Negotiating exit from work

Lostwifehelp · 2023-04-19T12:17:13+00:00

Can anyone share their experience of going through this? DH is about to go through this as a project winds down and he has nothing else in the pipeline. He has a long notice period (6 months) but I’m guessing they will try to negotiate it down so he will probably get paid for a few months? Any insights appreciated/

Bunce1 · 19/04/2023 13:17

What does he want?

Work2live · 19/04/2023 13:19

Can you give anymore info? My the sounds of it your DH is in quite a senior position?

What is it that he actually wants from the exit?

potniatheron · 19/04/2023 13:21

Depends what the situation is. Is he being made redundant or is he a contractor?

If I were him I would absolutely insist on the 6 months pay but ideally to have some of that in the garden rather than at the office. It's also important for him to understand if he has a non-compete. Senior roles (which I presume his is due to the notice period) can have as much as a 12 month non-compete which can make it hard for him to get up and running fast if he joins a competitor. So in the case of any non-compete I would try to make sure that it lasts no longer than 6 months.

dolorsit · 19/04/2023 13:26

If his 6 month notice period is in his contract there is no reason why you should expect to get less than 6 months pay.

Depending on the nature of the work the company may prefer to put him on gardening leave, or if your husband did get a new job in the meantime they could then negotiate.

If they wanted to break his contract then the company would be expected to offer financial compensation, otherwise they leave themselves open to being taken to court.

Original poster

Lostwifehelp · 19/04/2023 13:29

He’s in a senior, permanent position in a law firm. Obviously wants the best settlement he can get financially. He doesn’t have any clients to take any where so not sure the non-compete stuff is really that relevant and he’s also looking at going into non client facing work anyway, but I’ll get him to check. He made it sound like the negotiation might get him 3 months pay. I’m not sure why he wouldn’t stand his ground and get the full 6 months?

OP posts:

eurochick · 19/04/2023 13:30

I don't see why he would get less than six months. Even if they don't need him for that long they would have to pay him.

Honeybunchcrunch · 19/04/2023 13:31

Does your DH have a PILON ( payment in lieu of notice) clause? I'd so and if this is a redundancy situation ( you mentioned no work in the pipeline) then he can be paid his notice period up to £30K tax free.

eurochick · 19/04/2023 13:31

Is he talking about an additional three months, in addition to his six month contractual entitlement?

Work2live · 19/04/2023 13:32

Yes I would assume depending on the situation they might ask him to work 2-3 months notice but they would still need to pay him for 6 months.

Your DH is in a strong position providing the 6 month notice period works both ways - worst case scenario is he has to work the full 6 month period. He could always try to use up some annual leave to finish earlier if it came to it.

Heroicallyfound · 19/04/2023 13:34

Why are you worried about it? If he’s in a senior position in a law firm surely he has negotiating skills and good awareness of what his contract is? Do you not trust him? Not sure why you need to get involved tbh.

Eleganz · 19/04/2023 13:39

Lostwifehelp · 19/04/2023 13:29

He’s in a senior, permanent position in a law firm. Obviously wants the best settlement he can get financially. He doesn’t have any clients to take any where so not sure the non-compete stuff is really that relevant and he’s also looking at going into non client facing work anyway, but I’ll get him to check. He made it sound like the negotiation might get him 3 months pay. I’m not sure why he wouldn’t stand his ground and get the full 6 months?

Depends on the conditions in his contract and what each party want to happen. If he is wanting to be released early then he may have to accept a lower amount of notice pay to do so. Of course if the company want him gone too then maybe they would be willing to give him the full amount to have him leave early.

Original poster

Lostwifehelp · 19/04/2023 13:42

So he’s saying if they can’t come to an agreement through negotiation, they would put him on a performance improvement plan (say for 3 months) and once he’s not able to deliver what they want they can just get rid off him?

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Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday · 19/04/2023 13:46

Is he resigning or are they making him redundant? I’m not clear from your posts

Original poster

Lostwifehelp · 19/04/2023 13:50

@Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday so far he’s just described it as starting without prejudice discussions about exiting.

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Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday · 19/04/2023 13:51

Ok so they want him to go -how long has he been there? Is the contractual notice 6 months in both directions? Would he be happy to go with 6 months pay?

Asiama · 19/04/2023 13:51

Even if they put him on a performance improvement plan, if they decide to dismiss him after 3 months they would have to give him 6 months notice as that's in his contract.

Original poster

Lostwifehelp · 19/04/2023 13:53

@Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday he’s been there 2 years and it is 6 months both ways. He would be happy with 6 months. But he keeps saying it’s not possible?

@Asiama That’s what I thought and why I am confused but I don’t know much about PIP.

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Startuplife · 19/04/2023 13:53

Is the 6 months both ways? Mine is 3 months if I want to leave but 1 if they want me gone.

potniatheron · 19/04/2023 13:54

They may still want him to be subject to a non-compete as even if he's going into a non client facing role, he's still taking valuable IP in the form of his knowledge of the comapny. So if it were me, and I have a similar notice period, I would go for:

6 months pay, 3 in the office to facilitate an orderly handover, 3 in the garden
Non-compete to extend for the duration of the notice period.

Hope it all goes well for him!

TooOldForThisNonsense · 19/04/2023 13:54

Honeybunchcrunch · 19/04/2023 13:31

Does your DH have a PILON ( payment in lieu of notice) clause? I'd so and if this is a redundancy situation ( you mentioned no work in the pipeline) then he can be paid his notice period up to £30K tax free.

Not true

Sirius3030 · 19/04/2023 13:57

TooOldForThisNonsense · 19/04/2023 13:54

Not true

Show quote history

Er, without going into specifics, a £30K tax-free payoff is what I received in a very similar situation.
There is no way they can avoid giving 6 months notice/pay if you insist on it.

Mortimercat · 19/04/2023 13:57

TooOldForThisNonsense · 19/04/2023 13:54

Not true

Show quote history

Agree.

@Honeybunchcrunch

A payment in lieu of notice is a contractual payment and it cannot be made tax free. Only ex gratia payments may be tax free (to a limit)

Mortimercat · 19/04/2023 14:01

Sirius3030 · 19/04/2023 13:57

Er, without going into specifics, a £30K tax-free payoff is what I received in a very similar situation.
There is no way they can avoid giving 6 months notice/pay if you insist on it.

Show quote history

If you received a PILON tax free, then I would put aside an appropriate amount of tax because you company have done that wrong and HMRC might chase you up. A redundancy payment is tax free up to £30k, this is not the same as PILON.

Mochinated · 19/04/2023 14:03

Needs to read his contract !

3luckystars · 19/04/2023 14:04

what happened if you don’t mind me asking?