Job switching process - when to resign?

yya

Hi all, I am currently employed on a 3 month notice. Yesterday I have received an offer over email for a position I interviewed a month ago, and I have accepted it by replying the email. The HR also said they will send a contract to me later on, which is in a longer form. I would like to ask should I resign now or is it better for me to wait for the long contract to be signed before I resign? 

This is the first time I change jobs hence any advice would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance 

Peter999_2

If it were me I would wait while the contract was signed.  I have been let down before but never after the contract was signed (admittedly I am a contractor).

I'd also go and see HR in your company and see if they'll let you go early.  I've been on a 4 month notice before and HR let me go with just a weeks notice, it's worth asking.

yya

Peter999_2 said:

If it were me I would wait while the contract was signed.  I have been let down before but never after the contract was signed (admittedly I am a contractor).

I'd also go and see HR in your company and see if they'll let you go early.  I've been on a 4 month notice before and HR let me go with just a weeks notice, it's worth asking.

Thanks for your reply. The HR asked me to print out the offer email and sign on it which I did. I was not aware that a contract will be sent to me now. I was thinking the contract will be signed when my next employment starts, i e in 3 month time. However the HR just causally mentioned they will send me a contact today😂. Would it be normal to sign the contract 3 month in advance?

Hoenir

Normal practice is to formally accept the offer. 

redped

I would want to see the signed contract before even thinking about resigning from my current job, just in case the contract terms differ from what you were expecting (e.g. salary, working hours, holiday entitlement, etc.).

SensibleSarah

Does depend a bit on the industry as to what is 'normal'. Personally, I've handed in my notice after returning a signed offer letter before, then signed the actual employment contract on my first day in the new role. Does the new role know the length of your notice period OP? If the offer letter didn't contain the details, you can ask to see the main contract terms now i.e. salary, hours, benefits etc as it would be expected for you to have sight of this before committing. 

One job, I had a 4-month notice period and while my new employer were aware before they offered me the job and would wait, it was clearly not ideal. I managed to negotiate it down to 2 months, which was better for everyone, but it was on the basis that certain work (some of which was out of my control) was completed by the end of those 2 months - which caused me a few anxious moments. 

Undervalued

Legally a "contract" simply requires offer and acceptance - which has happened. It doesn't even have to be written, let alone signed.

However most people prefer to wait until the full terms have been set down in writing and accepted in a more formal way. Much easier in the event of any dispute!

josephine82

I would usually expect to formally accept the terms of the offer, whether this is set out in a letter, or in a contract before resigning from my current role. 

I always sign a contract ahead of starting but that just be the industry i work in. 

At the end of the day you just want something formal that says the job is yours before you resign and give your notice. Even if that is three months. 

On-the-coast

depends how confident you are, and how much you like your current employer. 

If I was you (and I’ve done this) I’d would hand my notice in when I had the offer in hand - and see whether a better offer was forthcoming from my current employer…
You’ve received and signed an offer (yes you should have been through the contract t&c first but you didn’t) but remember the new employer can get rid of you for pretty much any reason in first year or two - so don’t worry too much about how cast-iron that offer/acceptance is.   Your real certainties lie with your current employer.