start.
I intend to hand in my notice on Monday ( :eek:) and I was wondering if I could ask them if I could leave early.
I've never handed my notice in before, do you get any untaken holidays? Do you get payment in lieu of these holidays?
Also, what would my leaving date be if I had to work a months' notice. Is it 4 working weeks or 4 weeks.
Sorry for all the questions but I'm a bit clueless when it come to this
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Comments
If you have accrued any holiday they you have yet to take, you can take that during your notice period. So, if you have two weeks owed to you, they may let you give 4 weeks notice, but take the last two as holiday.
Notice period of 1 month is just that, 1 month, not 4 weeks, so if you hand in your notice on 22nd your final day will be the 21st unless you can get the notice period reduced.
I hope that helps and now for the important stuff... congrats!!
In most manual labour jobs, it is 1 week.
So long as you give your notice correctly and work it, you will be given payment for any excess holidays accrued and your week in hand pay.
Excess holiday pay is easy to work out. If you are given the minimum amount stated by the government, this will be 20 days plus bank holidays. Earned at approx 1.67 (excluding Bank Holidays) days a month plus any bank holidays you have worked.
If you have taken excess holidays to date, you will lose money from your last weeks wage to the equivalent. If you have taken more than 5 days excess holiday, the company may request a refund from you.
only allowed if it mentions it in your contract......
as for the notice page being at the back AFTER the signature, I think you would have a pretty good case for having it overturned (or at least flexed to a mutually agreeable time).
Thanks for your reply, it does state notice period in my contract - 1 month as per my post. It's not a manual labour position
Thanks, that what I thought.
That may also help you in reaching an agreeable end date. If it is a month then don't worry about it, it's standard practice.
But for the two weeks holiday, you remain employed by your current employer UNLESS they agree to early contract termination.
Doesn't stop you starting with the new job though.
Bottom line is no matter what your contract says they cannot force you to work your notice. They can threaten to withhold pay, holiday pay etc (because you have not kept to your side of the contract) but legally you could walk out the door, say nothing to them and start work with someone else the next day.
They cannot make you work that notice period.
Everywhere I have worked had a policy to give references that simply confirmed the date of employment and job title. Most would simply not say anything else.
They could sue for breach of contract, but the most they'd get for most people is the outstanding pay and holiday pay that they could withhold anyway, unless you are David Beckham or similar.
There are some positions, fairly high up ones in sales, IT or management, that have a condition of the contract that you not work for a competitor for a certain period. They could certainly sue you for violating that but they would almost certainly be paying you a sum of money to make that worthwhile.
Many companies prefer to have people gone, rather than have someone doing a half assed job or stealing office supplies and so unless leaving earlier would seriously leave them understaffed in your position they may be more than willing to let you go early if you ask.
If you ask to leave after two weeks and they say no they would be very stupid to have a now pissed off employee hanging around!
I am not in the UK so my knowledge of that business environment is limited but here in North America you would get laughed out of the country if you objected to the normal and customary 2 weeks (regardless of what statute says).
The only thing that ever tends to be at issue, as someone posted earlier, is the excess vacation taken.
In some cases, in positions where a transition is needed to make sure no one is adversely affected both employers and the incumbent work something out. (like customer transitions, systems conversions, things like that)