Need advice on handing my notice in

[Adeyal]

Hi there

 

 

Any advise is appreciated

 

 

I've been working with my organisation for around 20 months. I have very recently, this month, changed job role and moved to a full time position from a part time position. This resulted in a small increase in my basic salary. Unfortunately what I was told about my new role is very different from what I was told before accepting my new position. I've now had interviews with two of our competitors and am confident I will receive offers from both.

 

 

I'm keen to hand in my notice immediately as I feel I was mislead by the company and know I'll be put on to gardening leave. I am wondering if I go in and say I've accepted an offer will they demand proof? Can I refuse to show that proof.. i.e, say it contains confidential information or some other reason..

 

 

I've not yet received a copy of my new contract. Can they base the gardening leave on my part time contract as obviously that would be less pay...? I have been paid already for a full month at my full time salary rate. Also, does this mean they can claim I'm on probation? I'm of the opinion they should have told me in writing but just seeking clarification to pre-empt this problem if it is raised.

 

 

Also, in order to attend these interviews, I've pulled two short notice sick days and they know I'm not happy with the situation. I know many of the sales force are not happy and three have recently left and I suspect others are interviewing. One of the sick days was today .. I am concerned that I may go in tomorrow and given notice that they're terminating my employment.. can they do that? Because if they can, I'd think it's even more reason to hand my notice in prior to receiving an offer of employment from one of the two organisations I've interviewed with. One of the sick days was last week and one was today, for different reasons.

 

 

So to clarify:

 

 

- can they put me on gardening leave and pay me 20 hours a week or do they need to pay 37.5?

- can they sack me for being sick twice in two weeks?

 

 

The company is a large corporate company as well FYI.

 

 

Thanks for reading

[citizenB]

I cant see that it is any of their business who your next employer will be and shouldn't need to see proof of this? They will know soon enough presumably if references will be obtained.

 

 

I am sure those with more knowledge will be along later on today when they have finished their day jobs

[Guest topcat14]

They will be able to dismiss you if they wish regardless of your recent conduct. Gardening leave would only be 1 week of pay for doing nothing anyway, assuming you are on a standard set of Terms and Conditions.

 

As CB said , it is non of their business if wish to resign before being "pushed" so to speak, and all you will lose is the pay for what your notice period is anyway. You should get any other benefits accrued to the point of resignation unless your T&C's have a specific term in them that states you forfeit them if you do not work proper notice

 

The other side to this is if you need a reference from them ? They may just ignore a reference request from your new employer and that sometimes says alot by not saying anything.

 

If you have anything in writing at all regarding the recent change that will benefit you greatly.

[obiter dictum]

Your period of notice will be dependent on what is specified in your Contract of Employment, a week, two weeks, a month notice etc.

 

You can just hand in your notice but will depend if they accept immediate termination of your contract of employment. If you just resign and walk out the employer could make a civil claim against you.

 

They cannot just summary dismiss you, they have to go through the disciplinary process such as a fact finding and a full disciplinary

Edited July 28, 2016 by obiter dictum

[disgruntled2007]

IMHO you'd be very foolish to resign your current source of income until you have secured replacement employment. Unless you don't need the money, of course. In which case why are you working? Being confident you will receive offers from both and getting those offers are two entirely separate things!

[Guest topcat14]

"They cannot just summary dismiss you, they have to go through the disciplinary process such as a fact finding and a full disciplinary"

 

With only 20 months service a dismissal of this type is not automatically unfair ? Please clarify, while in an ideal world you would go through this process, alot of employers will shortcut because the risk of an ET is minimul with under 24 months service

[obiter dictum]

Acas code of practice

[Adeyal]

I cant see that it is any of their business who your next employer will be and shouldn't need to see proof of this? They will know soon enough presumably if references will be obtained.

 

 

I am sure those with more knowledge will be along later on today when they have finished their day jobs

 

Thanks for your reply.. I guess the point I am thinking about is will they put me on gardening leave if I don't show them proof I'm joining a competitor.

[Adeyal]

They will be able to dismiss you if they wish regardless of your recent conduct. Gardening leave would only be 1 week of pay for doing nothing anyway, assuming you are on a standard set of Terms and Conditions.

 

As CB said , it is non of their business if wish to resign before being "pushed" so to speak, and all you will lose is the pay for what your notice period is anyway. You should get any other benefits accrued to the point of resignation unless your T&C's have a specific term in them that states you forfeit them if you do not work proper notice

 

The other side to this is if you need a reference from them ? They may just ignore a reference request from your new employer and that sometimes says alot by not saying anything.

 

If you have anything in writing at all regarding the recent change that will benefit you greatly.

 

Thanks for your reply.. If they dismiss me and and put me on gardening leave I'd be entitled to one week based on my contract. However, if I hand my notice in before hand, I'd be entitled to four weeks of gardening leave would I not? This is assuming they place me on gardening leave and don't request that I work my notice instead.

 

If I go in to a meeting and sense I'm about to have my employment terminated, can I hand in my notice immediately and still be sacked?

 

I didn't consider a reference request, that is something to think about. I certainly won't be leaving without giving proper notice.

 

The only thing I have in writing really is an email from them saying I'm confirming my start date and what area of the business I would be looking after. I was also copied in to emails requesting a contract be sent to me from HR.

 

Thanks again

[Adeyal]

Your period of notice will be dependent on what is specified in your Contract of Employment, a week, two weeks, a month notice etc.

 

You can just hand in your notice but will depend if they accept immediate termination of your contract of employment. If you just resign and walk out the employer could make a civil claim against you.

 

They cannot just summary dismiss you, they have to go through the disciplinary process such as a fact finding and a full disciplinary

 

Hi.. could you please clarify what you mean by accepting immediate termination? I'm not looking to leave without giving proper notice.

 

What I am concerned about is being sacked with one week's notice when I could give one months notice before that happens...? If I get called into a meeting on Monday and feel they're going to terminate my employment, can I hand in my notice before they do that? If I also tell them I'm joining a competitor I'd be placed on gardening leave for one month as opposed to one week as I've given notice rather than them..?

 

Thanks for clarifying RE summary dismissal.

 

Hope that makes sense, thank you for your initial response.

[Adeyal]

IMHO you'd be very foolish to resign your current source of income until you have secured replacement employment. Unless you don't need the money, of course. In which case why are you working? Being confident you will receive offers from both and getting those offers are two entirely separate things!

 

I do understand the logic behind your point of view how ever I am concerned they may dismiss me as I've had a day two days off sick this week and one last week. If this is the case, I'll be entitled to one weeks pay either on gardening leave or worked. If I hand in my notice, I'll be entitled to four weeks pay either worked or on gardening leave will I not..?

 

Am I being paranoid that they can dismiss me over my recent absences?

 

Thanks for your thoughts so far

[obiter dictum]

They can dismiss you as you have less that 24 months service. They can just let you go by mutual consent, work your notice period, shake your hand and you give you a reference. Or they can dismiss you for misconduct. For that they would need a fact finding and a full disciplinary meeting.

 

By handing in your notice any holiday pay earned up to the date of termination of your employment contract will be paid. So say your holiday period runs from January to December you will receive 8 months entitlement

 

If you are worried about being dismissed for being sick you need to see what your absence policy states. That will be in your employee hand book. Normally it will be 3-4 absences or 14 days in a 12 month period before triggering the attendance procedure

 

If dismissed through a disciplinary that can be with or without notice pay

Edited July 29, 2016 by obiter dictum

[ericsbrother]

Stop fretting about what might happen if you do X and just dont say a word until you get a job offer and agree a start date that fits in with your notice period. You then just write a short letter saying you have accepted a position elsewhere and will be leaving on the yyth of month. You can say something like I have enjoyed my time here and wish everyone well for the future if you worked with some nice people, if your time there was awful just leave it at the end of the first sentence.

[steampowered]

I do understand the logic behind your point of view how ever I am concerned they may dismiss me as I've had a day two days off sickicon this week and one last week. If this is the case, I'll be entitled to one weeks pay either on gardening leave or worked. If I hand in my notice, I'll be entitled to four weeks pay either worked or on gardening leave will I not..?

This sounds a bit strange to me. Where are you getting these time periods from - are they in your contract?

 

The minimum notice which needs to be given by the employer or employee are normally stated in your current employment contract. These can't be below the legal minimum but could be higher. The legal minimum for someone with 20 months' service is one week's notice (both from you if you are resigning, or from the employer if you are being sacked).

 

The employer doesn't need to give you any notice if it sacks you for gross misconduct. If the employer has reason to believe you have attending interviews with other employers while reporting in sick, an aggressive employer might try to say that is gross misconduct. This sounds unlikely but is possible.

 

I think the best way to handle these things is just to be gracious about it. People normally understand if you say you have decided to move on and thank them for the opportunity, people move jobs all the time so it won't be anything unusual.