Advice Please: Notice Period

fiisch

My current job, which I've been in since May 2016, has a three month notice period. I work in a Business Change role but simply it has not worked out. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I don't feel suited to the role and I think the informal, on-the-job training has been inadequate. It has really got me down and I have struggled with motivation and understanding the requirements of the role.

I struck lucky and managed to find alternative employment which would be an advantageous move for me. They're willing to wait, but would ideally like me to start ASAP.

I am miserable in my current role, and my personal circumstances (wife is pregnant) mean I am desperate to start the new job sooner rather than later. My boss has intimated I may be allowed to leave a month early (two weeks before the baby is due!) but is dependent on circumstances at work and is not promised.

What would you do in this situation? I have researched the potential consequences of walking, but I don't like the idea of leaving a company on bad terms. I also owe around £5,000 (part season ticket loan, part study fees), so I am keen to move on ASAP so I can earn the money to repay and be settled by the time the baby arrives.

Should I walk or grit my teeth and bare it?


The company hasn't mistreated me, and have been fair, but the last six months have worn me down and I want out at the earliest opportunity. It just isn't a good match and, in my opinion, would suit both parties to end employment sooner rather than later...

Undervalued

fiisch wrote: »

My current job, which I've been in since May 2016, has a three month notice period. I work in a Business Change role but simply it has not worked out. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I don't feel suited to the role and I think the informal, on-the-job training has been inadequate. It has really got me down and I have struggled with motivation and understanding the requirements of the role.

I struck lucky and managed to find alternative employment which would be an advantageous move for me. They're willing to wait, but would ideally like me to start ASAP.

I am miserable in my current role, and my personal circumstances (wife is pregnant) mean I am desperate to start the new job sooner rather than later. My boss has intimated I may be allowed to leave a month early (two weeks before the baby is due!) but is dependent on circumstances at work and is not promised.

What would you do in this situation? I have researched the potential consequences of walking, but I don't like the idea of leaving a company on bad terms. I also owe around £5,000 (part season ticket loan, part study fees), so I am keen to move on ASAP so I can earn the money to repay and be settled by the time the baby arrives.

Should I walk or grit my teeth and bare it?


The company hasn't mistreated me, and have been fair, but the last six months have worn me down and I want out at the earliest opportunity. It just isn't a good match and, in my opinion, would suit both parties to end employment sooner rather than later...

In your opinion but unless they agree it is irrelevant!

All you can do it try to negotiate an earlier exit. They may well agree as it is generally not ideal to have somebody working who really doesn't want to be there.

Probably best to try and present them with a solution rather than a problem or, at the very least, demonstrate how they would benefit.

dlmcr

Legally you are obliged to work your notice period. In practice you could explain to your current employer that you are just not enjoying the role, have got something else and would like to negotiate a shorter notice period - just be upfront and see what they say. It would be a very poor manager and / or vindicative orgainsation that would apply the rule of the contract to the letter when it is obviously causing an unhappy employee who is leaving anyway more distress.

If you explain this in the right way they may then understand that you being there for 3 months could be doing more harm than good to the organisation that you are leaving, you could then do things like work to rule, leave at 5pm on the dot etc. They might cotton on, get fed up with you and offer you to leave at shorter notice.

There is nothing to stop you not coming into work however and although theoretically your current employer could take you to court if you didn't work all your notice period, in practice that is so unlikely as to the possibility being almost non existant unless you are senior or going to work for a competitor.

If you've got a reference from then this will put you in a much stronger position.

If you are unfortunate enough to have a nasty 2 month long viral infection during your notice period that would be very unlucky though...

At the end of the day how strongly you want to act in this situation depends on how good terms you want to remain with your old employer and whether you want to burn bridges because maybe one day you would like to work for them again,

TELLIT01

Try to negotiate an early exit. If you have a 3 month notice period it generally means that you are in a role where they really don't want a gap between one person leaving and another starting.
At least you know you are leaving which, in itself, should take some of the pressure off you.
I would not advocate just walking as it actually won't look good with your new employer. Your current employer presumably knows where you are moving to and could complain to them about you being encouraged to jump ship without adequate notice. It doesn't matter whether or not they have done that, by contacting them your current employer is telling them you are leaving early without agreement.

[Deleted User]

fiisch wrote: »

What would you do in this situation? .

Remember if I was in the situation of having to ask old boss for job back, seriously. Typical the one boss you don't want to ask but the one you only realise how much you were thought off and how the colleagues wouldn't stand in the way when it was to late.

A 6 month job as handling cheques reference required *after* starting means I was glad to have worked notice. (Oh yes despite anything I was told)

I've had enough jobs to qualify for guiness book of records alone, the grass isn't always greener and not worth jeopardising professionalism. Ever.

fiisch

Thank you for the replies. There is absolutely no way I would go back to the current company - it just isn't a good fit and they haven't trained me on the job which has made life very difficult. It's not the easiest of jobs at the best of times, but my training mentor has been disinterested at best and difficult and obstructive at worst (there is a fine line between challenging someone to find the answer to the problem themselves and being downright obtuse, and unfortunately his style falls within the latter).


Update
Following your replies, I requested another call with my line manager and discussed, amongst other things, my personal circumstances and reiterated a strong desire to leave sooner rather than later. I explained that working the full notice period would put me at a financial disadvantage, and with a baby on the way I was keen to get settled in another job asap.


He reiterated the company line, but I did challenge and say that the verbal contract implied by the recruitment agent was that I'd receive a formal, structured on-the-job training programme which hasn't happened. I spoke very candidly (I'm not good at difficult conversations) and explained my position, but to be fair I don't think my line manager has the power to waive my notice without approval from the Directors.


My Position
Staying at my current company will put us in a pretty dire financial situation, and I'm concerned they're being somewhat flakey about my final date and the monies I am owing. They've offered to let me finish early if a project is completed, but there are no guarantees which doesn't help me in arranging start date with a new employer.


Accepting what has been said already above, and exhausting the negotiating phase (he is going to talk to Directors again but I'm not hopeful), and bearing in mind I am desperate to leave, what would you do? What's the worst that can happen if I drop my equipment off and leave?

Undervalued

fiisch wrote: »

Accepting what has been said already above, and exhausting the negotiating phase (he is going to talk to Directors again but I'm not hopeful), and bearing in mind I am desperate to leave, what would you do? What's the worst that can happen if I drop my equipment off and leave?

The worse that can happen is....

They sue you for any quantifiable losses caused by you breaching your contract. In certain circumstances that could be a great deal more than your salary.

They sue your new employer for enticing you to breach your contract.

They tell any potentially employer who asks them for a reference what you have done (or simply refuse to give you any sort of reference at all).

They fail to pay your final salary and any accrued holiday leaving you to sue them with an implied threat of "you sue us and we will sue you".

How likely any of the above are to happen is another matter.