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What happens at end of secondment (giving notice etc)?

I've worked for my current employer for 3.5 years. A little over 3 years into the job they offered me a 6 month secondment to a different job in a different team, with a view to it being permanent after that if both sides were happy.

I signed a piece of paper which simply stated that 'with effect from date X you will be working for Y in role Z for an initial term of 6 months. During this period your notice period will be 2 months.' This is a variation from my contract which has a notice period of 1 month.

Is there any legal definition of what happens at the end of such a secondment period in terms of giving notice/leaving? Would I revert to the 1 month notice period in my contract unless I agreed a new contract for the new position on a permanent basis?

I am thinking of leaving but don't want to ask HR where I stand on this as I don't want to alert them to this until I have definitely decided to go. I'm not trying to avoid working my notice, just want to be prepared.

FWIW I am now 6 weeks from the end of the 6 month period.

Thanks!

Comments

  • ohreally
    ohreally Posts: 7,525 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Why aren't you simply returning to your substantive post?
    Don’t be a can’t, be a can.
  • I don't know what substantive means, but if it is my job pre-secondment, I'm not returning because the reason I was offered the secondment was that I had handed in my notice from that job in favour of one at a different company. Current employer wanted to keep me so offered me a sideways move which I had enquired about >1 year previously, and I thought it represented better career progression than the route I was on.

    My reasons for leaving the other department/role remain though, so I am looking at other companies (2 have actually asked me to apply as they had heard I was looking) rather than going back to that position.
  • At the end of your secondment, you'll either return to your previous contract or be offered a new one in the new role
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
    At the end of your secondment, you'll either return to your previous contract or be offered a new one in the new role

    In an ideal world, maybe. In my experience employers are rubbish at paperwork. You currently have an end date to the secondment. If you continue in that job past that date you are still bound by the contractual conditions of the job you are doing - so two months notice. If you object to doing so and accepting the conditions, you will probably have to say so. Bearing in mind that there may be no other job to go back to. You might need to clarify whether your previous post actually is available, since, on technical grounds, you have resigned from it already.
  • Thanks for your replies.

    I didn't actually resign, just verbally told my manager I'd been offered another job. There was never anything in writing at my current company (except the piece of paper I signed about the new 6 month terms), nor did I accept the job at the other company.

    But that's academic as I'm not going back to my old job.

    I suppose I just want to know what will happen when I have the meeting at the end of the 6 month period (assuming I haven't handed in my 2 months' notice before that). Can I say I'm leaving at that point, without any notice, 1 month or 2 months? Conversely, can they say 'you're out now' without any notice? If I want to stay at that point would the notice period from then on be subject to negotiation (or more likely, them telling me it's now 3 months if I want to stay on)? I assume that by not going back to my old job I will have waived any right to my old, 1 month notice contract.

    Thanks!
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
    Thanks for your replies.

    I didn't actually resign, just verbally told my manager I'd been offered another job. There was never anything in writing at my current company (except the piece of paper I signed about the new 6 month terms), nor did I accept the job at the other company.

    But that's academic as I'm not going back to my old job.

    I suppose I just want to know what will happen when I have the meeting at the end of the 6 month period (assuming I haven't handed in my 2 months' notice before that). Can I say I'm leaving at that point, without any notice, 1 month or 2 months? Conversely, can they say 'you're out now' without any notice? If I want to stay at that point would the notice period from then on be subject to negotiation (or more likely, them telling me it's now 3 months if I want to stay on)? I assume that by not going back to my old job I will have waived any right to my old, 1 month notice contract.

    Thanks!


    You can't just walk and they can't just dismiss you. Your have continuous employment, and the job is a secondment - so on the face of it, there is currently no indication that there is a redundancy either. But yes, the only way of getting a shorter notice period is to go back to your old job (if they let you - that is not a given), or negotiate a shorter period. If you do the latter then you are giving them due warning that you will be quitting as soon as you can, and you may need to consider what the impact of that may be.
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