Handing in notice, what are my options

Miri5

I have two questions really, here is the first.

I have worked for my company for 10+ years, paid monthly, 23 days holidays. Contract states one months notice.

We close for the Christmas period but these are extra days holidays we are allocated, this is also stated in the contract.

I am in a situation where my husband lives abroad and we are back and over to each other every weekend. So since we got married, my boss had been asking every now and again was I planning on leaving. I am in a management position and am also very important to the company in the sense that I have expertise that they cannot lose. These are his words, not mine.

I am planning on leaving and as I did not want to leave the company and my colleagues in the lurch by walking out with just a months notice, I said months ago when he called me in for yet another chat :rolleyes: that yes, it was my intention to leave eventually but that at that time I did not know exactly when. I also said that when I did know, that not to worry, I would give adequate notice.

They have being at me over the months asking had I decided yet, and in July I said that I would estimate that I would be leaving in 6 months. So they are getting ready for this eventuality and have started looking for a replacement to shadow me etc.

What I want to know is, if I was to hand in my notice at the end of October, telling them that I was planning on finishing up on the 15th of December, would I still get paid for the Christmas holidays? Or am I better off waiting and handing in my notice at the end of November and stating in my letter that I am giving a months notice with December 31st being my last day with the company?

My other query is, seeing as they might have a new employee lined up to start shadowing me in October, could they then turn around and say that I have to leave at the end of November? I'm just a bit worried about this as the accountant mentioned something about having to pay two salaries

Sorry if this seems a bit long winded.

My instinct would be to give the minimal notice as per your contract.

You personally have very little to gain from giving a longer notice period.

amcalester

Agreed with pg, contract says 1 month so give one month.

They know you're planning on leaving soon, so it's up to them to decide how to handle and manage the handover, not you.

seamus

Functionally it makes no difference if you leave before or after the company holiday period. You will be paid for any outstanding holiday days that you are entitled to.

The only difference around Christmas is that if your employment ends before Xmas, you won't be paid for the bank holidays. If it ends on the 31st, you will be paid for the two days.

Most employers are more than happy to get a long notice period from a valuable employee, especially one who's not leaving in anger and is willing to help hand over.

When you have your personal plans set in stone, then tell the company. An employment contract will usually state the minimum notice they want, so there's nothing stopping you from giving a longer notice period. However, in general a longer notice period has to be agreed upon by both you and the company. The company can reject your notice.
Likewise if they accept a long notice period, they can't just decide to shorten it later on, not without your agreement.

The thing to do here is get approval in principle for your plan. Go to your boss, tell them that you are definitely planning on finishing up at the end of December, and take it from there. Then the actual process of handing in your written notice will just be a matter of writing down what's already been agreed. If they don't want to allow you to work more than a month's notice, then you just sit on it until the end of November and hand it in then.

Xterminator

You get paid for accrued holidays when you leave.

so if you left 15th of dec and had 2 weeks accrued holidays, you would expect that to be reflected in final payment.

you can state in you resignation letter the date you wish to finish on. these dates can be negotiated by agreement. if you don't agree - then the can't push you out.

For instance if i handed in notice now to finish on 15th of december, and they came to me and said id like you to finish the 1st of november, id ask for 2 more weeks pay. ie finish on 1st of november and be on gardening leave for 2 weeks. if they said yes- id enjoy the paid holiday, and if they said no, then i wouldn't change my leaving date.