Problem Agreeing Termination Date

[worldwidewebs]

I'm hoping someone on here can help me out with an issue I have relating to leaving my current employer - an IT consultancy

The facts:

• I resigned on 24th Dec and have a 4 week notice period, so end date 21st Jan - I'm currently a permie
• In my resignation letter I requested an earlier leaving date of this Friday (10th Jan) as I have been offered a contract much closer to home with no travel (the reason I am leaving) and the client is insisting I start on the 13th Jan - anything else and they will withdraw the offer
• I have been trying to work for this new client for a very long time (years) so do not want to lose the opportunity
• The project I was working on for my current employer finished on the 20th Dec and I was due to start a new one today (6th Jan)
• I spoke to my boss about the resignation on Thursday morning last week indicating why I was leaving and he proposed ways for keeping me on but I made it clear that my mind was set. I also re-iterated my desire for an earlier leaving date to which he seemed amenable and even suggested an earlier date as it would avoid the company having to pay for me to sit at home as I may not be chargeable. He said he would have to discuss it and would get back to me
• I spoke with my boss again on Friday morning first thing. In this conversation he "made it clear" that if I took up this new position before I had officially left then I would be in breach on contract. I re-iterated my request to leave but nothing was agreed and he again said he would get back to me
• For the project I was due to start today they replaced me with another employee (it doesn't make sense to have me on it for a week or two before I leave). I actually got this information second-hand from another member on the team who was sent the email stating that I was being replaced - I've had nothing directly
• I am currently at home and not on a chargeable project - I've had no contact so far today
• I have about 2 days annual leave available

I need to leave this week one way or another - preferably by mutual agreement. My boss (or more probably his boss) doesn't appear to want to sort this out quickly but as they are currently effectively paying me to do nothing it would be in their own interests to let me go. I think there is an element of game-playing going on I'm sure (there is a bit of history there I hear) but I'm not sure what I should do to progress this. Should I: chase my boss (he knows how important this is to me)?; contact HR?; wait until Friday then send another letter saying I'm leaving with immediate effect?; do nothing and just leave on Friday?; something else?

I want to leave on good terms and may even consider working for them again in the future, so how to progress?

[Gargamel]

I would contact my new employer. Tell them the situation.

Explain that you have had several conversations but so far no actual agreement. Ask them one more time, do they definetly want you to start on the 13th?

If they do, let them know that you are prepared (reluctantly) to walk out on your current job, but that there may be further issues as a result of that decision, are they OK with that ?

Ideally they would flex the start date as that is the easy solution, of course if they won't (and they may have a good business reason not to do so) then in my view I would be prepared to walk.

You may well be in breach of contract, but it is unlikely in my view that they will pursue, since if you are sat at home and not on a project you can hardly be said to be leaving them with a consequential loss.

However, I would try to resolve the situation with you new employer or at least let them know what is happening.

[elanfan]

Just leave and start at the new job - realistically what are they going to do. (If necessary self certificate for a week job jobbed).

[worldwidewebs]

Well, maybe PH reaches further than I thought Had a call this afternoon and they've agreed to let me go this Wednesday (yay!) So, panic over!!! Many thanks for the replies

[Gargamel]

worldwidewebs said:

Well, maybe PH reaches further than I thought Had a call this afternoon and they've agreed to let me go this Wednesday (yay!) So, panic over!!! Many thanks for the replies

Good news, best of luck with the new gig.

[TurricanII]

Congrats it is sorted but you have to consider what kind of new employer puts you in the position of breaching your contract with the old company by starting on a specified date and threatening to recind the offer.

[Efbe]

TurricanII said:

Congrats it is sorted but you have to consider what kind of new employer puts you in the position of breaching your contract with the old company by starting on a specified date and threatening to recind the offer.

they may not have known. by the sounds of the story he was offered a start date to which his boss initially said would be ok, but then the original company changed their mind. may have this wrong though.


would a possible solution have been to work as a volunteer for the new company until the termination date of the previous company?

[worldwidewebs]

There's nothing sinister really - a mix of delays, bad timing and assumptions (on my part).

The start date has always been fixed for various reasons and I knew that, but I applied early Dec and they were supposed to be in a hurry to hire so no problem with the start date at that point. Then it dragged on more than it should have. But, I also knew I would have been starting a new long term project in Jan and it would have been highly unlikely that my current employer would have put me on it once they knew I was leaving (based on past experience with other people leaving) so I assumed(!) that if it was touch and go with 4 weeks notice then it "should" be ok as there would be no point holding me to a notice period and paying me even though I wouldn't be doing any work.

As it turns out, I needed to leave a week or so earlier. The new employer's position on start date never changed, the only issue really was my current employer messing me around unnecessarily - they do have form with this, often out of spite, so it was difficult for me to judge whether this was also the case. Normally I would just suck up the 4 weeks notice period, but life isn't always that simple!