[Closed] Reducing the dreaded notice period

Resign and give 3 months notice.

Wait, as they may just want you out before then - win/win.

Otherwise only 'work you contract'.

tell them you're off to a competitor. You'll probably be led out of the door.

Just ask them for a month - that's reasonable, professional and likely to be accepted as there is little point dragging these things out.

I am in the last week of my notice. Managed to reduce it from 3 months to 6 weeks. My approach was as follows, it worked for me/ my job but might not for others:
- ask for notice to be reduced to 4 weeks (go in lower than you want)
- have a reason for it to be reduced (your new employer wants you to start in 4 weeks)
- be nice about it
- have a plan before your resign to hand over your work which fits your timeframes (4 weeks) and once you have resigned begin work immediately on handing over internally and notifying any clients/ customers (without annoying anyone)
- be nice about it
- pester senior people and HR to confirm the reduction of your notice in writing, after which you can relax a bit
- help with the recruitment of your replacement if necessary
- don't shit on your colleagues, unless they deserve it

Negotiate, it'll be cheaper for them to let you go rather than paying you to sit on STW for 3 months of tedious non-production.

brassneck - Member

Just ask them for a month - that's reasonable, professional and likely to be accepted as there is little point dragging these things out.

This. Just put down when you want to leave (within reason)

book all your available remaining holiday and once that it agreed then hand in your notice

If you don't want to work your full notice period there really isn't a lot your employer can do about it. You won't get paid for the time you didn't work but other than that what are they going to do, get you to work at the point of gun?

brakes + 1

...but be nice about it.

thanks all, some really helpful advice. I really don't want to work the full period, but yet to receive my new contract so am waiting for that to arrive before I hand it in.

Holiday requests are a great idea, just fired over now.

Keep any suggestions coming. And just out of interest, has anyone done this ad then just walked out? I can start the new job as soon as I need to so could realistically walk out and not return. Would be concerned about the company suing for loss of earnings, even thought it's unlikely.

One of my collegues has moved to a competitor and he cleared his desk and was gone.

He has a month gadening leave were he can't contact any customers. After which he must return his car/phone/laptop.

I quite fancy a month relaxing; sounds very agreeable.

how are you feeling Op? You're looking a bit peaky. I reckon you could benefit from some time [s]riding your bike[/s] recovering from your illness [s]that you can self cert for, every week for 4 days a week.[/s]

Ha! I wish.

Currently 1 month into 3 months notice. They got rid of everyone else in my department so I do everything now. They would really be stuck without me.

Unfortunately I work in such an incestuous industry that I really cant afford to upset anyone, so its hard grind until the day I go 🙁

They would really be stuck without me

nobody, absolutely nobody is indispensable although I imagine that Obama may well be saying this to his missus at the moment (but he would still be wrong).

"What I do requires a significant investment of personal energy and extra time. Of course I want to be professional but it will be hard for me to produce the quality of work you are accustomed to get from me because, inevitably, my mind is on my new role. I think it would be better for the company if I could hand the work over to xyz who shows a talent for.... Of course I'll be on the end of the (soon to be disconnected) phone blah blah."

In other words make all of it about your boss and your company and about their work and none of it about wanting to get the hell out etc.

Yeah, pretty much what brakes and adsh said. Try to be professional about it, but remember this is about you and what you want. You don't want to be there so why should you? If they cannot agree to your very reasonable request and professional attitude,advise them politely that it has got to be better than you slouching around with your thumb up your ar$€ when you can be bothered to turn up.

I suspect that 3 months might be regarded as unreasonable, if it got legal. But on top of that, when did anyone ever get sued for walking out early? I suspect if you just ask for a shorter period and in return are co-operative while at work, that will keep everyone happy.

I do know of people who walked out: one actually went on a holiday back to his home country and just didn't come back, I think it took a little while for anyone to realise what had happened...

Poo on the bosses desk. Maybe a little flag in it.

All they can do is sue for loss of earnings, and they'd have to prove it. I would find it hard to keep focused for 3 months especially if me leaving was in part down to the way I was treated. Be professional, negotiate down, if they won't play ball it's strictly core hours and don't volunteer to do anything.

Its an employment CONTRACT and cuts both ways. You'd expect to get paid the 3 months if they made you redundant so you may need to see them out. In practice however most let you go early.
Worst case scenario is that they want you for 3 months and give you payment in lieu of any accrued holiday

Poo on the bosses desk. Maybe a little flag in it.

A flag, nice touch. It's the little details that make the difference.

How long have you been there and how important are you? Will it take three months for them to replace you? Unreasonable contracts are unenforceable.

I've got three days left, and now going to make some little flags 🙂

Remember to throw handfuls of frozen prawns above the ceiling tiles just before you leave.

? awesome idea!

I handed my notice in and have to wait till July/Aug.

You're lucky if you have to wait a month.

My manager is a rude SOB that's why I'm leaving. 3 people have left without recruiting successfully and nobody questions why.

I had a 3 month notice in my last job and my awful manager there (the reason I looked for other work) would not budge by a even a week. My new employer got their legal team to look into it and you have to work 4 weeks statutory notice. Then you can go. The ex-employer has to prove an [i]actual[/i] loss to the business caused by your early departure to be able to claim compensation.
I spent a month writing a handover doc so my colleagues could carry on without me and walked after 4 weeks. My head of dept was actually a decent bloke, so i felt a bit guilty, but my line manager was just a ****. It happens all the time, apparently.

In my last job I was meant to give one whole term notice. Technically it would have been close to 6 months because of the timing. I gave 1 week(+6weeks holiday) union said that contract was potentially unreasonable. But even if I couldn't argue that then most they could do would come after me for additional costs. Which were limited given they'd have to advertise anyway and any supply would be same cost or cheaper than me.

Unreasonable contracts are unenforceable

8 days in to, 12 months notice. Its pants

12 months notice!! WTF!!
Why on earth would anyone sign up to that?

Military?

My notice period is 6 months. The signed but undated resignation letter that I keep in my desk drawer says:

"My last day will not be later than 6 months from the date of this letter. If the board could see their way to accepting a shorter period of notice, I should be much obliged..."

I've just realised I've moved house since I last typed it. Need to do an update.

🙂

Not sure "just walk out" is a good plan, if your new employer knows you're on 3 months notice won't they think it's odd if you are suddenly available? That's also a certain way to get a very minimal reference, think 2 jobs ahead not the next one, and that would 100% burn your bridges. Finally would you be dropping your colleagues in it if you just walked out?

Politely ask for 4 or 6 weeks with a hand over plan as stated above, if they make you work 3 months then at least you're shot of them after then.

I just write a polite letter stating the im resigning and i'll be leaving in a month.

Fatbob is right. Largely unenforceable and unreasonable.

If they really wanted 3 months theyd pay a bonus for working it like they do with senior directors and so on.

References say almost nothing now, and you can always ask former colleagues rather than hr.

How is 3 months "unreasonable"? Presumably 3 months on your side would tend to be reciprocated with them having to give you 3 months notice (it always has in my contracts), I'm pretty sure if this was one of the redundancy threads you wouldn't be suggesting it is unreasonable on the employer to have to give you 3 months notice/garden leave when letting you go.
Or do you think you should be able to have your cake and eat it?

It's irrelevant what i think. It's not an emotional decision. It's not about "having your cake and eating it".

Most companies won't be affected much by an employee "only" giving 1 months notice vs 3 months, therefore its unreasonable. If they can't prove a financial loss, then there the company could not claim for any loss from the employee.

Exactly the same reasoning would be used if it was the other way around, but its much more likely an employee would suffer a financial loss, because they have lost their pay for 2 months if they were given 1 months notice instead of 3 for instance.

In small companies and so on, this might not apply, but for large ones and non-senior management employees it does.

The reason I said just resign and wait is that most jobs I've had have had 3 months notice, and I've never worked it yet.

Worse-case was working a month, best case (redundancy) was leaving that week with the best part of a years money.

I don't agree. You want 3 months notice for yourself but not prepared to reciprocate with the same contract terms for your employer, then you want to have your cake and eat it.
Having had people in my team leave on various lengths of notice period, I can assure you that a 1 month notice period is a massive inconvenience to the business, the manager and others within the team.

The OP is perfectly entitled to request a reduction, and I'd do the same if it was me, but the suggestion it is somehow an unreasonable contract term is nonsense.

tell them you're off to a competitor. You'll probably be led out of the door.

This is the only thing that definitely works- in my industry at least

I don't agree. You want 3 months notice for yourself but not prepared to reciprocate with the same contract terms for your employer, then you want to have your cake and eat it.

You're assuming that an employer and an employee are on equal standing. Fact is that, broadly, it's a buyer's market. Generally speaking, for a regular job position, it's harder to find a job than it is to find a replacement employee.

Sure, if you're a CEO or something then it's a different situation, but on the whole supply outstrips demand. Who would be hardest hit, a company losing an employee or an employee losing their job?

agreed on the whole 3 months employer vs employee thing. If I was being made redundant and they only gave me a month, I would be having the opposite thoughts, but that's not the situation I'm in....

I will go for the pleasant but firm, here is my letter of resignation, I would appreciate it if my notice period could be reduced to four weeks. Please let me know if not acceptable.

Then will see how it goes - will obvs report back.

This is the only thing that definitely works- in my industry at least

Almost the opposite here, I know one guy who was made to work his notice where it appeared the only reason (he had no work to do) was in the hope that the new job would disappear. It was a big promotion, which although not entirely undeserved, I think management thought the other company would somehow realize the error of their ways and remove the offer.

The only one I know of, was management and he sent out a fairly scathing "I'm leaving like a rat off a sinking ship" type e-mail blaming the very senior management for the company's position. Then put his feet up and waited for security.