Notice Period - How Long Do You Have to Give?

[Deleted User]

ohreally wrote: »

Don’t go anywhere near HR, it’s up to the employer to make employees aware of terms of service, if they have failed then the situation falls to statutory minimum.

Don’t put an exit on HR’s radar.

No worries on that score, he has no intention of going anywhere near HR until he has to.

[Deleted User]

polgara wrote: »

As an aside he may want to ask for some detailed feedback on his interview to try and pinpoint why he is not being successful - this will be invaluable if he is looking for alternative work

He is going through this process tomorrow but naturally has his own views on why he is being overlooked.
Basically, he is one of only two technicians in the lab trained up on three vital pieces of equipment and the tests carried out with these items. The other technician is currently on maternity leave and, consequently, my son believes that, at the moment, the company cannot afford to lose his vast experience in these areas or the time it would take to train up someone else. If he was to be promoted to supervisor/leader level he would not be working in that area of the lab! His reasoning makes a lot of sense to me.

Because of the reasons above, I think my son was hoping he could give as little notice as possible (i.e. a week) so that he could effectively drop the company in the smelly stuff as they wouldn't have anyone trained to work in those areas.

I have to say I like his thinking but I suspect he is going to have to give a minimum of a months notice and possibly even longer.

Many thanks to all who have replied so far.

JPW

steampowered

Dropping an employer in the smelly stuff is a bad idea.

Particularly somewhere he has been for 10 years and will need a reference from in future!

Leaving a company for new opportunities is a very normal and positive thing to do, but it is always best to make things as amicable as possible. If the notice period is only 1 week it may be worth offering to give a bit more than a week's notice to allow a replacement to be trained.

MataNui

nicechap wrote: »

I'm guessing that working in microbiology is a specialised area with a small pool of talent from which to recruit from, in which case notice of 3 or even 6 months would not be unusual.

Ah, but from what i read the OPs son isnt actually in any sort of senior position and it would be very unlikely that they would (or even could) of demanded anything other than a months notice when he was originally employed. I would guess that his original contract specifies the pretty standard month. He may be the most experienced member of the team (which means squat in terms of the notice required) but not the senior one.

[Deleted User]

Just to provide you all with a little more information, my son is a Senior Lab Technician and has been for some time.

The company recently had two vacancies for Laboratory Supervisors/Leaders. As well as external applications, they had several internal applications, my son was one of those. Three of the internal applicants got through to the second and final round of interviews, one of whom was my son. All three of the internal applicants were Senior Lab Techs. Despite my son having more experience at senior level than the other two internal applicants combined, he was the one to lose out!
As I have stated previously, my son is currently the only lab tech (senior or otherwise) that is currently trained on certain equipment and therefore able to carry out certain tests that are critical to the business of the lab (see my previous post).

With that I'll leave you to form your own views on how he has been treated.

JPW

polgara

What reasons did they give for not being successful - many organisations only make the decision based on performance on the day, not how long someone has worked for the company.

getmore4less

It is a problem for companies that only offer career through management routes.

If they can't promote people(remuneration increase) staying technical you get blocks.


Check the contract for notice and prepare to leave if they don't have higher remuneration for the more skilled an productive technical people.

[Deleted User]

polgara wrote: »

What reasons did they give for not being successful - many organisations only make the decision based on performance on the day, not how long someone has worked for the company.

My son has a meeting tomorrow to get detailed feedback on his performance.
I know that performance at interview is important and should be the major factor in an organisations decision but, it shouldn't be the only one, a person's experience should also be taken into consideration.

The way my son has bee treated reminds me of something I was told by one of my old bosses:

If something bad happens to you; the first time it happens it is probably an accident; the second time it happens it is more than likely deliberate; but the third time it happens it is most definitely enemy action.

If i had been in my son's shoes, on hearing I had been overlooked yet again, I would have told them to shove their job where the sun doesn't shine and walked out.
Luckily, my son isn't like me in that regard!

JPW

nicechap

Don't walk out or burn bridges, a good reference is something worthwhile to keep. Just find somewhere new and hand in notice (according to the contract).

Once done, don't fall for sudden promises of helping to develop him or a salary review. If its time to go, its time to go and wanting new opportunities & challenges elsewhere is a perfectly acceptable reason to move on.

You may find they try and and entice him back in a few months with a proper offer rather than jam tomorrow.

steampowered

If he has decided to leave anyway, there is no harm with saying that he is thinking of leaving in the performance review.

Who knows, perhaps the employer will make some sort of counter offer to resolve the problem? Or promise a route to promotion?