Potential promotion - but very long notice period

jc2008

My manager has gave notice to leave company. Middle mgmt role in large Financial company, private sector.

No guarantees as multiple internal candidates likely for interview - but should be in a strong position to get this as I'm the most experienced 'non-manager' on the team.

However my manager is on 6 months notice period & will be working the full 6.
I would like the role, and I do like the company, however 6 months notice is quite out of line with industry standard for the level (which is 3 months).

I'm not sure how I can negotiate this though? The fact that she has the 6 months in her contract and agreed to work them only strengthens the company's case that it ensures a smooth transition.

I don't want to seem non-committed by challenging it - but I'm under 30 and while I like the company for now, it'll be very difficult to move companies in the future with a 6 month notice period.

OMM 0000

I have a three month notice period and it's already a nightmare. If you have a 6 month notice period you're going to have to quit your job and then hope you can find a new one near the end of your notice period.

I guess if you're a single guy with no commitments and a bunch of savings, it's fine as you can make it work, but for someone like me (married with kids) that's not an option.

You can certainly try to negotiate 3 months.

Calahonda52

Jumping the gun here: the 6 months may have been specific to her.
.
Industry standard: says who? some faceless keyboard warrior?

Having read the rest of your post, if I were you I wouldn't even bother applying: you mindset suggests to me a mix of entitlement and arrogance which will show at interview.

They may well go outside or use the opportunity to restructure.

sentient_6

Longer notice periods seem to be the norm these days. Potentially if more companies are doing it then they should be understanding of the same when hiring people.

Certainly try to negotiate it down to 3 but wait until your at the offer stage.

kenmm

sentient_6 wrote: »

Longer notice periods seem to be the norm these days. Potentially if more companies are doing it then they should be understanding of the same when hiring people.

Certainly try to negotiate it down to 3 but wait until your at the offer stage.

ye - definitely focus on getting the job offer first, then neg..

DublinCJM

6 months works both ways, if anything comes up, they have to give you 6 months notice too.

Also, no company wants to keep someone for 6 months if they don't have to, so, even for some people we have on 6 months, they often finish on mutual agreement after 3 or 4 months.

Lastly, if we want to take someone on who's on 6 months notice themselves, we wait for them.

OMM 0000

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Having read the rest of your post, if I were you I wouldn't even bother applying: you mindset suggests to me a mix of entitlement and arrogance which will show at interview.

That's a very unreasonable take on his post.

Get Real

I find notice periods generally work to protect the employee, in that if you're being let go/a contract is coming to an end you'll get 6 months advanced notice.

If you got a job offer for somewhere else, starting in say, 2 months time, often you let your employer know, and leave. There is little they can do.

Unless of course it's in a closely knit industry and you'll be working with your former company/ may potentially return to your formal companies some day. Don't want to burn bridges.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

I had a 3 month notice period in my contract which I just ignored when handing in my one months notice

Jim2007

OMM 0000 wrote: »

That's a very unreasonable take on his post.

Why, it presumable is an important position and the company like many don't want to be left in the lurch without a solid transition plan...

And the first thing the OP wants to do is put them right in the position they don't want to be in...

If the OP does not want to provide the required commitment, I'd expect there will be plenty that will be only too happy to do so.

kenmm

For a middle management role, 6 months seems excessive. C-Level or boards positions have these sorts of requirements.

I would still apply and negotiate it later - if the OP is in such a strong position, go for it. Even for a key middle management role, 3 months would seem more than reasonable (especially if they have sufficient training and mentoring policies in place to allow other team members to climb the ladder).

OMM 0000

Jim2007 wrote: »

Why, it presumable is an important position and the company like many don't want to be left in the lurch without a solid transition plan...

And the first thing the OP wants to do is put them right in the position they don't want to be in...

If the OP does not want to provide the required commitment, I'd expect there will be plenty that will be only too happy to do so.

Wanting to negotiate a notice period from 6 months to 3 months isn't an "entitlement and arrogance" attitude.

Hyzepher

You might find that the current manager's 6 month notice period might put the company off offering it to others - especially if she has one eye on the door for most of that period. It's a possibility.

I assume she's not moving to another company

Shedite27

I'm not sure Notice Period means too much these days.

If you happen to find a job in the future that you want to leave your current role, there 3 routes
1. The company is a rival, and they may put you on Gardening Leave - they have to pay you then for the full 6 months.
2. You have a good relationship with your current employer, they look for a replacement, have it found in 2/3 months, and then you can leave amicably
3. Worst case, they have a reason to keep you for the full 6 months, but I don't see that happening much.

Number 2 is the most common outcome at the moment.

seamus

I've never once seen a company force a long notice period. In general once the notice has been handed in and a successor hired/promoted, the company are eager to hoosh the old person out the door.

Taking the piss usually results in bad blood - "I'm leaving next week", but once you stick with a decent amount of notice, they tend not to care.

In practical terms there's fnck all a company can do to prevent you breaking your notice. Legal action takes a long time, costs a lot of money and carries a high probability that the company will lose.

At worst they can decline to provide a reference for your next employer. But this is also very rare, especially if it's a big company with a proper HR department.

I see no reason why you shouldn't question this - just ask, "Why so long?".