Looking for another job while already in a job?

Hello 1

Say, for whatever reason, you are already in employment. Then you decide, (while still employed in Company A) that you are going to keep an eye out for another position with another company, Company B.

If your current employer's discover that you are looking for employment elsewhere away from their company - do they have legal grounds to terminate your current employment with them?

Thank you.

Atlantic Dawn

If you are a good employee and they find out you are looking to leave then the opposite should be the case, they should use this knowledge to make you a counter offer to stay.

TG1

Hello 1 wrote: »

Say, for whatever reason, you are already in employment. Then you decide, (while still employed in Company A) that you are going to keep an eye out for another position with another company, Company B.

If you current employer's discover that you are looking for employment elsewhere away from their company - do they have grounds to terminate your current employment with them?

Thank you.

They have no grounds on the basis that you are looking, but may look to find other grounds, particularly if you have recently started in company a, as training in a new employee is a costly process....

sdanseo

Hello 1 wrote: »

Say, for whatever reason, you are already in employment. Then you decide, (while still employed in Company A) that you are going to keep an eye out for another position with another company, Company B.

If you current employer's discover that you are looking for employment elsewhere away from their company - do they have grounds to terminate your current employment with them?

Thank you.

No, absolutely not. If you are there more than 12 months and off probation you cannot be fired for this unless in doing so you were dishonest, e.g. called in sick to go to an interview.

If you are there less than 12 months you could be in trouble as employment protections for unfair dismissal aren't anywhere near as tough.

People change job all the time, in some industries it's rampant. I would say if you are there a while there is no harm in window shopping, even if reasonably happy. It's an employee's market at the moment.

Hello 1

sdanseo wrote: »

No, absolutely not. If you are there more than 12 months and off probation you cannot be fired for this unless in doing so you were dishonest, e.g. called in sick to go to an interview.

If you are there less than 12 months you could be in trouble as employment protections for unfair dismissal aren't anywhere near as tough.

People change job all the time, in some industries it's rampant. I would say if you are there a while there is no harm in window shopping, even if reasonably happy. It's an employee's market at the moment.

Thank you. What if you are still on probation? Does that change the situation? Can you be fired for looking for another job while in a job already and your current employer discovers same?

sdanseo

Hello 1 wrote: »

Thank you. What if you are still on probation? Does that change the situation? Can you be fired for looking for another job while in a job already and your current employer discovers same?

No, but you can be let go for essentially no reason at all and have as near as makes no difference to zero comeback, unless you can prove it was for discrimination against age, race, gender, etc.

OMM 0000

Hello 1 wrote: »

Thank you. What if you are still on probation? Does that change the situation? Can you be fired for looking for another job while in a job already and your current employer discovers same?

Do you mean looking and applying for jobs using your work computer? In other words, you come into work, have a quick look at a job website, and then apply for a job?

Yes you could absolutely be fired for that during your probation period.

If you were employed longer than 12 months, and no longer on probation, I seriously doubt they could fire you for that, but they could give you a warning and you'd be on their radar.

Henry Ford III

Hello 1 wrote: »

Say, for whatever reason, you are already in employment. Then you decide, (while still employed in Company A) that you are going to keep an eye out for another position with another company, Company B.

If your current employer's discover that you are looking for employment elsewhere away from their company - do they have legal grounds to terminate your current employment with them?

Thank you.

How did they find out?

Hello 1

I am talking hypothetically - a hypothetic scenario. Not based on events that have happened or are happening.

Say if you are applying for other jobs, and you mention same to a co worker in passing , who in turn mentions it to management, in a case like this, do management have grounds to terminate your employment if you are past your probationary period?

You are not searching for, or applying for jobs using company equipment, you are using your own time outside of work, and your own resources.

OMM 0000

Hello 1 wrote: »

I am talking hypothetically - a hypothetic scenario. Not based on events that have happened or are happening.

Say if you are applying for other jobs, and you mention same to a co worker in passing , who in turn mentions it to management, in a case like this, do management have grounds to terminate your employment if you are past your probationary period?

You are not searching for, or applying for jobs using company equipment, you are using your own time outside of work, and your own resources.

Generally, if you have less than 12 months continuous employment with the same employer, they can fire you pretty easily. The reason for this is your employment rights kick in after 12 months.

I would not fire someone for looking for a new job, but I would start making plans to replace them.

seamus

Hello 1 wrote: »

I am talking hypothetically - a hypothetic scenario. Not based on events that have happened or are happening.

Say if you are applying for other jobs, and you mention same to a co worker in passing , who in turn mentions it to management, in a case like this, do management have grounds to terminate your employment if you are past your probationary period?

No. Looking for another job is not grounds for dismissal.

It would also be illegal to take disciplinary action against such an employee, since the law does not permit employers to prevent employees from seeking out another job.

That said, there are less overt actions they may take such as reducing your workload, changing your position to something with less exposure, excluding you from communications and meetings.

Usually these are done to protect the company and reduce their reliance on you, but narcissistic individuals can take it personally and seek to punish someone for daring to look for a new job.

pauliebdub

They can if you have just started or are not there very long. Try and be discreet about it.

Ohmeha

If are content enough if in your existing job being a fallback when you're looking for better money/T&Cs/progression elsewhere then keep your job hunting post clocking-out. Don't go on Irishjobs.ie at your desk, don't tell your trusted lunch/pub buddies you're looking to get out and don't be complaining to your manager about your status etc.

I think it's a difficult task to avoid letting it on that you're looking to leave a job. Once you start taking those number of random morning/afternoons off to "go see the dentist" and your uncertified "sick days" suddenly increase then most alert management will be half-expecting a notice to be handed in at some point in the short to medium term