3 month notice on contract

[Danglyspider]

DH has been employed by current employer for over 10 years now, in a non-management position. They frequently give him unreasonable deadlines, give him more responsibilities, and too much work to get done. Like a lot of people, he had a 10% pay cut in 2010, and hasn't had a bonus or a pay rise since then. And he finds the work really dull, and to be honest, I would too. (I know, it's called work for a reason, but he got into this industry because he wanted to do something he enjoys doing, and it's really not the case with the type of work he carries out.)
The thing is, is that he would look for another job, but they made him sign a contract which states that he has to give 3 months notice. i'm not sure, but this doesn't seem legal to me. I realise that as I've been self-employed for most of my career, that I may just be being naive, but I've just had a chat with DH about it, and he said of course it's legal otherwise they wouldn't have done it. Can anyone help to set me straight on this?

Totally normal in more senior roles. Even less senior in certain industries/roles eg if frequent client contact. (to introduce and build relationship with new employee).
Most employers are fine with it. It can also often be negotiated down when handing in your notice. This shouldn't stop your DH from applying for new roles.

I’m on 4 months notice!

I see it as a good thing. If they want rid of me, I’ve got a good financial cushion. If I want rid of them, I can make enough noises to make them want to put me on garden leave

Thanks everyone - I'll show this to DH and see what he says!

Three months is standard. Mine is six months - too long imo but my employer insisted to protect themselves.

3 months v standard here too. Had some recruiters make funny noises but if you are assertive and sell yourself then there shouldn’t be any issues.

My last few jobs have had 3 month notice periods. Totally normal at a certain level.

Where I have worked admin and entry roles 1 month, prof 3 months, directors 6 months. Often not insisted on but can be. Generally not an issue when changing jobs as firms all do same.

Dh is 6 months but that would be 6 months gardening leave which I don’t really understand why they wouldn’t just let him go Immediatly Rather than pay him to do nothing for six months!

They can’t let him go immediately as he will have a statutory minimum notice weird during which they will be worrying about client relationships, proprietary info etc. They could pay him in lieu of notice but then he could start somewhere else right away. This way they get 6 months head start at retaining his clients. When I left my last role 6 months gardening leave was my absolute nightmare but it didn’t get to that.

3 months notice obviously really normal and recruiters won’t be put off. Even if it’s not industry standard, they’d almost always rather have the right person for the role. It sounds miserable where he is and he should look around for sure.