stiscooby

Just looking for some unbiased opinions on this..... end of last year i had a review at work and have been offered a 10% pay rise but in return they would like to change my contract so I would have to work 3 months notice, rather than 1 month that is currently in my contract, should I ever decide to leave. It's a small company (under 10 people working there some being the directors), I have been there over 12 years and although I don't have any kind of manager type title I am seen as quite an integral part of the team/company, hence why they don't want me going anywhere and if I did it would leave them a hole to fill, so to speak.

While I understand their reasons for wanting to increase my notice period, my main concern would be if I did ever look to move on (no plans to do so at the moment) it would probably restrict my options somewhat of being offered another job as I'm not so sure there would be many companies out there who would want to wait for 3 months for a new person to start?

So, rather than just accepting their offer straight off I was thinking of going back to them (they have asked if I'm happy with this, if so they will provide me with a new contract to sign) and ask if there is any posibilty on improving the salary offer to help sway me towards not needing to look elsewhere at a later time.

I don't however want to come across as a greedy bugger and look like I'm taking the **** so would be interested to hear if anyone has been in a similar situation before, especially with 3 month notice periods, but at the same time I don't want to potentially screw myself over should I want to move on in the future.

Be interested to hear people's thoughts/experiences on this or similar.

Thanks

gary77

iTrader: (1)

How often are you paid ? What would happen if you didnt work the 3months notice . How much notice do you have to give for holidays . Im thinking take holidays during your notice period work a month of your notice or longer if the new job let you and take a loss on what they would be owe you . Or go off on the sick .are you paid a week behind or month behind .

Sorry im not actually being any help .

Shane

iTrader: (6)

3 months is quite common now in a lot of companies, I wouldn't worry too much, also works the other way if they were to make you redundant, I got paid 12 weeks in lieu of notice plus my redundancy package. If someone wants you they'll wait.

On-the-bog

Notice period won't mater to 99% of companies. If they want you to come and work for them waiting a 12 weeks instead of 4 isn't that much of an issue.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Agreed

I was on 3 months notice at my last place and when I left, I negotiated to work 2. Last thing your existing employer wants is a really hacked off member of staff, who in their head has already left, moping around doing SFA and/or potentially doing the company some damage if they're going to a competitor.

On the reverse side, they sure as heck have to give you 3 months notice if they were to make you redundant, so that makes you extremely expensive to get rid of, notwithstanding having over 7 years in service and the effect of that on statutory redundancy.

I would take it as a compliment & say yes but its always worth going back and seeing if they'd make the 10% to 12%

legb4rsk

Has anyone ignored their notice period & have they been pursued by their previous employer?

What were the consequences?

I would have thought a small company would find it financially difficult to pursue if any specific penalties are not included in your contract.

We are not slaves & we have our own free choice to work where & when we want.A company cannot control your free will.

On-the-bog

Depends if your a **** or not, you signed a contract you agreed to and were happy to take their money, but when it comes to standing up to your word your just just walk away?

legb4rsk

How many companies would think twice about kicking you to the kerb if push comes to shove?
There is no such thing as loyalty to a company anymore.No jobs for life,no guarantee you will have a job tomorrow.Grow up.

On-the-bog

O that makes it ok to act like a **** then?

I have been on the crap end of the stick, but i still don't act that way. Guess some people just have higher morals than others eh.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

As per most of the above comments, really not such a bad situation to be in these days. Beats the hell out of being on a zero-hours contract with no paid hols, and effectively no redundancy notice at all (none of which apply to me, just pointing out how bad some people have it).

legb4rsk

It's business.You are a cost center. It has absolutely nothing to do with morals.

urban

iTrader: (1)

We talked about changing the notice period on contracts in work from 1 month to 3, but it was deemed to be unenforceable anyway, so we didn't bother.

Shane

iTrader: (6)

It's the whole "Don't burn your bridges" thing, as said, no job is for life anymore, leave on good terms and they may have you back in the future if your circumstances change, walk out and leave them in the sh*t and there's a pretty good chance you'll never be welcome again. I left my last place with an offer of a job in the future if it didn't work out and they understood why I was leaving, they couldn't offer the money or the opportunities that I had with the new job.

Just my view obviously.

On-the-bog

A larger business your more likely to be treated like a number on a page, they will know what the law states and stick to it, a smaller company will tend to be in direct contact with the boss/boss's and they will typicly have a harder time of it, unless they are complete **** jockeys.

It's all a tad irrelevant though, you signed a contract with a stated term and you should stick to it. Unless of course your a **** and about as trust worthy as a politician.

It has everything to do with morals, how you act reflects on you, no one else.

stiscooby

I'm paid monthly. I get 20 days holiday a year although really only 18 as we all keep two days back for the Xmas/New Year break. Don't have to give much notice for holidays, booking weeks off at a time you normally know a bit in advance anyway so never had to book a period of time off with short notice.

I'm not the sort of person to leave people in the ****, you need to look after yourself at the end of the day but as mentioned I wouldn't want to burn any bridges either. Any 'chats' are always directly with the bosses as there is no one in-between me or them. Plus one boss lives about half a mile away from me so I wouldn’t fancy leaving on bad terms only to bump in to him every now and then.

Having a search on line I believe if I was ever to leave and not work the notice period, legally they could attempt to sue, but they would have to prove costs they have incurred by having to cover any work that I would have been doing, which I think would be almost impossible.

I think I might just reply/have a discussion with my boss and ask if the 3 month notice period works both ways (I haven’t seen a copy of the new contract as yet) and is there any possibility of any movement on the salary offer……. See what he says, if they say no then at least I have asked, don’t get if you don’t ask and all that!

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

What are the motives from the company's perspective for the 3 month notice period? It is a weak argument from them to claim you are a key role that they dont want to exit the business quickly. That implies no resilience or business continuity, in an ideal world you should be able to exit the business almost un-noticed in terms of the rhythm of business - unforseen things like accidents and illness will take you out intstantly possibly for longer than 3 months.

If you have an opportunity to negotiate on your package, I'd be looking at the current opportunities in the marketplace, and encourage your employer to close any salary gap to make other roles in the market less financially attractive. Increasing your benefits may be easier than uplifiting your salary itself, depending on how your company structures its finances. Bonus linked to personal performance or on target earnings is another angle you could play if 10% is the upper limit on salary, increased car allowance, or better company car are other means to get something for yourself that may be more palatable to the company than a salary increase.

I wouldn't worry about the delay taking up a new role - having a 3 month notice period shouldn't impact a hiring decision, in some hiring managers eyes, it may imply an element of seniority beyond that which you hold.

BTW - is there any possibility your company could be up for sale? if so, you may want to take the 3 month notice period, to ensure this is TUPE'd to the new business?

hodgy0_2

I would be very surprised if it was one way - they would have to give you 3 months notice too

So a trade off really, flexibility versus stability


And as people have said, a 3 month notice would not put off a serious future employer

So I would take it - especially in this day and age of zero hour contracts etc

elgassi

try and get some sort of loyalty package built into your contract for long service, possibly paid out every 3 or 4 years (a few k's) that would give them piece of mind they're not going to loose a valuable staff member at the drop of a hat and gives you a bonus for your ongoing loyalty
a 10% uplift is pretty good in this day and age so they value your service

stiscooby

Not much chance of increasing any benefits as they don't give any, lol. No company cars etc.

Actually noticed I should have said its a 12% increase, not 10% (typo). Going by what you read 28k is apparently the average wage (I work in IT, system/network support, installation etc) which my existing salary falls under but with the proposed increase it would put me a grand or two over this.

It's a small family run business so no possibility of it being sold at this point in time. This has mainly come about in the last few months because of another member of staff (we both do the same job, same skill level, been there similar time etc) who was approached by another company about going for an interview, he then spoke to our bosses to use it as an opportunity to 'wake them up' a bit and they then offered him an increase at the time but also change to a 3 month notice period. Then during December we had our annual review at which point they offered me the above, again, because they want to keep continuity in the business and probably don't want me going anywhere if they can help it.

I guess it's really down to if I should try and see if they are willing to move on their initial offer, rather than just accepting it saying yes sir no sir.

elgassi

bottom line is are you Happy with your lot, you never got asked for an interview with the other company so maybe better the devil you know lol
Or take your chances with pastures new

stiscooby

Reasonably happy I guess, been there long enough lol. Have days where I think I have had enough of this **** and time for a change but I end up doing nothing about it (we all have our bad days in any job I guess?).

Other guy was contacted by company who found him via social media, but I don't 'advertise' myself on the same site so I wouldn't have been found, so to speak.

I have no plans to look to move at this point in time, just trying to get the best out of the situation.

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

3 months isn't a big deal, standard for most mid-senior roles now.

As for not completing your notice, that can be mentioned in any reference which wouldn't look great (unless the company hiring you accepted what you planned to do)

Really unlikely your current company would sue you for damages.

steve05wrx

Hi,
In my opinion there are far more positives to a 3 month notice period (it is always going to be on both sides, by the way) than negatives.
If you actually found a job with a direct competitor - most companies would escort you off the premises and pay you three months the moment you hand your notice in.
Cheers
Steve

PaulC72

I think 3 months in IT is quite common, that along with a clause about working for a direct competitor etc, blah blah, however some clauses are unenforceable as being an individual under employment law you have a right to work and earn money and a company is not allowed to restrict this - I had a clause in a contract in a previous job and read up about it before I left ;-)

If you are happy (12 years usually defines happy IMO) and everything is ok where you work, i.e. you have no major gripes I would take the 3 month notice security as its good to have in your pocket if anything should ever go wrong, companies will wait should you want to leave, there are ways round the 3 month notice period by agreement they may let you go earlier if it has no impact on the business and usually people end up on gardening leave anyway especially when they have a role that could potentially cripple a business.


IMO I would take the new contract and money but ask maybe for a manager title showing you are more senior.

Good luck.

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Good shout

Devildog

Do it. Gives you far more protection than them

If you get made redundant by your employer you are contractually entitled to 3 months notice or 3 months salary.

If you decide to leave there is always scope for negotiation to reduce the term.

stiscooby

Thanks for all the comments.

Not sure if I have done the right thing but I have gone back to them asking to confirm if the 3 month notice works both ways (probably does but just to check), is there any scope on increasing the salary offer and I feel the three month notice period tends to indicate being in a more senior position so on that basis is there any chance of reviewing my job title?

If they say no and it is what they have offered then at least I have asked and done what I could to potentially maximise my options.

Will see what they say, who knows, I might end up with my P45 in a few days! lol

trails

iTrader: (41)

reiterate n said above; standard in a lot of places where your role is pivotal in some way or another.


Common to get gardening leave for a few weeks too with that notice period, which is nice

PaulC72

Any news on this?

stiscooby

Sorry, I had forgotten about this

Well, I still have a job. No real great surprises to be honest, they came back to me and said....... yes, the three month notice period works both ways, the salary increase of 12% is what the offer is, but they did take my point about reviewing my job title to reflect a more senior role so they will come up with something for that.

So, I guess all in all, I'm ok with that and as a few of you have said its a bit of security for me too.

Thanks all for the comments, much appreciated!