Quitting my horrible job, giving notice, etiquette and advice etc.

How do.

After 3+ years of bullying etc I finally took steps towards leaving my current employer and last week was offered a job that starts on March 8th. Hurrah.

Now the problem is how to give my notice.

I THINK it should be 4 weeks but with me only going back to work tomorrow that’s going to be only just 4 weeks assuming there was no break between jobs. As the new job is overseas I’d ideally like the first week of May to myself so I could pack up my flat etc, so is it reasonable to request a shorter notice period? Is this common practice?

For a bit of background my employers have been gunning for my exit (ooh err) for a long time so I suspect this will be good news to them.

I don’t want to rock the boat too much and obviously need them to be responsive to reference requests in the future, so can’t afford to just walk out. But truth be told thats what I feel like doing.

Lastly, would it be poor form to go in tomorrow and book the first week of May off, then go in the following day and hand my notice in, thereby buying the first week of May off legitimately?

Cheers folks

Walk in tell em to stuff it walk out! job done. As you said they are bullies and wont like it one bit but it will put a big smile on your face. I cannot abide bullying

Be civilised, one day you may need them, as you suggested

Lastly, would it be poor form to go in tomorrow and book the first week of May off, then go in the following day and hand my notice in, thereby buying the first week of May off legitimately?

Fair game, I’d say – assuming you’ve got the leave to take

Alternatively, that’s a classic time for summer colds to really kick in

Talk to your HR bods, read your contract, leave, go after them for constructive dismissal.

Lastly, would it be poor form to go in tomorrow and book the first week of May off, then go in the following day and hand my notice in, thereby buying the first week of May off legitimately

Do it. If they get funny about it after you handed your notice in, just tell them you didn’t get the confirmation letter until after you booked the hols.

Handing your notice in is a tricky one. It has paid off for me, in the past, not to burn any bridges, however tempting that may be.

Assuming you mean May rather than March, 4 weeks is adequate. You might be able to negotiate an earlier exit if it suits them as well as you; don’t waste any holidays as this will be paid to you on leaving, subject to tax & NI.

“dear manager

Please accept this as notice of my resignation, effective dd/mm/yy

Yours sincerely
Fr0sty”

Nothing more, nothing less

Nought wrong with asking for an earlier date and/or negotiating outstanding leave to be taken. Could try telling them you’ve not accepted the job yet as its conditional on you being able to start in two/three weeks.

If they are really unhelpful and there is no chance of an issue with supply of references or being in an industry where you may burn your bridges via contacts with other employers, I would walk when it suited me.

Johndrummer has it.

Plain and matter of fact, no more, no less.

No point in burning any bridges, if (horror of horrors) you need them again in the future it is in your best interests not to.

If they are bullies, they’ll probably just get off on the fact that they’ve got their way. If you just confidently do everything by the book and keep your head held high it will hopefully leave them feeling that you are the lucky one getting out of a shit place to work and leaving them there!

Oh, and if they really are bar stewards you might want to get a signed acceptance of your notice letter and keep that copy……..

If you have holiday owing then you can try subtracting it from your notice. Dear ****, I’m leaving. My last day of work will be aaa but with my 5 days holiday owing my last day on site will be bbb. The other option is to just say I’m off, my last day will be xxx and let them complain if it is too short.

I wouldn’t worry too much about a reference. Most companies just give a confirmation that you worked there between certain dates.

Isn’t it something like the notice period is how long between paychecks? Unless you need to help them retrain someone to take your place. That’s what I was always told. If you’re paid once a month, give a month’s notice. If you’re paid weekly, give a week’s notice. That sort of thing.

Thanks folks.

They must have received a reference request from my prospective new employer so they will likely be expecting me to approach them soon.

I’m amazed that they replied to the ref request, let alone favourably (or at least not UNfavourably, as they are prone to do) so keeping them on side should I need another reference from them in future is quite important..

@nickjb – is that allowed? I have at least 20 days remaining holiday and have only got 13 days actual work on site to complete before the end of April (last years holiday bled into this year). If that was the case then technically I could just go in to hand in my notice and then be free?

(or at least not UNfavourably, as they are prone to do)

They’re not allowed to give a bad reference. References are ‘bad’ by nature of what they omit; if they say “I can confirm he worked here from [date] to [date] and not much else, it’s a fair bet they didn’t like you.

Conversely, a glowing reference might just be a result of hoping you’ll piss off somewhere else as well. (-:

They’re not allowed to give a bad reference.

Yes they can, they just have to be factual and be able to back up anything that is said.

if they say “I can confirm he worked here from [date] to [date] and not much else, it’s a fair bet they didn’t like you.

Actually that’s standard practice in many companies.

They’re not allowed to give a bad reference.

Think that’s a bit of a myth. References can be bad, but they must be truthful.
I think general practice these days is to simply confirm facts – length of service, salary, absences. Anything else is veering into subjective territory and can leave employers open to litigation.

But, if you were disciplined as part of the established company procedures, it can be stated in a reference, as it can be backed by facts. Hence – ‘bad’ reference quite possible.

As nickjb says, write a letter with the notice period minus any holidays, then take your manager into a room away from everyone else and tell him calmly and pleasantly, hand the letter over at the end of the conversation. Email Copy to HR with tracking on the email so you have proof of receipt 🙂 even though its tempting to shout and the like, don’t reduce yourself to their level, be the grown up and then you’ll be able to walk away from the job and to the next one in a positive frame of mind

Well Done for getting away from the dxxkheads 🙂

Recently advised by HR, holidays cannot be part of a notice period.

Good luck OP, hope the new job works out.

Lastly, would it be poor form to go in tomorrow and book the first week of May off, then go in the following day and hand my notice in, thereby buying the first week of May off legitimately?

If you want to stay on good terms with them, surely better to be honest and up-front.

They’ve got nothing to gain by making you stay on and pay you for outstanding leave (which is what they’d have to do) so I would assume they’d be happy to agree this.

It might be worth mentioning that my current employer is a City Council, and therefore there are usually lots of hoops to jump through.

Until I’ve spoken to HR tomorrow it’s going to be difficult for me to write the letter as I don’t know whether I should be informing them of my immediate departure and the fact I’m considering my remaining holiday as time in lieu, or that I’d like to negotiate a shorter notice period and be paid my remaining holiday. I have no idea what the policy is.

Lastly, is it worth listing the reasons for my resignation in the letter? There is a long history here that stretches back way before I ever arrived which involves the same staff that are there now. I have a previous guy’s resignation letter in front of me (included in the evidence pack relating to the bullying case etc) and he has listed his reasons. I’m not sure it’s worth it, but part of me thinks it would be worth mentioning.

Hmm

Don’t burn your bridges.

Just write a (lie) thankful letter.

You’ll need them for references maybe or just because you are decent person.

Although it’s tempting to “have a go” in your letter.

1st do a very simple one like the one from Dannyh to HR and your boss only.

If he/she doesn’t agree to your terms then email them your notice again mentioning a few more things and copy in more people as so on.

Good luck

You may also be lucky enough (?) to get an “exit interview”. That is the point at which I’d raise your concerns, just so HR can be aware of any problems and hopefully prevent them happening to someone else.

Glad you got out OP – there’s way too much bullying going on in UK plc IMO – in some places it’s the whole culture!

A few thoughts:
1. Play by the rules of your contract – if they’re bullies then they’re not nice people -do not under any circumstances give them any excuse to make your life difficult, sue you etc etc
2. It’s never worth burning your bridges and being difficult even if it’s legal – you never know when people you currently work with (and get on with) might be a future colleague, boss or someone you need help from
3. Playing a straight bat and playing by the rules wins you the moral high ground – and feels far better than sinking to their level

Good luck in the new job!

Cheers all, good vibes your way 🙂

was offered a job that starts on March 8th.

March 8th next year?

Bite you lip, be polite, keep it short, check your contract. Don’t screw up, many people do as they let their frustrations get the better of them. No need to settle scores, move on.

@ Garyc – was meant to say May 8th.

Be careful with the holiday. I had 28 days holiday in my last job and when I resigned in September, I’d used it all, including 5 days during the notice period.

I forgot that I actually accrued it at a rate of 2.4 days per month, and so hadn’t actually ‘earned’ the days for Oct-Dec. So those 7 days were deducted from my final salary.

I don’t know when your holiday year starts, but as it’s so early in the year be careful if this kind of thing applies because you may have only earned a few days.

Good luck with the new job.

What bensales said, you’ll almost certainly accrue holiday on a pro rata basis. If you have any to take (allowance at leaving date minus taken), you can ask to take it or be paid for it. Company may have a policy on not paying for you to work it but if holiday is part of your contract they can’t refuse you taking it as well.

Look after yourself, if there is a bullying culture there would you want to go back to work there anyway?

If there was a problem there before and still is I would say something. When you leave does the council ask for a written feedback on why etc? Maybe thats the place to air it.

Keep the moral highground if you can, you will feel better for it. Whilst not quite the same scenario, I had some issues at work and decided to leave. I was intending to lay it on thick in my resignation letter but my brother said something that made me change my mind, for which I am extremely grateful after the event.

He said ” Jim, just remember they are idiots, and at the end of all this, you will still be right and they will still be idiots”

Being polite, professional, sticking to my principles and not rising to their barbs made me feel better.

Your notice probably is 4 weeks, but might be worth checking, because I think the default is 1 week unless otherwise stated in your contract.

Recently advised by HR, holidays cannot be part of a notice period.

There is nothing to prevent them being part of your notice period.

Often there is a contractual prohibition, or sometimes a ban on booking (but not taking) leave during notice. Notice periods are there to provide for a handover, not much use in that if the departing employee is never there.

Usually, given all leave is at the discretion of your employer and can be cancelled by them, it comes down to negotiation.

You may also breach any moonlighting clauses if you start work for your new employer before properly finishing with the old one.

I would try for a shorter notice period. If you were to leave a week early, there is very little chance of them doing anything beyond docking your pay (which would be fair). Just don’t expect a good reference after pulling that stunt.

Be adequately polite, minimalist in the formal resignation letter but you can be as frank as you like in the exit interview. Give as much notice as you can, negotiate over leave. Remember you can always walk out if you want and there’s nothing they can do about it, but it doesn’t hurt to be polite even if you despise them. It doesn’t cost anything and may bring long-term gain. Enjoy your last few weeks – I certainly did!

Go out on stress….