Need help about handing in notice

[Jobseeker19]

Hi, my old apprentice contract says I have to give 3 months notice.

I didnt get a new contract once I had qualified and the company has gone limited since then and they asked me to sign a new contract but it was just my old contract under the new company name. Since I'm not an apprentice anymore I didn't sign it, nothing came from this.

Now I want to hand in my notice.

Do I have to give 3 months or can I just give one month?

You have to give 3 if that's what your contract says

I thought that but I was hoping that because they tried to get me to sign a new contract under a new business that i didnt in fact have a valid contract to begin with.

Also my old contract lists different hours and wages, but sure if that matters

When they “tried to get you to sign it” what did you do? Did you notify them that you were not going to sign it and explain why? Otherwise you’ll be deemed to have accepted the new terms by just carrying on working. And if you didn’t accept the new terms the usual default would be that the old ones therefore apply.

You could always ask them if they’d be prepared to release you early.

Even if you didn't physically sign the new contract, it'll be those t&cs that you are contacted for. Does it say 1 month in that contract? Presumably you are receiving a high wage and other benefits as set out in the second contract rather than the first? If so, then the notice clause will work the same way.

Higher * wage I mean

Doesn’t matter whether you signed or not. You accepted the terms by carrying on working.

The second contract was exactly the same as the apprentice one, with the same hours and £3.50 an hour wage.It was backdated to look like it was given when I first started.
I said I'm not signing it because I'm not an apprentice anymore and my hours and wage have changed.
All that changed on the contract was the name because the old company had ceased trading and changed their name.

Talk to HR or your boss , sometimes companies are happy to let staff go earlier than the contract by mutual consent , a lot depends if they need time to get a replacement for you trained up or if they are having a pruning session

Notice period still applies then.

Although your notice period applies I’ve often seen a 3 month period negotiated down. Once someone wants to leave it’s rarely worth an employers while to make them stay any longer than needed. So ask, say I’d like to agree I leave on xxx date. But show that you can get a handover completed in that time. And stay professional.

I may be wrong, but are you a VN in a practice that has been bought by a corporate. If so the corporates rigidly enforce notice periods and have been know to pursue costs.