What’s the most inconvenient time to resign (TA)?

[CactiCactiEverywhere]

I’ve name changed as mumsnet has made me paranoid about this sort of thing- and I’m about to be petty! I’m a TA and pissed off with HR and SLT, I’m intending to leave but after recent chicanery want to do so in the most inconvenient way possible. I’m thinking the first day back in September? Mid August? I have to give a months notice. If I start a job in the summer hols I prob won’t hand in my notice until end of July so I will get paid over the summer anyway.
Anyone willing to aid me in being a pain in the arse? (Also we have very good supply available so I will be immune to ‘what about the kids’ - they’ll be fine).

I'd say August 1st, or the last possible day that means you won't go back in September. They'll have to sort a new TA or cover for September in the holidays when no-one is around or looking for jobs.

Unless TAs are usually hired last minute, not sure?

sorry that is so childish.

WHat about the kids at the school? how much will they be inconvenienced by your chicaneries?

@twofishfingers covered that! We have a very good supply pool

@twofishfingers also, that’s kind of part of the problem, the kids will be inconvenienced by me leaving full stop as I’m good at my job - unfortunately slt don’t appear to see the value in a good ta and I think 4 of us are planning to leave due to the management (the teaching staff are universally lovely to us). In theory I’d stay for the kids but I would rather be treated like an actual adult with a brain in a different job. I know it’s childish really but the kids aren’t going to suffer any more seeing as I’m leaving anyway (it’s secondary btw).

1st Aug for maximum inconvenience but it’s incredibly petty, might affect future references (as in they would just put the dates you worked there) and they are unlikely to give the tiniest shit if they are as bad as you say and can cover from a pool anyway.

Just resign. Live well. Petty bitterness is pointless.

Gosh what a loss you'll be.

Is the notice period not 4 weeks when the school is open? Ie not including summer holidays? I may have got that wrong!

I’m thinking about getting paid too though (not just pissing off the hr lady) if I resign for the end of term or in July would I get the money I’m owed over the holidays in my last lot of pay? I’d get taxed more if they gave me a lump sum so I’d like to avoid that. If I get a new non-school job in the summer I could get paid for that and my ta holiday pay also.

I don’t think slt would care, I agree. It’s an act of futile defiance.

I can see why you’d assume I’m a bad ta but I am actually good. The others who want to leave are also good. We’re also just pissed off.

I'm sure you probably are good at your work, but would I want to employ someone with your mindset and attitude? No way.

Check your contract to see if holiday notice counts. If it just says ‘one month’s notice’ you should just be paid that month (Aug) as usual.
I still think it’s petty but working somewhere you aren’t valued is pretty soul destroying so don’t blame you for wanting to resign in a holiday period. You could give notice now and give them time to advertise before the end of the school year, with you working up until the end of term but why would you if it would leave you without pay for the summer.

I can see you're clearly annoyed, and you have every right to be because you are not being treated well, but you said that the teachers are lovely. This is who your resignation will impact the most (and the children!), not SLT. If SLT are truly the way you describe them and don't value you, they won't care when you leave. The teacher really will. I'm a teacher, so know how valuable TAs are. It's a real shame for the children and teachers (who, as you know, have a huge workload and enough pressure to contend with) to have someone resign at a deliberately inconvenient time.

I can't imagine they'd really care that much tbh. TAs are 10 a penny round here, everyone is chasing the jobs including loads of ex teachers. It's teachers that are tough to recruit.

As an aside, when I resigned from my TA post the school's business manager gave me back my letter and told me to change my leaving date from the end of summer term to 31st August (my new post started 1st Sept) so I didn't lose holiday entitlement/pay.

@saucery, yeah that’s kind of what I’m thinking - it’s inconvenience the school or inconvenience myself by being without money that I have already earned in terms of hours worked. I guess I seem pretty awful saying I deliberately want to inconvenience people- I suppose it’s more, is there a good reason for me not to resign on the 1st August? Also I don’t know if I’ll actually get a job before then, so if I happened to get an offer on the 31st July I wouldn’t say no because it would be petty to resign at that point. Tbh we had people leave around Easter and I think that was more inconvenient than at it would be at the start of the year.

@haberpop - oh so did you say ‘I want to leave effective of the end of august’ I guess that would be a way for me to get pay without being a knob. I just don’t trust hr to honour that tbh - do they have to?

Be careful if you’re going to need a reference.

If you’re secondary, it won’t piss off SLT at all when you resign as it won’t be their job to hire your replacement. They’ll just leave it all to someone that you probably like.

@CactiCactiEverywhere I handed in my notice in the last half term, I had a start date for the new job of 1st Sept and was told to take it back and give 31st August as my last day, yes they did have to honour it (the business manager told me our notice period was the minimum that was expected so it was fine to give more notice but less wasn't acceptable).

I’m not so annoyed now and have taken in advice not to be petty- I know slt won’t care about when I leave really, the hr lady would probably be annoyed though, and we’ve got beef, as it were. I probably shouldn’t act in spite though I know.

The thing is even if I wasn’t planning to be petty I might end up resigning at a bad time - I don’t trust HR enough to give them advance warning that I’m going to leave - so if I look for a job from now, by the time I get one I’ll be handing in my notice over the holidays anyway. Or in early September which is probably even worse. Realistically the only good time in the year to resign is 4 weeks before the end of summer term and if I can’t get them to consider the 31st August my last day I’d miss out on pay if I did that.

Ugh I’m just fed up really. The fact I don’t trust HR or SLT means I feel can’t discuss this openly with anyone who actually knows the ins and outs of pay entitlement etc.

Time to phone the union maybe.

@haberpop - cross post there, ah if the have to honour it that’s good - I’d feel more secure if they are obliged to accept the end of the summer hols as the last day.

Don't do it to piss SLT off- you know it's the kids that will bear the brunt.

I’ve looked it up and if I gave a long notice period and the school made me leave before it would count as being dismissed BUT I’ll have worked there for just under two years so wouldn’t be able to do anything if they did. so I think I’m going to have to do it the inconvenient way. Anyway thanks to anyone who bore with me in this whingeing thread!