Four week notice period for hourly/weekly paid?

Tank40

My contract has always stated I have to give 4 weeks notice but I'm paid by the hour on a weekly basis. I believe some colleagues who joined some time previously are still on 'old contracts' whereby they only have to give a week's notice. I've been there 2½ years now.

I'd like to know the repercussions if, say a job offer came up and they preferred I started in say 2 week's time, what redress my employer could seek.

I was told a relevant law is the Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86 but I haven't been able to get my head round that just yet.

tightauldgit

In theory if you don't work your notice then you are in breach of contract and your employer could sue you for any losses they incur as a result or try to stop you working at the new job. But in reality that's unlikely to happen. 

 

Undervalued

Tank40 said:

My contract has always stated I have to give 4 weeks notice but I'm paid by the hour on a weekly basis. I believe some colleagues who joined some time previously are still on 'old contracts' whereby they only have to give a week's notice. I've been there 2½ years now.

I'd like to know the repercussions if, say a job offer came up and they preferred I started in say 2 week's time, what redress my employer could seek.

I was told a relevant law is the Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86 but I haven't been able to get my head round that just yet.

What contracts others are on is irrelevant.

Although the law sets a minimum amount of notice (1 week) you have contracted to give more. As stated above the employer could sue for any unavoidable losses incurred if you fail to honour your contract. Although it is not all that common it can and does happen, sometimes in surprising situations.

Slightly more common, depending on the employer, is that you struggle to get your final pay and / or payment for any accrued but untaken holiday. Effectively the employer says "you sue us and we will sue you"! 

[Deleted User]

The employer might also refuse to give a reference.

TBagpuss

Yes, as above, your contract, rather than the terms that other wemployees are employed on, it what's relvant.

If you left without serviing your full otice then the employer could decline to provide a reference or could state in any reference that you failed to give  the correct notice / failed to work your notice period. 

You could be sued for any extra costs they inciurred - for instnace, of they employed a temp to cover the extra two weeks they could sue you for the difference between what that costs them, and whatthey would have paid you for those two weeks .

3 weeks is pretty common so if your new employer said they would like you to start in 2 weeks time and you tell thm that you have a 4 week notice periofd then it shouldn't be a deal breaker  (And an employer who would withdraw / not make  an offer for that reason is pronably not a great employer to work for, as it's very unreasonable!) 

Obviosuly you can ask your current employer to agree a shorter period - when you have your notice in you can ask whether they are able to agree 2 weeks rather than 4. If you have any unused leave you can also ask to take that at the end of your notice period to shrten the time you need to work, although that does mean that your employment with the two firms would overlap which might affect your tax and any benefits you claim