Contract of employment question

[spunky-mon]

Evening all,

Quick question regarding the handing in of a notice ( for a friend obviously...)

In the contract it states:
On termination of your employment (by you or by your employer) your employer may either
a) require you to work throughout your notice period
b) require you to stay away from your place of work throughout your notice period (on "garden leave"
c) terminate your contract without notice and make a payment in lieu of notice to compensate you
d) release you from the notice period conditional upon you releasing the employer from the requirement to make payment for the notice period.

Now, it is "d" that he is interested in but doesn't fully understand. He would like to know, that if he hands in his notice and states that he will be leaving and does not want paid then do they have to accept this? Or, does this mean something else?

The notice period stated on the contract is 4 weeks as standard but if there is a way to reduce this without burning to many bridges i.e. phoning in ill for a month then that would be handy.

Any help appreciated

[Red Devil]

spunky-mon said:

In the contract it states:
On termination of your employment (by you or by your employer) your employer may either
a) require you to work throughout your notice period
b) require you to stay away from your place of work throughout your notice period (on "garden leave"
c) terminate your contract without notice and make a payment in lieu of notice to compensate you
d) release you from the notice period conditional upon you releasing the employer from the requirement to make payment for the notice period.

Those are all options open to the employer. What does the contract say, if anything, about what the employee may do?

spunky-mon said:

Now, it is "d" that he is interested in but doesn't fully understand. He would like to know, that if he hands in his notice and states that he will be leaving and does not want paid then do they have to accept this? Or, does this mean something else?


The notice period stated on the contract is 4 weeks as standard but if there is a way to reduce this without burning to many bridges i.e. phoning in ill for a month then that would be handy.

Any help appreciated

In the real world he could walk away and be paid up to that date and no further (his wishes in that matter are irrelevant). There isn't much the employer could realistically do (or probably will be bothered to unless he is in a very senior position). It might not help with a reference if he ps them off enough though.

[LoonR1]

Unlikely to be in a senior position with 4 weeks notice and needing to ask questions on here.

All he needs to do is give them the date he'd like to finish and see if they'll agree, obviously he gets paid to that date only and not the full notice period.

It's amazing what asking will get you rather than heading off down the pseudo legal route with contracts.

[Devil2575]

LoonR1 said:

Unlikely to be in a senior position with 4 weeks notice and needing to ask questions on here.

Indeed. I don't work in a senior position and I have to give three months notice.

[Devil2575]

spunky-mon said:

On termination of your employment (by you or by your employer) your employer may either
a) require you to work throughout your notice period
b) require you to stay away from your place of work throughout your notice period (on "garden leave"
c) terminate your contract without notice and make a payment in lieu of notice to compensate you
d) release you from the notice period conditional upon you releasing the employer from the requirement to make payment for the notice period.

Now, it is "d" that he is interested in but doesn't fully understand. He would like to know, that if he hands in his notice and states that he will be leaving and does not want paid then do they have to accept this? Or, does this mean something else?

No, the employer may release him early if he releases them for the requirement to pay him.

They do not have to accept this and if read in conunction with a,b and c this is obvious.

He could request it but ultimately what he does with his notice period is up to them not him.

[Snowboy]

The gardening leave stuff is normally for people with sensitive information, client lists etc that they don't want to be taken to competitors.

It's often enforced by keeping you as an employee for the notice period and if you breach it you get 'gross misconduct' against you that buggers your pension, bonus, share options etc.

In most 'normal' cases then an employee just needs to chat to their boss and HR and they'll be able to get out easily when they want.

[spunky-mon]

Thanks for your input chaps.

To answer a couple of questions.

There is nothing in the contract which says what the emplyee must do.

He is in a managers position and been with the company for 2 and a bit years. It seems all employees only have to give one months notice no matter what the length of employment or position.

At the moment he hasn't said anything to his current employer, however, the company that has jobs available are quite urgent for people and once the green light has been given they would prefer to hire people sooner rather than later. Obviously, he does not want to mention a new job unless it is certain it is available so he cannot speak to them to find out what they would say about leaving early.
They might be ok with it and there is nothing to worry about but he would like to know the options available to him if they do make it difficult.

I think he wants to try and make himself seem the best option for this new company, i.e. only 1 weeks notice not 4, but also, he does not want to leave his current employers in the lurch and burn bridges as they are a decent bunch (if only the mmoney was better)

[elanfan]

Well if they are a 'decent bunch' would not he be better served by saying something like: 'I don't want to leave but so and so are offering a much better package' which puts the ball back in their court to match the offer.

Often better the devil you know!

[LoonR1]

Snowboy said:

It's often enforced by keeping you as an employee for the notice period and if you breach it you get 'gross misconduct' against you that buggers your pension, bonus, share options etc..

Gross misconduct is rate when on notice to say the least and a nightmare tribunal waiting to happen. Gardeneave is fair and ensures as an employer you protect your interests.

Oh and it's not the US. Your pension is unaffected when you leave an employment no matter how you leave.

[LoonR1]

What sort of a tinpot company is he going to join where a three week difference in notice period do states whether you get the job or not?

If he doesn't like the original terms of his contract then he shouldn't sign it. however he shouldn't then be surprised if his employers don't honour it either for example by not paying him. It's a two way street.