Notice Period - Advice

[shielsy]

Chaps

I'm after a little advice on the best course of action.

I've been working in London for a large marketing company since September 2014. I have had just the one role during this time and I work in a team of four product owners responsible for the development of some enterprise software. The plan was to do this for a while, get it on the CV, then get a better job closer to home.

The plan has become a reality and I have been offered a job some 10 minutes from my house, rather than 1hr 30mins. It's also a more senior role and slightly more money. The decision to leave was therefore pretty easy. I handed in my notice to my current employer on the 3rd December. Unfortunately this coincided with another one of my teammates handing in his notice... However, he beat me to it by a week or two.

We are both on 3 month notice periods, however he managed to get it down to an agreed 6 weeks pretty much straight away. This agreement was made prior to me handing my notice in.

Unfortunately for me, things are panning out quite differently. I put together a plan for my exit and sent it to my manager. It detailed all commitments that would be completed and all those that would be handed over (and to who). The plan involved me completing all of this by the end of January 2016, which is perfectly achievable. My manager has since told me that he cannot commit to this due to a number of circumstances... there is a hiring freeze on all departments, meaning he does not know when he can replace me. This coupled with the fact the teams manpower will be going down by 50%, means that he has insisted on me serving my full 3 months.

I questioned how helpful this would be to the organisation. In my opinion, me staying for 3 months isn't going to fix the issues he is facing. I also think my notice period should be spent handing over and/or completing current commitments... not taking on new commitments. If I stay for the full 3 months this will happen.

Considering my approach so far what would be the best course of action to try and get an exit sooner rather than later?

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

shielsy said:

Considering my approach so far what would be the best course of action to try and get an exit sooner rather than later?

Thanks

Just keep asking until they give in.

I can't really see what else they can do, you can't force them to do anything.

[deckster]

Surely this is sort of the point of having a three-month notice period. If they're willing to let you go early then great - if not, then you are pretty much stuck with what you have presumably already contractually agreed to.

Some might give you advice that you just be a total arse over it - not turn up to meetings, do crappy work, ultimately just say screw you and stop working totally. Whilst possible, that would inevitably affect your relationship with the company (you want a reference, right?) and could potentially leave you open to a claim for financial redress if you left them in the lurch.

As said above - your only real option is to keep pushing and wind down your current workload as much as you can. Ultimately if they dig their heels in your choices are extremely limited.

[anonymous-user]

I had a 3 month notice period. I asked to leave earlier, 1 month.

In the end they wouldn't let me. I said I work 2 months a compromise and that was that and was worried about consequences but worked out well in the end as I explained I was unhappy and keeping me there wasn't really worth it.

I was worried about reference but I spoke to HR and they said they couldn't actually say anything it about it.

Edited by The Spruce goose on Wednesday 16th December 12:43

[Granfondo]

Put the boot on the other foot!
If you were happy there and had no other job to go to and they told you "ok mate that's you done" would you let them off with giving you half the notice pay or would you hold them to contractual terms?

[silverous]

I think you should call him out on the hiring freeze - surely there is no net hiring if you are leaving, they must be able to replace staff. He is probably just feeling under pressure with two staff leaving, I would typically want people to work their notice if I was confident they would do it professionally as it takes the pressure off having to find someone new and train them up in a hurry. I recently hired someone we wanted to join soon but he had to work his notice - how is your new employer being about it ? Could you not just help these guys out by sticking around for the three months and maybe if you get the hand over done in good time they'll realise that and let you go ?

[JRM]

Not much you can do, but badger them - do you have much holiday already accrued that you could take to reduce the period?

[Hackney]

Contracts are there for a reason.
Years ago I handed in my notice (to go to a competitor) and expected to be marched out the door.

I wasn't and continued to do my work.

During the notice period my interim boss asked if I'd leave without completing my notice period and without pay.

I politely declined and contacted HR who were completely unaware of his offer.

[CaptainSlow]

Hackney said:

Contracts are there for a reason.
Years ago I handed in my notice (to go to a competitor) and expected to be marched out the door.

I wasn't and continued to do my work.

During the notice period my interim boss asked if I'd leave without completing my notice period and without pay.

I politely declined and contacted HR who were completely unaware of his offer.

Why did you decline? You had a new job to go to.

[Hackney]

They were trying to stop me working for the other company until the 3 months were up while not paying me for the notice period.

A complete bodge job of an attempt to save money by my boss.

[Lotus Notes]

shielsy said:

My manager has since told me that he cannot commit to this due to a number of circumstances... there is a hiring freeze on all departments, meaning he does not know when he can replace me.

It's becoming current practice that a company ties its owns hands by instigating a hiring freeze. Tell your boss that this hiring freeze is NOT your problem and that people leave all the time.

I would advise that you hound them about leaving and insist louder and louder..

[deckster]

Lotus Notes said:

It's becoming current practice that a company ties its owns hands by instigating a hiring freeze. Tell your boss that this hiring freeze is NOT your problem and that people leave all the time.

I would advise that you hound them about leaving and insist louder and louder..

But he has no right to 'insist' on anything. That's sort of the point...the company doesn't have to justify themselves at all here and are perfectly within their rights to just say 'we expect you to fulfil your legal obligations as laid out in your contract of employment'. Job done.

Anything else is 100% at their discretion, and if you came to me 'insisting' and complaining that corporate policies are 'not my problem' then you'd just get my back up and remove any chance of flexibility that there might have been.

[shielsy]

Thank you all for the input so far.

I am fully aware that I am contractually obliged to work 3 months notice period... This is why I am trying to approach the subject in a professional and constructive way.

I have been speaking to a few folks here and no one can tell me the last time someone served their full notice period. All are gone within 1 and 2 months. It seems as though the manner in which my exit is being treated is not consistent with other previous employees.... Is that going to work in my favor or is in not even worth mentioning?

[xjay1337]

It doesn't matter if other people have been able to serve less.
That is on an exception basis, not a rule.
You are unfortunately contracted to 3 month notice period

You have 3 options

1) Work it and do so well, but obviously on your last day, step out. Maybe mention it weekly about reducing your notice period
2) Work it but be generally poor and lazy in the hope they just let you go
3) Sack it off and simply don't turn up anymore the day after you get paid.


2 & 3 can be detrimental to your career in terms of a reference / possible legal issues.
I would do 1.

[anonymous-user]

shielsy said:

Thank you all for the input so far.

I am fully aware that I am contractually obliged to work 3 months notice period... This is why I am trying to approach the subject in a professional and constructive way.

I have been speaking to a few folks here and no one can tell me the last time someone served their full notice period. All are gone within 1 and 2 months. It seems as though the manner in which my exit is being treated is not consistent with other previous employees.... Is that going to work in my favor or is in not even worth mentioning?

It's a hard road to go down. You may be able to argue that but I doubt it and by the time the argument is over your three months will be gone.

If you are so desperate to leave you could just leave and politely request that they sue you and hope that they cant be bothered, but who wants that grief?


So unless you are prepared to give it large and force them to either sue you or give up there isn't much you can do.

After I sold my business I had a contract with the new owners (an enormous corporate) that was for a minimum of 5 years with rolling twelve months thereafter) I handed my notice in at the first possible opportunity and was completely gutted when after trying to persuade me to stay they said they wanted me to work my notice. There was nothing I could do really other than effectively beg. Even then they ignored it for months and put me on garden leave and in the end I was tied in for 10 months.

[Ilovetwiglets]

I had to work my full 3 months notice when I got made redundant, they also relocated at the same time so I was left at the old place without a PC or internet access, just a phone so they could check I'd turned up every day. After awhile you just have to accept they are paying you to be there whether you're doing anything or not.

[Evolved]

Ilovetwiglets said:

I had to work my full 3 months notice when I got made redundant, they also relocated at the same time so I was left at the old place without a PC or internet access, just a phone so they could check I'd turned up every day. After awhile you just have to accept they are paying you to be there whether you're doing anything or not.

Sounds like it was a good decision to leave then, petty tts!

[xjay1337]

That's a bit tttish lol.
I'd have forwarded to my mobile.

[Lotus Notes]

deckster said:

But he has no right to 'insist' on anything. That's sort of the point...the company doesn't have to justify themselves at all here and are perfectly within their rights to just say 'we expect you to fulfil your legal obligations as laid out in your contract of employment'. Job done.

Anything else is 100% at their discretion, and if you came to me 'insisting' and complaining that corporate policies are 'not my problem' then you'd just get my back up and remove any chance of flexibility that there might have been.

I'm sure the OP can insist on anything he likes, whether his voice is heard is a different matter.

The company was not asked to justify themselves, there was a simple separation of the OP from the decision to put in place a hiring freeze. The idea is to ask and ask again, this will not cost anything.

I'm fully aware of discretion thank you and I don't really wish to know how you would react in this situation - This is of no interest to me; As your ability to rationalise seems slightly askew..

[Ilovetwiglets]

Evolved said:

Ilovetwiglets said:

I had to work my full 3 months notice when I got made redundant, they also relocated at the same time so I was left at the old place without a PC or internet access, just a phone so they could check I'd turned up every day. After awhile you just have to accept they are paying you to be there whether you're doing anything or not.

Sounds like it was a good decision to leave then, petty tts!

I worked there 16 years without any problems, got taken over by some new owners which resulted in loads of redundancies, I think they did it so some would just leave and they wouldn't have to pay out. Two years later and it seems just about everyone has now been made redundant and the work has been merged with their own and covered by their original employees. I couldn't leave the office as they popped over every once in awhile to 'make sure I was ok'. I just used to watch films on my laptop every day and reads books,, once you realise you're getting paid quite well to do that it became a lot easier.