Current employer has refused my advised leaving date in my notice

Thrugelmir

Gray134 said:

The only reason I am arguing this is as I have arranged to leave on the 2nd of January and start on the 3rd of jan at my new company to allow for a handover to a replacement. 

Perhaps the Company has other plans that you are unaware of. When an employees leave it's often an opportunity to reorganise the company structure. No one is indispensable. While there maybe a period of short term inconvenience. You'll soon be forgotten. A recruitment process could take some time. By choosing the 2nd January I assume that this allows you to take paid leave from a point in December. Seems to be at your convenience rather than the Company's. Leaves very little time for a handover .

If your position was considered more important. Your contractual notice period would be far longer. 

pinkshoes

Gray134 said:

The company have now sent me an email saying my contract terms of not less than 1 month mean they only need a months notice so I will be leaving on the 31st of October  and only be paid to the 31st.  

Well that's very nice of them (not), but they can't actually do that if you have been there 4 years.

They could sack you for gross misconduct or make you redundant if your role was to cease to exist, but they cannot just tell you to leave.

So you have options:

1. reiterate to your employer that you have given extended notice as a good will gesture to give sufficient time to help train a replacement, so will be remaining as an employee until the 3rd January 2022. I would then state that if they wish you to leave on the 31st October, you will do so but they will still need to pay you until 3rd January. (gardening leave)

2. See if you can start at the new company earlier then just accept their 31st October finish.

Personally I would be negotiating for money if they wanted me to leave!

Undervalued

pinkshoes said:

Gray134 said:

The company have now sent me an email saying my contract terms of not less than 1 month mean they only need a months notice so I will be leaving on the 31st of October  and only be paid to the 31st.  

Well that's very nice of them (not), but they can't actually do that if you have been there 4 years.

They could sack you for gross misconduct or make you redundant if your role was to cease to exist, but they cannot just tell you to leave.

So you have options:

1. reiterate to your employer that you have given extended notice as a good will gesture to give sufficient time to help train a replacement, so will be remaining as an employee until the 3rd January 2022. I would then state that if they wish you to leave on the 31st October, you will do so but they will still need to pay you until 3rd January. (gardening leave)

2. See if you can start at the new company earlier then just accept their 31st October finish.

Personally I would be negotiating for money if they wanted me to leave!

They can! In fact they have!

The OP might have a claim for unfair and / or wrongful dismissal if they do. However all that would yield is his pay until the date he gave in his resignation.

He cannot withdraw his resignation without the employer's agreement, so he can now be forced to leave without any compensation on that date.

If the employer digs their heels in it could easily take a year or more to get the money, always assuming the company hasn't gone bust by then.

getmore4less

theoretica said:

As I see it, you have given notice - with an advanced date.  This does not protect you from the company giving counter notice - but they need a reason for dismissing you.  Redundancy, gross misconduct...

one of the other legal reason is 

• Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR)

as a catch all.

The employer could breakdown of trust as the employee is planning to leave anyway.
no idea if that would fly, there may be other options.

getmore4less

Gray134 said:

The only reason I am arguing this is as I have arranged to leave on the 2nd of January and start on the 3rd of jan at my new company to allow for a handover to a replacement.  The reference to the bonus is more that I know that the attempt to get rid of me earlier has been started by the commercial director who wants to save the money and i can understand that.  my major issue is in the wording of the contract that notice period should be "Not less than 4 weeks" which I have followed yet they are saying it actually means 4 weeks.  As the other company would be happy to have me earlier and I will be happy to go especially after the last few days I am really only fighting this as I am sick of him riding roughshod over me and my colleagues and getting away with it

They can counter with their own notice.
The legality of that would depend on how they would justify it.

If you have a new job accept the notice, book all your holiday  and leave early.

Its their problem to pick up the pieces(If any)
Start handing off work back to the stakeholders of the project you are working on. 

Jillanddy

getmore4less said:

theoretica said:

As I see it, you have given notice - with an advanced date.  This does not protect you from the company giving counter notice - but they need a reason for dismissing you.  Redundancy, gross misconduct...

one of the other legal reason is 

• Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR)

as a catch all.

The employer could breakdown of trust as the employee is planning to leave anyway.
no idea if that would fly, there may be other options.

Interesting. I guess one could consider the risk to the employer that they might do something like poach staff, clients or steal information... and that the rational for giving such a large amount of notice is to do so and/or to force the employer to put them on garden leave and collect a chunk of money for nothing. After all, what was to stop them giving a years notice? That would certainly be an interesting case to see argued. 

Thrugelmir

pinkshoes said:

Gray134 said:

The company have now sent me an email saying my contract terms of not less than 1 month mean they only need a months notice so I will be leaving on the 31st of October  and only be paid to the 31st.  

Well that's very nice of them (not), but they can't actually do that if you have been there 4 years.

Employers are only obilged to give one weeks notice per year of service. Need to be 5 years or more to give more. Employer is correct in this instance. 

theoretica

Thrugelmir said:

pinkshoes said:

Gray134 said:

The company have now sent me an email saying my contract terms of not less than 1 month mean they only need a months notice so I will be leaving on the 31st of October  and only be paid to the 31st.  

Well that's very nice of them (not), but they can't actually do that if you have been there 4 years.

Employers are only obilged to give one weeks notice per year of service. Need to be 5 years or more to give more. Employer is correct in this instance. 

But if you have worked there for more than 2 years they should not give notice without a reason.

Thrugelmir

theoretica said:

Thrugelmir said:

pinkshoes said:

Gray134 said:

The company have now sent me an email saying my contract terms of not less than 1 month mean they only need a months notice so I will be leaving on the 31st of October  and only be paid to the 31st.  

Well that's very nice of them (not), but they can't actually do that if you have been there 4 years.

Employers are only obilged to give one weeks notice per year of service. Need to be 5 years or more to give more. Employer is correct in this instance. 

But if you have worked there for more than 2 years they should not give notice without a reason.

The employee is resigning though in this instance and the employer has accepted. On the employers part 4 weeks is sufficient notice to terminate the employment.   

Jillanddy

Thrugelmir said:

theoretica said:

Thrugelmir said:

pinkshoes said:

Gray134 said:

The company have now sent me an email saying my contract terms of not less than 1 month mean they only need a months notice so I will be leaving on the 31st of October  and only be paid to the 31st.  

Well that's very nice of them (not), but they can't actually do that if you have been there 4 years.

Employers are only obilged to give one weeks notice per year of service. Need to be 5 years or more to give more. Employer is correct in this instance. 

But if you have worked there for more than 2 years they should not give notice without a reason.

The employee is resigning though in this instance and the employer has accepted. On the employers part 4 weeks is sufficient notice to terminate the employment.   

But that isn't what the law says. The employer can't give "counternotice". Giving more notice than required isn't a crime - although it often unwise. So the employer isn't in a position to reduce the notice period to less because that's what they want. Of course, they are in a position to make life miserable for an employee....