Notice Period

Enygma

Hi,

Just wondering, say you have to give 2 months notice period if you're leaving your job? What can they do if you leave after 1 month?

Cheers!

aniascor

Is it legal for them to require two month's notice? Thought if you got paid monthly, you only had to give one month's notice?

Enygma

Well, I don't know about that. It's certainly a very long notice period.
Apparently it's in my contract, I have to suss that out when I get home.

Still, what would happen if I just left after 1 month?

colincarnate

thought Notice was just a gentlemanly thing on behalf of the departing employee to safeguard against any bad-mouthing of the 'bowsie' who leaves earlier than the stated agreed notice period for future reference by that company.

basically there's no legal reprecussions if that's what you're getting at... unless i'm horribly, horribly mistaken. so you can leave with no notice, but just don't list them boys as a reference the next time you're looking for a job and have X amount of time as a 'hole' on your CV.

Enygma

X amount of time as a 'hole' so you can't even list it?

Hopefully I'll be able to sort it out with them.

seamus

You're bound by the notice period that you agreed to in your contract. There are technically legal repercussions, as they could sue you for breach of your contract. Of course, for there to be any point, your short notice would have to cost them money (unfinishable projects, etc), so most companies don't follow it up.

There is always the right of either party to waive notice once it's been served, so just discuss it with them. Few employers are rigid about it, unless you're high up or they're stingy.

Borzoi

seamus wrote:

There are technically legal repercussions, as they could sue you for breach of your contract. Of course, for there to be any point, your short notice would have to cost them money (unfinishable projects, etc), so most companies don't follow it up.
.

The courts have also ulled some notice periods as excessive - and depending on the job satus and your seniority the longer than usual notice period could be deemed part of an 'unfair' cotract - if it ever went to court

Santa Claus

Notice is frequency of your pay UNLESS your contract states different.

Try and be nice with them and see if they'll come down to 1 month as otherwise it could bugger up your reference from them (depending on how petty they are).

Random

Unless you've got some serious trade secrets they're more then likely gonna just let you go and refuse future references.

Eoin

I am/was in exactly the same position last week - only I had to give three months notice. My company only really enforces this for management, and only then for managers who are in a position that would be hard to fill. And that does not apply to me. You really just have to negotiate.

No decent boss is going to want you there if you don't want to be there, as it won't help moral to have someone who is there pretty much against your will. Just make it clear that you will do all you can to hand over your responsibilities in your notice period.

As Borzoi said, there seems to be legal precedent that some notice periods (regardless of the contract) can be deemed excessive as it prevents your career progression, but the Legal Discussion forum may be able to give you more details on that. Also, I think if you can prove precedent that people have left before the contracted notice period, then you have a case to leave early. However, the legal route should be a last resort as you don't want to burn any bridges.

seamus

eoin_s wrote:

Also, I think if you can prove precedent that people have left before the contracted notice period, then you have a case to leave early. However, the legal route should be a last resort as you don't want to burn any bridges.

Precedence would of course have to compare like with like. If a Spar's (for example) company policy was a blanket one month's notice, then a manager couldn't claim that three days is OK because one of the young guys on the till got it the week before.

Notice is frequency of your pay UNLESS your contract states different.

Just for the record, the frequency of your pay is irrelevant in determining your required notice. The minimum notice you must give or receive is set out in The Minimum notice and Terms of Employments Acts, 1973. These are only your legal minimum requirements. They only override your contract if your contract asks for less notice than is set out in these Acts. If your contract asks for more notice, you're bound to that notice.

Enygma

Well neither side are really budging. The place that I got the offer from said they could go an extra week, but my crowd said they can't budge.

The place I got the offer from said they could just hire another candidate.

So basically, I'm pretty screwed.
I don't want to leave on bad terms so breaking the contract isn't an option.

Is it possible to revoke your notice of termination? Not that I want to but it looks like now I could be leaving to find myself unemployed.

This hasn't been a good week!

Enygma

Hmm, it didn't bump the thread at all....

Eoin

Enygma wrote:

Well neither side are really budging. The place that I got the offer from said they could go an extra week, but my crowd said they can't budge.

The place I got the offer from said they could just hire another candidate.

So basically, I'm pretty screwed.
I don't want to leave on bad terms so breaking the contract isn't an option.

Is it possible to revoke your notice of termination? Not that I want to but it looks like now I could be leaving to find myself unemployed.

This hasn't been a good week!

Without knowing many of the details, it sounds like your current place is being quite unreasonable - they really don't have much to gain by acting like this, as it is quite obvious you want to leave. A few questions though:

Is your role one hard to find a replacement for?
Would you be able to fully handover your responsibilities within your notice period if they did find a replacement quickly?
Do you have any specific deadlines coming up within the 2 months that would make it very awkward for the company to lose you?

JimmySmith

Take the 5 weeks from the ones that gave you the offer.
Give your 2 months notice to your curretn employer.
Take any holidays you have at the end and make up the difference by calling in sick to the miserable shi*es that are holding you to 2 months notice.
What are they going to do - fire you?

Enygma

Is your role one hard to find a replacement for?
I don't think so, Java Devs are 10 a penny.

Would you be able to fully handover your responsibilities within your notice period if they did find a replacement quickly?
Yes, in fact I've already trained a student on co-op, and there is another dev who has used my stuff in his project. So I can't see a problem there.

Do you have any specific deadlines coming up within the 2 months that would make it very awkward for the company to lose you?
No, I'm responsible for builds but we have just done one this week so it is actually the longest possible time before the next release.

The other company have given me a date (5 weeks) and said to me that that is the absolute latest they will go. They can just hire another candidate.I'll find out on Monday if my company are willing to let me go before then but it's not looking good.

Right now I just feel like quitting both of them and looking for new work. I feel like I'd be at a real disadvantage looking for work while having to commit to a 2 month notice period. Who's going to hire someone who can't start for another 2 months when there's a guy that is willing to start in a week or two.

Upside is I have another interview with another company on monday. Maybe a nice handy way out

scary

Just work the one month then take the new job. As for a reference from them, you have a new job. You must know someone in your current job who would be willing to give you a reference in the future if need be. This happens all the time.