Change in notice period

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chowells17
chowells17 Posts: 48 Forumite
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in Employment, jobseeking & training
I have just been told by management that as from the beginning of this month I am required to give 8 weeks notice to leave. This is a change from the 4 weeks notice that has been in place for the 17 years I have worked for the company.
Are my employers allowed to do this?

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  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229 Forumite
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    If you agree. But are you planning on leaving?
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 16,485 Forumite
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    If you contract states that you have to give 4 weeks notice I would think you would have to agree to contract changes before they can be introduced and enforced. The downside may be that if you don't agree to the changes they may look to terminate your employment.
    I'm sure somebody with knowledge of employment / contract law will be along soon.
    Do be aware that many will, as I have done, give their thoughts and opinions but not necessarily legally enforceable facts.
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
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    They should consult and gain acceptance or put you on notice they will be changing.

    if you want to change the process then reject the change in writing and inform them you are working under protest

    is it everyone or just you.
    if everyone you could mass resign.

    what is the justification and business need?


    often it is a reaction to retention and recruitment issues because they are not fixing the root causes.
  • Andy_L
    Andy_L Posts: 12,791 Forumite
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    Does your contract have a clause allowing them to make (certain) changes to your contract?

    Are they offering a [STRIKE]bribe[/STRIKE] incentive to agree

    What is their reason for the change - is a compromise possible

    If they impose a change without your agreement (or the unions agreement if they have a collective bargaining arrangement) you can take them to a court for breach of contract or resign and try for a constructive dismissal claim at a tribunal. That may or may not be worth it compared to having no job.

    As you have, significantly, more than 2 years service you are protected from them just summarily kicking you out if you refuse but have to go through a proper redundancy process - are they likely to do that or take subtle actions to make your life hell - eg no overtime, all the !!!! jobs come your way, no promotion/bonus etc?



    http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=816
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,091 Forumite
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    You do realise this can be in your interest, don't you?

    You can also look at it that you are being recognised as more valuable to the company.
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
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    It also means they are required to give you 8 week's notice (and therefore 8 weeks pay) should they consider you surplus to requirements, which is twice as much as you currently get.

    Unless you're thinking of moving, it's a moot point. And if you are, any company that won't wait for you to serve out your notice period probably isn't worth working for in the first place.
  • Ahsoka
    Ahsoka Posts: 10 Forumite
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    It’s definitely not in the OPs interest. If as he / she states theyve been working for the company for 17 years then by law they’ve got to give him / her a minimum of 12 weeks notice already, while the OP only has to give them 4 weeks or whatever is in their contract. And just because the OP doesn’t want to leave now it doesn’t mean they won’t want to sometime in the future.

    If you can get away with not agreeing to this OP then you definitely should. Obviously only you know of what the ramifications of doing so would be though and whether or not it’s worth pushing back.
  • General_Grant
    General_Grant Posts: 4,842 Forumite
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    ReadingTim wrote: »
    It also means they are required to give you 8 week's notice (and therefore 8 weeks pay) should they consider you surplus to requirements, which is twice as much as you currently get.

    Unless you're thinking of moving, it's a moot point. And if you are, any company that won't wait for you to serve out your notice period probably isn't worth working for in the first place.

    As already pointed out, the OP had been employed for 17 years and therefore entitled to the maximum statutory 12 weeks notice from the employer (or more if that were contractual but we can doubt that).

    Also you seem to assume that notice periods are automatically reciprocal and that does not have to be the case. Statutory notice to terminate employment is only ever one week from the employee whilst it increases with each complete year of service for notice from the employer (up to that 12-week maximum). Contractually it is often the same from both sides but not in every case.
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