Uk employment law question

Spoken_2

Hello,

Back in June of this year I was verbally told by my manager that my job was going to be backfilled by someone else, and that there was potentially a new role for me but my manger wasn’t sure if I would get the new role. 

I have subsequently got a new job at a different company.

My question is, do I still need to serve  my 3 month notice period in my current position, 3 months is the notice period in my employment contract. 

I just want to leave this company and start work at my new company.

I work in the UK.

Thanks. 

TadleyBaggie

They can certainly insist you serve your full notice, but they may be open to negotiate a shorter period.

lincroft1710

TadleyBaggie said:

They can certainly insist you serve your full notice, but they may be open to negotiate a shorter period.

This ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

400ixl

Your notice period will be whilst in employment of the company, not in a particular role I would have thought. As above, they may be willing to allow that to be shortened on agreement.

Newbie_John

Definitely the best way is to negotiate with you manager / HR to shorten this period - you can also take your remaining holidays.

Tbh, I've been with my company for ages and seen all sorts outcomes:
- serving full 3 months notice while working well
- serving 3 months but doing literally nothing 
- having notice period shorten to match the requirements of both sides
- being pushed by company to shorten the notice period
- people disappearing, calling sick
- trying to work two jobs at the same time (work from home)


Saying all that, it's in both parties interest to find mutual agreement.

General_Grant

Newbie_John said:

Definitely the best way is to negotiate with you manager / HR to shorten this period - you can also take your remaining holidays.

To clarify: 
Taking accrued holiday cannot be forced by the employee: the employer would need to agree as for normally taking leave.

SensibleSarah

I've also seen notice periods work in a wide variety of ways in my different workplaces (all private sector). Some of the more extreme include:
- Had people given gardening leave on the spot of handing in notice
- Had people made to work every day of their notice period (up to six months) and not allowed to take annual leave during it (then paid whatever is owed on that front in final pay packet)
- Had a person refuse to work their notice and the employer took legal action against them. Same employer took no action when other employees stopped coming in during notice period
- Had people made redundant (me) and told I could leave immediately part way through the day I was given the news (PiLON was given for my month's notice and holiday pay owed in that role)
- Had people negotiate long notice periods down. My longest was 4 months contractually and managed to get employer to agree to 2 months, on the proviso I completed certain projects by deadline. I've also worked full 3 month notice periods a couple of times as employer wasn't willing to negotiate it down. 

Always try to talk to employer and see if they will agree to shorter notice. Some will, some won't. If you decide not to work it, be aware that you've breached your contract and could potentially be taken to court for employer to recover costs they incurred when you stopped showing up. Some will, some won't. I've always taken the approach that it's best not to burn bridges whenever possible - you never know where you'll come across someone you've worked with in the past again, so leaving on good terms is always best when you can.