Same job different notice periods.

[Witchcraftandhokum]

3 other people in my organisation do the same job. I started working there 18 months ago and another was employed 3 months after me. The other 2 have been in their role for a number of years. It now transpires that the 2 members of staff who have been there the longest are contracted to give a much longer notice period than the newest member of staff and I. In other words we have different contracts. Does anyone know if this is legal?

That sounds legal and quite usual to me.

Of course. It’s a negotiation point and quite often a renegotiation over salary will include an increase in notice period. Bear in mind that it works both ways so someone who has to give 6 months notice to leave will also receive 6 mo the pay in a PILON

Just to be clear, the notice period is not based on time served.

It wouldn’t need to be. Did you negotiate it when you negotiated your contract? Not everyone will negotiate the same points and some people don’t negotiate at all

Their notice period was increased previously with no negotiation. One of them refused to sign the contract but was told as she came i to work anyway then she had accepted it. It was thought that mine and the other member of staff's contracts said the same but when we've checked they don't. The issue is that the longer notice period would put them at a disadvantage when applying for other jobs.

Yes it’s perfectly legal as long as it’s not for a discriminatory reason. Notice periods are something employers sometimes want to change, so they introduce the new version with newer staff and it’s probably not worth forcing the issue to try and change it with existing staff. So you end up with more than one set of terms until natural wastage eventually means everyone is on the same, as people leave and new staff are on the newer terms.

Its legal and not unusual. Often longer serving employees are offered longer notice periods (and there does not have to be a policy ). It usually works in an employee's favour as it will mean a better financial package if they were dismissed or made redundant. Often a reduction in a notice period can be negotiated if you want to leave as no-one wants an employee that wants to go being forced to hang on.