Does anyone know anything about notice periods at work?

[GiveMummyTheWhizzer]

My contract states I have to give one months notice to terminate my contract.

If I want to give them two months notice can I chose to do this? Or could they turn around and say "no you've resigned on x date so your last day will be one month from then regardless".

I would only be giving them the extra notice to help them have more time to look for a replacement really. It doesn't benefit me directly.

Thanks

No you say you are resigning effective of x date so if you wanted to give 2 months today say, resign as of 26th March. As long as it’s not shorter than your notice period it’s fine.

They don't have to agree to your leaving date so once you've handed in your notice you would only be entitled to a month's pay. They aren't obliged to keep you for two months.

I'd say it's totally up to your employer and you won't know until you ask them, I'm not an HR expert but it's what would have happened in any place I've worked

You can choose to do so but it is ultimately up to the employer. Worth perhaps explaining why, at least in a conversation. For example if in the time concerned you will be having some time off, say at the scheduled school half term, so you would not to come back from leave and straight away resign. Or perhaps if there is something important in the firm's work that straddles your leaving date and you feel you should help them in their planning.

In either case you are doing so to leave on good terms, or out of consideration for one or more of your colleagues.

Ok thanks all.

They can be funny buggers, so whilst I want to give my immediate line manager and department extra time to replace me and not struggle with the extra workload for longer than necessary, I also don't trust the wider business to not stab me in the back.

HR in this particular company are one of the least helpful teams I've ever experienced unfortunately.