Unusually long notice period enforceable?

ericthekidstoner

found a letter from my company the other day which said:-

Congratulations on the completion of you probation period. Your notice period is now 12 weeks

Is this legal (and enforceable)? I've heard from somewhere/one that it's not

tia

hjb123

Does it not mean that that is the notice period that they give you?

lynzpower

it depends on the wording.

Ive certainly heard of contracts that mean that the EMPLOYEE has to give 12 weeks notice.

Im not 100% that this is legal, I would expect that it contravenes the human rights act, but unsure whether this has ever been tested

MJMum

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dmg24

Twelve weeks is not unusual (though four weeks is much more common), particularly in senior jobs or jobs where a certain scarce expertise is required.

nearlyrich

I had to work three months notice in a previous employment and my current contract is also 3 months, if someone leaves they usually pay them off and don't make them work it but my former employer wanted me to work to the bitter end.

RibenaBerry_2

Yes, it's perfectly legal. There's an argument that, if it wasn't made clear to you when you joined, they need you to agree. However, it's pointless not to agree. If they have to give you 12 weeks' notice as well as you giving it to them, it's really a benefit to you. If they make redundancies or whatever, you know you have three months' warning that you need to find another job (or a nice lump sum to tide you over whilst you do).

I can't see any argument at all that it breaches the Human Rights Act I'm afraid. Which right were you thinking of Lynzpower? I might be missing something really obvious!

If you refuse to work it, they can't actually force you to. They won't pay you for the period that you didn't work (obviously), they can threaten to give you a bad reference (depends how much you care). The big threat is that they'll sue you for their losses for the breach of contract BUT they have to prove that the losses were caused by you breaching your contract, not just by you leaving and not just happening to occur at the same time. Except, perhaps, if a salesman walks out on a critical deal and it collapses as a result or whatever, it's really hard for them to prove loss.

I would take the notice period if I were you.

ericthekidstoner

thanks all

I'm not in a senior position within the company which was why I was surprised by the 12 as opposed to the normal 4 week notice period. I interpret it as notice of me resigning and the company sacking me - tho the letter doesn't say a lot more else apart from my original quote.

I can definitely see it as a benefit (due to stability and certainly if redundancy etc are likely). Unfortunately I'm actually thinking about leaving so this kinda works against me

it wasn't made clear to me when I begun working for this company - until I completed my probation period and this letter arrived.

I just remember hearing somewhere that it isn't legal so thought I'd ask you guys and check.

Savvy_Sue

If you've been there a while, then do you know what has happened when other people have left? If you're still new, then casual chatting may help you find out what's happened in the past ...

It can easily take 3 months to recruit someone (from start to finish: agreeing the job's to be advertised, job description and person spec, costing and getting timeframes for placing ads in appropriate publications, placing ad, selecting applicants, interviewing applicants, offering, them accepting, them giving notice ...) so if it's a 'mission critical' post then you can see why companies ask for 3 months notice. Not that it helps if your successful applicant also has to give 3 months notice!

BTW it might be worth finding out before you put in too many applications: a common question is "How much notice are you required to give in your current position?" Even if it's technically 3 months, if you know that it's unlikely to be enforced you can at least say "3 months but an earlier release may be negotiated."