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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

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Original poster

Leaving date from resignation now

18 replies

Goldrill · 08/07/2018 08:29

Asking for a friend - in case anyone knows me IRL!

Friend is also nqt and teaching is not for him. He has interview for a job in an unrelated area next week. I think that, as he's on a regular teacher contract, he can't actually leave till Christmas. Or possibly negotiate half term if head agrees.
He thinks he'll be able to start new job in September. I can't see how that will happen unless he breaks his contract.
Equally, I can't really see how he can get a job before leaving his school, as no employer's going to wait months and months for a start date.
Have I missed something?

OP posts:

Hippychickster · 08/07/2018 08:33

I think he should be able to leave at half term if he hands his notice in before the end of the summer term. I'm a teacher and I'm pretty sure you have to give half a term's notice. He needs to check though.

BossWitch · 08/07/2018 08:36

His contract will be xmas. Only way he can stsrt a new job in sept will be to break his contract. Rare in teaching, but it happens. I know of someone who did it (via email!) in the first week of the summer holidays- just told the school she wouldn't be back in Sept.

School will kick off and be angry so a reference will be a problem, but if he has a job to go to where that won't be an issue he will have to just do it. No school has the budget to sue over a breach of contract! He should probably work on the assumption he'll not get paid over the holiday though.

JimmyPestoJunior · 08/07/2018 08:38

His next official resignation date will be Christmas with the deadline of handing notice in by the end of October.
It's possible he may able to negotiate leaving before then with his headteacher and governors but with only a few weeks left of term I would think they would be unlikely to agree to him leaving in time for September. They would presumably need to recruit a full time replacement for the autumn term or rely on supply staff.

ILoveMyMonkey · 08/07/2018 08:41

Resignation date is 31st Oct to leave at Christmas, leaving before then would need to be negotiated and there's not a chance in hell they'd let him leave by September.

MsJaneAusten · 08/07/2018 08:43

He will be breaking his contract if he leaves before Christmas. He can negotiate an earlier release with his head teacher but whether it would be approved would depend on availability of staff etc.

When is the interview? Does he have to take time off work for it? That would be the time to discuss It with the head.

DumbledoresApprentice · 08/07/2018 09:18

He’ll be breaking his contract if he goes before Christmas. He might be able to negotiate half-term release with his HT but there is no guarantee that they will agree. He should arrange a meeting with the Head ASAP to hand in his notice to leave at Christmas and discuss the possibility of the Head releasing him earlier.

BossWitch · 08/07/2018 11:21

He should arrange a meeting with the Head ASAP to hand in his notice to leave at Christmas and discuss the possibility of the Head releasing him earlier.

See, I'm not sure. If he's definitely leaving teaching, he can afford to burn some bridges here. Teaching is so hard to move out of for a lot of reasons, and the extremely long notice periods are a real problem if you are trying.

The school will be able to get supply staff for the first term, and advertise for a perm teacher from Jan.

Original poster

Goldrill · 08/07/2018 11:43

He is a nice chap and doesn't want to do the wrong thing. There is definitely no way he's going back to teaching but he has family to support so has to have a job in place to go to. I can't see how he can do that at any point without breaking his contract - unless he finds a new employer who will let him start a few months after being offered job - sounds unlikely! I also don't think he can speak to the ht until he definitely has a job.

Complicated stuff. I'm also an nqt and still getting to grips with all the strange ways teaching works compared with previous career.

Thanks for the advice. I will point him at this thread so he knows what he's getting into. Gambling on not being sued is quite a step.

OP posts:

user56 · 08/07/2018 13:26

I think as long as he hands it in before the summer he can leave at Oct half term, not Xmas. Always half a terms notice ( eg to leave end of school year is May 31st etc)

BossWitch · 08/07/2018 13:32

No, there are three points during the academic year which are the designated resignation points- leave at xmas, Easter and end of summer. Any mid-term leaving has to be negotiated with head / governors.

Best thing would be to do the interview and see if he gets it. If he does, go to the head and inform them of the situation. They cant make him come back in Sept!

Teggun · 08/07/2018 13:40

As explained by pps a teacher's contract does not have 'half a term's notice' .

There are 3 leaving points and 3 dates by which notice must be given. In order to leave on 31st August notice must be received by May 31st. Next leaving point is 31st Dec.
I don't know what the consequences are for breaking a contract but without agreement from Head and Governors that's what he would be doing.
He needs to speak to Head and his union asap

badbadidea · 08/07/2018 13:42

Just leave

user56 · 08/07/2018 15:41

Brilliant to know !!! I always believed it was 1/2 termly I've learnt something after 15 years in the trade !!!

MsJaneAusten · 08/07/2018 18:04

I think as long as he hands it in before the summer he can leave at Oct half term, not Xmas. Always half a terms notice ( eg to leave end of school year is May 31st etc)

This is not true. There are three resignation deadlines - 31 May is the main one (to leave end of August); 31 October (to leave end of December); 28/39 February (to leave end of April). Anything else is by agreeement with head / governors.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 13/07/2018 19:59

MsJaneAusten is right. You can’t leave at a half term, unless you intend to break your contract which is inadvisable. At this stage of the term, with only a week to go, it would be nigh impossible to recruit for September and the planning will have taken place on the basis that your friend is there at the start of term.

Singlenotsingle · 13/07/2018 20:09

BossWitch speaks sense. To be able to sue for breach of contract, the plaintiff has to be able to show financial losses suffered as a result of the breach. Would there be any financial losses? (Really the friend would be best to give the school as much notice as possible, to give them a chance to get a replacement).

DelphiniumBlue · 13/07/2018 20:21

If he's not going to continue teaching, then nothing to stop him going when he wants.
It's not that hard for a school to find teaching staff, especially NQT, over the holidays. I have been for interviews during the holidays in the past.
If he wants to be nice, he could give notice that he's going to leave at October half term, if that doesn't make it too hard for him to get another job.
But yes, outside education, a new employer would normally expect him to give maybe a month notice, depending on the job, so if he interviews September onwards, that would probably work OK.
But if were him, I don't think I'd be giving notice before a new job was offered.

Joinourclub · 13/07/2018 20:34

The most likely outcome will be that his head allows him to leave at the half term. I’ve known plenty of staff to leave at a half term. Often it is staff who aren’t having the best time and really it is mutually beneficial that they leave!

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