Currently half way through a year of mat leave.
Current job involves a hellish sometimes almost 2 hour commute and so I wasn't planning on going back to work at all - I was just going to give my notice in a couple of months.
However I have now been offered a job by an ex colleague. It is so perfect for me and literally on my doorstep and they have met all my demands! but now I'm worried about handling things with current employer.
New job won't start until my current mat leave is finished (6 months). But I'm just not sure about how best to handle things with my current employer. Obviously I want to be honest but I don't want to lose out on any mat pay, or holiday pay from them or have a period where I'm not employed, as my new job doesn't start for another 6 months.
But new job obviously want references from current workplace. Id need to give notice to my current employer around Christmas time, but I don't want my pay / holiday entitlements to be cut short. There is also the issue of a Christmas bonus which I might not get if I've handed my notice in.
Will it look terrible if I don't say anything to current employer (fairly large firm) and just give HR dept as a reference and then just hand my notice in a few months or should I just tell them I'm leaving now?
Also relevant: I don't have to pay anything to my current employer if I don't go back after mat leave.