Giving notice

Denerick

My contract states that I am required to give one months notice if I want to leave my job. Is there any way around this? Will prospective employers be patient about this? Do people always give the notice as stipulated in their contracts?

Eoin

I don't think there's really a rule of thumb.

From a legal point of view, it would be breach of contract not to work the notice period unless it's mutually waived. Whether or not it's likely that they'll do anything about it is your call to make.

I managed to get my (stupidly long) 3 month notice period reduced to about 6 weeks. My new employer was happy enough, as some of that covered the Christmas period when things were very quiet anyway. Another colleague of mine just told his boss that he was leaving in 4 weeks, and that would be that.

If someone is just in the door, then the odds are that an employer will just want them to leave asap and will waive the notice.

An employer might allow annual leave to be taken out of the notice period. In some cases you're even put on garden leave.

not even wrong

Denerick wrote: »

Will prospective employers be patient about this?

The vast majority of employers would be understanding about a one-month notice period (and might even see it as a positive sign that you take your employment contract seriously and you're not leaving your current employer in the lurch the second something better comes along).

Denerick

not even wrong wrote: »

The vast majority of employers would be understanding about a one-month notice period (and might even see it as a positive sign that you take your employment contract seriously and you're not leaving your current employer in the lurch the second something better comes along).

Of course, but what if they have to choose between someone who doesn't have to give any notice and someone who has to give a month?

'Breach of contract' - what can they really do if I just say 'see ya' and turn up for the rest of the week or something like that?

Jim2007

Denerick wrote: »

Of course, but what if they have to choose between someone who doesn't have to give any notice and someone who has to give a month?

Then they are not the type of company you'd want to work for, if they are not willing to respect your commitments to your previous employer, how will you treat you going forward? If they want a quick fix, rather than the right person then is it really the job you want???

not even wrong

Denerick wrote: »

Of course, but what if they have to choose between someone who doesn't have to give any notice and someone who has to give a month?

The situation where they have two exactly equally qualified applicants is a lot less likely than you think. If they want to hire you a month's notice isn't going to get in their way.

'Breach of contract' - what can they really do if I just say 'see ya' and turn up for the rest of the week or something like that?

You can forget about asking them for a reference in future, apart from that there's realistically nothing they can do.