Notice period for new job?

[Lizzie67384]

I’ve been offered a new role as Head of Department; I’m quite senior in my role and my notice period in my current job is 3 months - I’ve always had notice periods of at least 1-3 months in previous jobs.

I was reading my new contract today and it stipulates that the employer can give me 1 weeks’ notice (following successful probation) and I have to give 3 months’ notice!

I’m really shocked by this! Who would accept that? Is it indicative of how they treat staff?

I’ve gone back to query this but am now feeling very unsure of the role - unless the notice period is extended, I will definitely not be accepting this position.

I'd not accept that either. It's absurd.

Absolute nope! Unless they give you a week's notice and pay 3m in lieu?

I thought that the whole point of a notice period was that it applied equally to both employer and employee?

In similar situations I've sent the draft contract back amended to show what I want. I send an email saying something like :
" Thanks for the draft contract, all fine except for Cl 2.3, which I've amended in red. If you can approve that then we can can proceed."
So it's fairly neutral and businesslike, it's not stroppy or argumentative, and their response will tell you what you want to know.

That’s a great response! Will definitely do that tonight! Thanks for the tip!

I thought that too to be honest; I’ve never had two different notice periods but I’ve had a google and it seems it’s acceptable as long as it’s at least the statutory amount (which is 1 week)