New contract won't be ready in time to give notice

[ladyinthelibrary]

I work in a school and have been offered a job in another one, to start Sept. I need to hand my notice in by 31 July. I have had a brief "We are pleased to offer you the job" letter which I have signed and sent back and was waiting for my contract.

Today I phoned the new school to query where my contract is and was told the I am on their system to start in Sept but the Local Education Authority deal with the contract side of things and it probably won't be done until August, which is obv too late to hand my notice in for a Sept start.

Would you hand your notice in .....? I will ring the LEA tomorrow, but if they won't sort my contract out to be with me this month, I feel up sh*t creek!

bump

I would - never had my contract before starting a job - you have an offer in writing and I assume they have taken up your references/done any health checks

Presumably the offer letter contained the important stuff like salary, hours etc? And if you already work in a school, presumably in a similar job, is there really a chance they might put something in the contract that would be a surprise to you and a dealbreaker?

So, one yes, one no, and one probably would? That's the risk isn't it Flowery - there shouldnt be anything unexpected, but I'm a bit of a belt-and-braces kinda girl lady and it panics me a little to do it. Am trying to get throught anyone someone at the LEA this morning so will see if they are sympathetic to my cause!

Thanks for your views, folks :)

What sort of unexpected thing might arise that would be a dealbreaker for you? I think that's what you need to work out, assuming they can't get it done and over to you before 31 July.