Notice Period

jester77

Hi,

I'm leaving my current job for a position in another country starting July 1st. I gave my current employer my notice and said that I will finish in 4 weeks, June 24th. This would give me a few days to sort out an apt. and stuff.

Now they have come back and told me that I must give a calendars month notice and finish on June 30th, which would leave me with the problem of not being able to start my job on July 1st and also no apartment.

I have no holidays to play with :mad: The contract that I originally signed did not mention notice period, it was a start up company at the time and procedures were not in place! I've looked at this site:
http://www.oasis.gov.ie/employment/changing_jobs/giving_notice.html
and it says that minimum notice is 1 week.

Where do I stand here?

TheBigLebowski

They have no grounds to say that unless it's in your contarct which it isn't. The fact that they didn't have your contract sorted when you started is not your problem. You can be sure that if the shoe was on the other foot and they were looking to shorten the notice they were giving you, and you wanted a calender month, they would be very quick to tell you it's not in your contract.

If you do not have a provision in your contract of employment dealing with notice, the statutory minimum notice of one week will apply and this is the notice that you should give your employer of your intention to leave. The statutory minimum notice of one week, is set down in Section 6 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973.

jester77

Thanks, thats what I thought!

seamus

Essentially if they don't supply you with a contract, the law automatically assumes that you both agree to the legal minimum contract. In this case the minimum notice is 1 week.

TBH, I'd take that one week just to piss the bastards off (assuming you don't need the money or a good reference).

thecoolfreak

I know this is a bit of a bump and I apologise. What is the situation if one were to just leave their employment after giving less than a month's notice?

AARRRGH

thecoolfreak wrote: »

I know this is a bit of a bump and I apologise. What is the situation if one were to just leave their employment after giving less than a month's notice?

What notice period does your contract say you have to give?

leeroybrown

thecoolfreak wrote: »

I know this is a bit of a bump and I apologise. What is the situation if one were to just leave their employment after giving less than a month's notice?

If you fail to work the notice period specified in your contract then the most likely thing that would happen is that the employer would either refuse to provide a reference in future, or possibly give a bad reference stating that you were unreliable on this ground.

The other more serious action they could take would be to bring a court action for breach of contract. This would generally only happen in the case of senior employees and typically with longer notice periods.

thecoolfreak

leeroybrown wrote: »

If you fail to work the notice period specified in your contract then the most likely thing that would happen is that the employer would either refuse to provide a reference in future, or possibly give a bad reference stating that you were unreliable on this ground.

The other more serious action they could take would be to bring a court action for breach of contract. This would generally only happen in the case of senior employees and typically with longer notice periods.

Thanks for the replies. Was just wondering as I am in a summer job and I may have to elave a few weeks early.

snellers

Regarding references I am led to believe employers can no longer give a 'bad' reference.

They can refuse to give a positive one of course but they can only state the facts - nothing that is of a personal opinion- e.g.

's.jones had xx days sickness over a 2 year period - this is fine -

but they couldn;t say

'I wouldn;t give s jones a position again as he had too much time sick leave with us without justifiable reasons in my opinion'

many companies won;t actually give a 'reference' other than provide basic facts such as period worked, job title, sick days - I suspect for fear of litigation

thecoolfreak

snellers wrote: »

Regarding references I am led to believe employers can no longer give a 'bad' reference.

They can refuse to give a positive one of course but they can only state the facts - nothing that is of a personal opinion- e.g.

's.jones had xx days sickness over a 2 year period - this is fine -

but they couldn;t say

'I wouldn;t give s jones a position again as he had too much time sick leave with us without justifiable reasons in my opinion'

many companies won;t actually give a 'reference' other than provide basic facts such as period worked, job title, sick days - I suspect for fear of litigation

I won't be relying on this job for a reference or anything like that. Its just for the summer before i go to do my Masters

the_syco

snellers wrote: »

many companies won;t actually give a 'reference' other than provide basic facts such as period worked, job title, sick days - I suspect for fear of litigation

They can and do ask the "would your employ X again" question. A simple no can kill your chances.

mohenley

Hi, can someone advise if you are laid of work and you have a 2 month notice in your contract does this also apply to the employer? So in this case they would need to give me 2 months notice

Serafijn

If it says two months notice both ways then yes, they do need to give you two months notice. Some companies have different notice periods for the employer and employee, eg. the employee has to give two months, but the company only has to give one.

Double check this in your contract, but if it is both ways then you're entitled to the full two months.

free-man

Following on from mohenley's point...

If a company says 3 months 'notice' period but the company is being wound up - where do the staff stand here?

Does the notice period apply, or just the period worked?

I.e. If I have to let members of my team go (they're on 1 month notice) will the likely get their month in a wind up situation? Or is notice considered a luxury here?

Unwilling

Hi

I am on a temporary contract with a 1 month notice period. Just got offered a new job, elsewhere, want me to start asap.
First my current job said reluctantly 2 weeks ok, now they are putting food down saying 4 weeks is a must.
Where do i stand... it was a fixed term contract....... what can they do if I leave after the initially agreed 2 weeks (verbal)