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I've worked at my current organisation for 14 years now and it's been a positive experience including having good relationships with my manager and colleagues. However, due to my wife accepting a senior role away from here that couldn't be turned down (it'll be nearly 3 times my current salary) I handed my notice in at work on Monday. I have a 2 month notice period.
I'd had various honest and open meetings with my manager in the lead up to this and the discussions have been positive. However, having handed my notice in on Monday I still haven't recieved a single asknowledgement from my manager since - either verbal or via email.
After 14 years noted good service it's fair to say I feel slightly deflated (also adding to my disappointment is that my request was turned down for the final month of the 2 month notice period be gardening leave). I'm certainly deserving of a strong reference from management following the 14 years good service so I don't want to do anything to sour that in the final 2 months.
My manager has provided me with the opportunity to work remotely for the final month's notice as long as I'm able to conduct a consultative project for them, I've provisionally agreed to this but good will from my end is waining slightly.
I'm looking for general ideas and thoughts on the above really - am I expecting too much? / how hard should I push back i.e. I have a large amount of project work to handover, is the onus on them to chase me for this before I leave etc?
I'm sympathetic to the fact that no-one seems to have come to you and tried to talk you out, or complain how much you'll be missed, etc., but maybe because you've already had lengthy discussions they feel they've done that and now it's just formalities.
As for 2 months notice but can i have one as gardening leave. Really? Gardening leave is where you're going to a competitor and they want you out of their building so you don't cause trouble / nick their database. You want them to give you a month's unpaid leave, that's all.
If they'd said - we accept your resignation but it's a bit inconvenient, would you mind making it 3 months.... what would you say to that. What if they said 'can you make it 3, and we won't pay you for the third either'?
I didn't think so. Jog on, I'm afraid do as your contract stipulates.
Don't burn your bridges. Id just wait till my notice was up and then leave.
There's a fair chance the management is running around trying to formulate a plan rather than worrying about sending a formal acknowledgement to something that they know that you know that they know about. Can't recall getting any formal acknowledgement from management when I last resigned.
Your responsibility is to work normally and comply with reasonable requests concerning any handover. Sounds like they are already being reasonably kind with the remote working - don't think you have any leg to stand on asking for what amounts to an additional month of salary as a leaving bonus!
Of course there's nothing to stop you chucking your toys out of the pram if you feel like it.
Why do you need acknowledgement?
Are you expecting a flood of tears and tantrums?
Or, maybe you are expecting your Manager to come crawling along with another £1k in your salary?
You've made your decision, just work the elected time left and enjoy the boredom.
If you wanted to be away by the end of the first month you should've asked to leave with one months' notice.
Resigning and saying what you did may have wound someone up, as per:
[I]You want them to give you a month's unpaid leave, that's all.[/I]
Just speak your Manager ask to leave after a month.
Wouldn't get your hopes up about a "strong reference". A lot of companies barely go beyond acknowledging that you did work for them these days, anything extra can go a bit wonky if they ex-employee doesn't like what's written
The gardening leave request is great though 🙂
Notice handed in Monday - leave 2 months after that.
You could send an email asking for acknowledgement of that and working arrangements etc.
Lots of companies are crap at this.
Thanks all for the above, a useful STW reality check.
To clarify - I most certainly don't want to burn bridges, especially as I'm leaving on good terms, I also most certainly wasn't wanting tears and tantrums begging me to stay (although when I announced the news to my team mates yesterday some of them cried!). 😀
only when they found out you weren't being granted [s]a month's paid holiday[/s] gardening leave 😉
news to my team mates yesterday some of them cried!
With joy? 🙂
this thread has nothing to do with the acknowledgement, and everything to do with the lack of a free month long holiday.
On the acknowledgement side, when I resigned from one company, they took 2 weeks to acknowledge it, and tried to make it that my notice period would start from then. Obviously I worked my notice period from the date I gave notice! peculiar people....
email HR, confirm you handed in your notice on Monday 6 March 2017
ask them to provide the following details:
- official leaving date
- how much annual leave you are entitled to up to that date
- the revised leaving date if they owe you some days
- develop an itemised handover schedule - the onus is on them to extract the information from your head. You can facilitate this by playing nicely with them
- ask them how they can help you develop some coping strategies as you're such a self-entitled princess; expecting a month's gardening leave is a piss-take irrespective of how long you've been there, they are a business not a charity.
Your situation is typical of organisations with small HR departments, and most have small HR departments these days.
2 months notice is a long time, it might take your employer that long to fill your position (not knowing what you do) but "invariably" a month is long enough so source someone or reassign your duties amongst the remaining team.
As for Garden Leave, that's normally granted when an employer is making the employee redundant due to reorganisation, and not yet in a position to assign roles to locations. Your situation isn't this.
You might be lucky and your employer gives 1 month, knowing production and handover can be achieved very quickly.
Best of luck, enjoy your new lifestyle.
I've resigned twice and never got any formal recognition of accepting my letter. The fact that I handed it over in person to my manager was enough for me to confirm that it was received. A bit closer to the end date I clarified the exact day of departure and had a leaving interview (on both occasions).
In summary. They got your resignation. Don't expect to hear anything for a few weeks yet.
In the meantime, do what is expected of you and start closing out what you can, and prepare a handover document for your successor.
Although one has to admire the chutzpah - I would never think to ask to have gardening leave when resigning from a job, but then again, you can only ask !
never ever heard of someone 'requesting' gardening leave.
if one of my guys resigned and asked for that I'd probably be pretty surprised / annoyed by the cheek of it. Smacks of entitlement. I'd be happy to see that person go....
Reference - almost any organisation will now only give the blandest, most factual reference for fear of being sued.
Expect to get "bennyboy1 worked for A Company Ltd from dd/mm/yy until dd/mm/yy. His last position was xxxxxxxx".
Make sure you have an exit interview so it can be put on record why you left, that you had completed your handover tasks etc.
pick up the phone and ring your line manager?
OP please read this as a bit of role play. Don't take it personally.
You boss and you have a good relationship, however someone else in the company is making these decisions.
A responce ? Never sure I have ever had one. Yes someone from HR calls to discuss issues like confidentiality or asking for my company phone back, exit interview but thats about it.
Gardening Leave. Shock horror company wants you to work for your pay. If it where me I'd say you could leave after 1 month and all pay/benefits stop then. Or if you where needed make you work your notice. Gardening Leave is brilliant, I've had it twice, full pay and no need to turn up. Brilliant. It's a gift not a right.
So ... give your boss / HR a call. Say you've enjoyed working there and want to keep on good terms. Can you have an agreed Reference ? You are happy to say good things about the company as a place to work. If you want to go after 1 month offer to terminate your contract early, ie no work no pay.
Good luck
I've never given a member of staff formal written acceptance of their resignation.
If you are on two months notice I'm sure they'll get round to arranging a handover of responsibilities or exit interview, but don't expect to be made a priority.
oh, and gardening leave. stop taking the piss!
Just to add an alternative experience, I quit my job at the end of February and am currently enjoying 6 months paid leave. If you don't ask....
(Company was thinking about reducing headcount so I went to them with a mutually beneficial proposition)
Schweiz - haha, lucky you! 8)
Funnily enough there is an incoming restructure here in the summer and staff numbers will be reduced. I don't know that my role would be altered but I know plenty of staff who will be affected. I just happen to be leaving a few months before that process commences.
Thanks all for the comments and feedback, certainly interesting to hear the experiences out there.
It's absolutely my intention to continue working totally professionally in my role and maintain the good working relationships that I've built up over the years. I DO NOT want to let any of that unravel over the next 2 months.
I just happen to be leaving a few months before that process commences.
You could have hung around a bit longer and maybe got a voluntary redundancy package?
Jonnyboi - that element formed some of the initial discussions with my manager a month or so back. I was willing to offer myself as an advanced, potentially easy salary saving within the upcoming restructure had they wished it but they weren't prepared to lose my role that way.