Notice

[Bywayofanupdate]

Hello

Wondering if anyone can help over here. My son has a 3 month notice period in his current place of work. He's at risk of redundancy so has sensibly been looking for a new job and has been offered one but they don't want to wait 3 months. Is there anything he can do? What would the consequences be if he were to not work his notice?
Thanks for any advice

Well technically they could sue him for any expenses they incur as a result. Practically they are highly unlikely to bother with that and the worst case scenario is damage to his reputation and / or future references. It also sounds like he would miss out on any redundancy payment.

Could he discuss taking voluntary redundancy? He might be able to shorten his notice period as part of the deal

If he is at risk of redundancy he's better off staying and waiting out the process than resigning now (assuming he has 2 years service and will get redundancy pay)

If he is going to leave he just has to talk to his current employers. I'm sure the new place asked for his notice period when making the offer so they should be aware as well.

Then he can negotiate with his old and new place. Sometimes companies will wave the 3 months.

@Twizbe
''If he is at risk of redundancy he's better off staying and waiting out the process than resigning now''

He won't be better off.

He will have no job at the end of the process and statutory redundancy pay is nothing to get excited about especially he has worked in that role for a couple of years or so.

Most people don't get a massive redundancy package, just the bare minimum an organisation can get away with legally.

If this is a great job opportunity OP he should negotiate a shorter notice with his employer and move on.

My company waives employee notice period for colleagues officially placed at risk of redundancy...but they make it clear that anyone leaving before the company designated final day would forfeit their redundancy pay. This includes anyone who gives adequate notice. If you leave before the end date, you get nothing.

For some, this is a deal breaker. Longer served employees have enhanced redundancy terms so someone with 20 years or more service gets almost 9 months worth of pay. For others, the balance is much smaller - less than a month so the job in hand is a better prospect.

Get your son to ask the question with HR as a theoretical situation and via email so there's written confirmation.

In my workplace too, you would sacrifice your enhanced redundancy pay, which can be significant.

Depends on the package being offered and how long he's been there.

I was in a job once where my redundancy after 4 years was £10k (I still regret not taking that VR)

If it is just a couple of hundred quid or nothing at all then go now, but if not stick around for it.

3 months notice, how are people supposed to move on to another job? No future employer would be willing to wait that long.
Your son can try negotiating as others have said. Or he can just not work his notice - it is extremely unlikely that he'll be taken to court for breaching his contract, but it will impact his references as would be seen as "burning bridges". But if he explains the situation to his future employer they may be understanding and not care about the references.

A 3 month notice period isn’t that unusual and lots of employers will wait.

Thanks for the advice everyone, have passed it on