Notice periods - to extend or not to extend

What would you gain from increasing your notice period?

What would you gain from increasing your notice period?

Bigger pay off in the scenario of redundancy or liquidation.

3 months is pretty standard in professional roles (I've always been on 3 months pretty much my whole career).

Currently on 4 weeks, been offered the chance to extend it to 3 months

You word that like they would be doing you a favour? I wouldn't bother, I fully expect I'll be asking to reduce my notice period whenever I leave here (currently 3 months)

Edit: fair point about the little extra bit of redundancy if it all goes tits up though

I was on 3 months in the last place I worked. It was a right pain in the arse when it came to leaving.

I just wanted to start my new job, they wanted me to start ASAP, the company I worked for would not let me go even though I was pretty much just sat there doing sod all!

Whats the industry standard for your type of role? If you ever do choose to change jobs then its slightly more awkward if your on a longer notice period than the rest of your peers.

I just wanted to start my new job, they wanted me to start ASAP, the company I worked for would not let me go even though I was pretty much just sat there doing sod all!

It is rarely enforced on the individual because as you say, you can just sit there and do F-all for 3 months, eg we've let people go sooner....

What would you gain from increasing your notice period?

Bigger pay off in the scenario of redundancy or liquidation.

Pretty much this. Bit more protection, though liquidation is unlikely in this business.
Negatives is obviously taking longer to move jobs if I decided to move.

You word that like they would be doing you a favour?

Not at all, it's been offered and there's no pressure one way or the other to accept the offer.

I can see merits for and against so wanted to see what the wider view was.

It seems from what you've said to be something that benefits them more than it would potentially benefit you. Presumably replacing you would be much harder/time consuming at the moment.

You'll also get a bigger payout if they ever get rid of you via a Compromise Agreement.....

Having been the victim of both redundancy and compromise agreements I'd grab it with both hands. 3 months is normal and any new employer will know that. In reality you don't have to work it, in most cases it's not worth enforcing.

Can you meet in the middle - 3 months from them, one month from you?

It is rarely enforced on the individual because as you say, you can just sit there and do F-all for 3 months

My understanding is, that they have to prove you have caused them financial loss by leaving, next to impossible to do.

My contract says 1 month on my side,

on their side, over 4 years service, 1 week for every years service. Which I assume is minimum redundancy requirement.

It may also relate to the difficulty in finding people for roles at the moment, and they want to ensure that if you chose to leave they have more opportunity to recruit and for you to perform some sort of handover.

However, as others have pointed out above, it gives you a bit more security too and unlikely you’d need to work all of it should you choose to leave.

3 months redundancy/gardening leave is very nice. I was working elsewhere after a month...

My contract says nothing, 26 years in and I haven't even had my 3 month review 🙂

Statutory notice period is the longer of 1 week per full year of service up to 12 weeks (might be 13) or whatever is in your contract. If you find another job there is very little an employer can do to hold you to longer than your salaried period (usually 1 month).
Any redundancy payment would be payed on leaving if made redundant and if they wanted you to leave sooner they have to pay your full salary for the notice period irrespective. Any less and you would be correct to sue them. If you are served notice and choose to leave sooner then if the employer agrees you can waive some of your notice period if you want to. They can also pay in lieu of notice if you both agree (you don't have to agree but they can send you home on full pay for the rest of your notice period. They can also decide not to make you redundant and tell you to come back to work at any point in your notice period). Statutory redundancy payments are payable for anyone with over 2 years service (NB it may not be that much money).
Hope that helps.
Edit: avdave your statutory notice period is at least 12 weeks from your employer. If no contract then you only need to give them notice of one salaried period (I've known weekly paid staff with over 20 years service leave giving one week notice and the employer being left feeling daft for never moving them onto a regular contact).

Edit: avdave your statutory notice period is at least 12 weeks from your employer.

The business owner, my boss who I'd worked for for 25 years retired last year, I now own the company along with a colleague. I might have to write a contract that says I can work from my bike 🙂

Mines just recently gone from 3 months to 6.

Replacing senior tech people is a bit difficult. Especially those with 20 years experience.

3 months notice is pretty much unenforceable and only exists for employers benefit

Fair enough avdave just make sure you give yourself enough notice to notice when you leave 😉

Golden handcuffs innit, does it give you more security or just make it harder to leave?

If you were at risk of redundancy they wouldn't be trying to retain you on a longer notice period, which means you now know your valuable to them... Might be worth sharpening up the CV to see what offers are about elsewhere.

The only people I've worked with on 3 months notice were more senior and tended to be on personal contracts rather than standard terms, more pay more influence and authority, but a few other responsibilities also.

Quite often if they went handing in their notice to go to the competition either meant working a month, then an enforced 2 months of gardening leave.

Others, where they could demonstrate there was no real conflict of interest/transfer of knowledge risk were able to negotiate a mutual agreement to work shorter notice periods sort of making it pointless.

But honestly, they only dangle this sort of thing if they think you're a lifer and/or too hard to replace, if it doesn't come with an appropriate pay increase then its probably not worth it... (IMO of course)

I just finished a job after 3 months notice. I didn’t even realise I was on 3 months - luckily my new employers didn’t mind too much but personally it’s been 3 months of purgatory where any affection for the role the company or the people has been completely drained. Absolute hellish

Definitely not only for employers benefit. When I got made redundant I didn't have loads of years service so the 3month notice made up the bulk of my cushion between redundancy and destitution.

I've always been on 3 month notice periods and it's never been a problem when changing jobs, as similar companies and roles have the same expectation. It's also professional to do a proper handover and not drop your colleagues in it.

Whether it's right for you depends on your own circumstances.

They did this where I work last year, and TBH I'd had 3-6 month notice periods for decades with previous companies.

I took it as I'm looking at (early) retirement, so hopeful it'll mean a (small) payoff when they decide to get rid of me. And TBH if I decide to leave, I just won't come back in 🙂

It depends on the job market for your role really, if you could easily find a new role it only really benefits the employer, while you would benefit if there's a risk of redundancy and a period of unemployment before starting anything new. I had 3 months notice when I left my last place which they made me work, it wasn't the worst thing in the world as I stopped stressing about projects as soon as my notice went in. I'd have preferred to be out earlier though, but it wasn't like I could just do nothing during my notice as it's quite a small client-based industry so would have looked bad if I did that!

I was asked to sign a new contract extending from 3 to 6 months notice (been here yonks, totally indispensable obvs).

I asked what the salary increase would be? Uncomfortable silence! (Got an extra week's paid holiday per annum instead).

No harm in the OP asking what the pay increase would be.

mert
Free Member

Mines just recently gone from 3 months to 6.

Replacing senior tech people is a bit difficult. Especially those with 20 years experience.

Interesting approach, I'd worry that trying to imprison* people would make it more likely they'll start to look at other options

*bit dramatic

Yes, decent pay and a nice work environment are the way to keep good people!

My first job only required a week's notice. I had been there 9 years, handed my notice in on the Monday, finished on the Friday, which was felt very odd.

I'd worked my way up to 12 weeks notice with my last job, fortunately I was made redundant as I wouldn't of worked 12 weeks notice and I know they'd not be happy about it.

telecoms industry is between 3-6 months notice, we’ve lost a lot of good people this year.

Very few have worked any notice at all, a few have gone on gardening leave immediately,
The trick is to say you are going to an opposition/ company rival . At which point you are out the door.

Personally for my industry I’d take a longer notice as the industry continually restructures and job roles vanish and new roles come about for those they want to keep.
I’ve dodged the bullet many years.

Look at your own position, career, company and industry, are your skills transferable etc