To not want to complete my work notice

[Tohaveandtohold]

I've been working with mu company for less than a year in a really basic entry role (replacements are lined up) but my contract requires me to give a 4 week notice. I'm not happy in my current job role and every job I apply for just does not continue with my application once they know about my notice period. This has been going on for months. I currently got one but it means I can only give 2 weeks notice at work. I'm currently dreading this as I would like to leave on a good note but then after giving my notice and I lose this role, I'll lose on both ends. What are the consequences of not working your notice period. Aibu even considering this?

You will need to work every day of your notice if you want a good reference from this company in the future. Use holiday if you have any left. If you choose not to work the agreed notice they could take you to court and would certainly not pay you.

4 weeks is very common and I've heard of 3-6 months for senior professional roles too. It must suck when you have a long notice period and all you want to do is leave!

Talk to your employer. And the new one. An agreement ought to be possible.

I had to give 3 months notice in a previous role, I spoke to my manager and negotiated it to 6 weeks when I wanted to leave.

It was a fairly senior role and no replacement at the time but my boss knew I was unhappy and no point having me around moping the whole time

3-6 months is for jobs where the skills being replaced are in relatively short supply so it's tough to replace. OP has said that she is in a basic entry level job so not an issue.

Unfortunately for this type of job it's an employers market and there are plenty of people able to do it. They often have high staff turnover and often people leaving with no notice at so positions which need filling quickly. I can well believe that a lot of places with this type of job would want immediate or quick starts and would have someone who could if the OP couldn't and go with them instead.

I've managed this kind of job (and done it back in the day) and I think it's pretty unusual not to offer as much flexibility as possible with notice unless there's a really good reason.

I would worry that an employer that encouraged doing the dirty on your existing employer by not working notice would not actually treat their existing workforce very well either.

The OP has explained that the 2 weeks is because of training that starts at a certain time.

If 'replacements are lined up' then presumably they don't need four weeks to find someone else so should be willing to let you go sooner - even if it means you lose pay (in which case paying outstanding holiday instead might work out for you?).

4 weeks' notice is the norm so I would be very surprised if an employer withdrew an offer or decided not to proceed with interviews, due to this. My notice period is 12 weeks and the notice for the next 'step' up at my firm is 6 months!

They should be asking you what your notice period is when they look at your application. If you have an offer on the table then have a chat with your current boss and ask if you can take your outstanding holiday. It would be worth checking your contract as well, as you might have a clause in there about taking holiday which is owed. Mine states that all outstanding annual leave must be taken during the notice period.

4 weeks notice is a pretty standard minimum but if you have annual leave to be used up could you negotiate to finish earlier?

Someone in our office was being investigated for competency & conduct recently. A week before her last HR meeting where sacking was a real possibility she left a resignation letter in the office along with a sick line for 4 weeks taking her up to her leaving date.

I would talk to them, it might be fine.

I've left 2 jobs immediately - I mean literally, walked in at 9, gone by 10.30 - after explaining very politely that I'm so unhappy there's no point me being there, plus I have a job lined up. Even in a not-basic level job, it's really stupid for firms to keep someone who is itching to get out.

I'm also not sure if 4 weeks for less than a year's service is enforceable but perhaps a legal bod will be along to clarify.

But surely if you are taking leave or sick during the notice period you are still contracted to employer a so cannot start with employer b. You'd have to negotiate an earlier official finish date.

The notice period based on years worked comes into play in a redundancy situation. Otherwise as per contract.

Becky - my contract is stepped. This means that my standard notice is 12 weeks, but once I have completed more than 4 years of service then they add an extra week on to the notice period up to a maximum of 6 months. It's common in my industry as it reflects the fact that long serving staff will hold a wealth of knowledge and capability that will be difficult to replace within 4 or 12 weeks. However it is also common that staff will negotiate their notice periods. One of my colleagues left recently and she negotiated her exit from 12 weeks' notice down to 8, but this was contingent upon her completing a particular project within that timeframe.

Sorry - that should have said an extra week for each complete year of service, up to a maximum of 6 months.

How on earth will holidays help?

LIZS - you can have more than one job, it just means that on one of them you would pay extra days for the days of overlap. So OP could go to her current firm, give her notice but negotiate that her last day in the office is in 2 weeks and she takes her final 2 weeks as annual leave.

She could then start her new job in a fortnight so there would be an overlap for 2 weeks where she has 2 jobs and has to pay a bit of additional tax for those days until her employment at the last firm has officially ended. It depends on how the firm decides to process it through payroll - whether they keep her on the books for the 2 weeks of holiday time and list her last day of employment as the last day of her leave. Or whether they pay her the holiday time that they owe her and list her last day of employment as her last day in the office IYSWIM?

But surely if you are taking leave or sick during the notice period you are still contracted to employer a so cannot start with employer b

Yeah. Because loads of companies are going to take the legal action to enforce that on a minimum wage entry level job aren't they?

Don't they have to show loss to succeed anyway? And if OP is owed holiday, she's entitled to take it not just be paid for it.

Long notice periods are pretty archaic and as someone else has said, come into play in redundancy e.g. if your notice period is 4 months then the company has to give you that money in lieu of notice if you're made redundant (because you're not going to sit about pretending to work for 4 months). Also as others have said there's no point forcing someone to stay on if they want to leave. I had a 3 month notice period enforced on me once but I put up with it because my employers were going to become my customers in my new role.

4 weeks is pretty much the norm nowadays for standard full time contracts unless in a specialist or highly skilled area. I would try & negotiate, and if that fails then take the holiday you're owed. Just be aware that you'll be joining your new employer without a P45 so be prepared to explain that away.