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Question on notice

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mudsucker

MIS
Apr 2, 2008
25
US
How much time does one need to give before leaving a job? I know two weeks is customary but why? Is one week okay?
 
Isn't that stated in your contract?

+++ Despite being wrong in every important aspect, that is a very good analogy +++
Hex (in Darwin's Watch)
 
I base mine on how I am being treated by the company, I dont give two weeks notice unless I feel I have been treated with respect and the company deserves a notice. If not, depending on how deeply involved in any current projects and what the potential effects it will have on the coworkers that dont deserve to be crapped on my mileage varies... I know in alot of cases companies that are downsizing for various reasons will give you less then 10 minutes notice, much less the courtesy of 2 weeks..

Cory
 
You don't have to give any notice if you don't want to, but it could bit you in the Butt later if your new company finds out.




This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.


 
Indeed, I would agree that it depends. Typically I give two weeks. The one job where I was constantly screwed, over and over again, I gave none at all. If an employer treats his/her employees like dirt, no warning is deserved.

The only thing about that is that it can affect your job search. Answers to interviewers' questions like "I left for personal reasons" will only go so far, especially in the case of giving no notice.

Ben
The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't. - Douglas Adams
 
Beware that some companies will walk an IT person out the door immediately because they have passwords for everything. You should try and give two weeks, but be ready to leave immediately before giving notice just in case.

_____
Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]
 
The company I work for offered me FTE a year ago but instead renewed the contract which will end in early summer. I have asked if they will hire me or if my contract will be renewd but I am always given the same answer "let me get back to you" and that has been a consistent answer for months. I asked a week ago and was told "ask again in a week."
 
Under those circumstances, I would certainly look for another job. I would still give two weeks notice though unless the job I got was dependent on me being there in one week. It will never hurt you to give two weeks notice (except in the above case)even if they ask you to leave that day. If you have specialized knowledge that others are likely not to have (passwords, file locations etc.), prepare a document with what the company would need to know before you give notice and then turn it in with the letter. Leaving like a professional is always a good thing becasue you never know when the people you worked with there might be the hiring officals at another company later or on or what they might be saying about you to their friends who work in other places. And more than one person has come back to a company they left later on. Burning your bridges is not generally a good idea no matter how annoyed you are at the company.

"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared
 
I asked my consulting company to press for an answer for me - since I am getting stonewalled - if the contract would be renewed again and lately they (consulting company) have been avoiding me and a couple of months ago confessed to me they didn't expect me to be there after the contract expires. I was asked to become an employee and it dried up and got a contract extension but now I cannot even get an answer. I have been offered another job which is pending a
background investigation.
 
Last time my consulting company asked me if I want to just wait until the contract is up and see what happens. See if they extend it or if I am just out of a job. Not likely they will hire me FTE.
 
My contract says 3 months.

I must be important ;-)

You americans are lucky.

Christiaan Baes
Belgium

My Blog
 
I live in an "Employment At Will" state. This means that the employer or employee can terminate the employment at any time without stating a reason. That said, there is some recourse on behalf of my employer if I quit without 4 weeks notice; they won't pay out my accrued vacation time. Also, I have to pay out any training costs if I leave within a year of the training.
 
Christiaan,

So the 3 months notice, does that work both ways?

For many here in the states you can be let go for any or no reason and you will have little to no recourse.

--Dan
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
 
in many European countries the notice period will work both ways.

Normally period is from 1 to 3 month, depending on the time one is working with the company. e.g. first year is 1 month, but after 3 or 4 years it will turn to 2-3 month notice either part. This is for permanent jobs. Contract job has other rules..

Regards

Frederico Fonseca
SysSoft Integrated Ltd

FAQ219-2884
FAQ181-2886
 
Like frederico says.

The other way round is even longer depending on the years you work there. For my kind of contract (perm job with the government) it is one month per year (but they would need a very good reason for that (and not working is not a good reason)). It stays three months for me.

Of course if I decide to stop working today then they will have to take me to court to get their money and that could take several years. Most likely not worth it. On the other hand if they give me my notice and decide for security reasons that I should leave immediatly they just continue to pay me or they pay all the money at once (not that I want to get fired). Getting fired while working for the government doesn't look good on your resume, chances are that you will never get another job after that, anywhere.

Christiaan Baes
Belgium

My Blog
 
I used to work for a UK Local Authority, most of whose employees had a three month notice period. There was a major shake-up of local government organisation in the county, leading to the need to make some staff redundant.

The problem was, they couldn't decide exactly which staff they'd be getting rid of until shortly before they'd have to go. The solution they came up with was to give everybody three months notice on reorg day minus three months, and then rescind that notice for all the people they decided to keep. Most people kept their jobs, but those that didn't only got a few weeks real notice.

B*stards.

Returning to the original question - the legal answer would depend entirely on your contract terms, and on employment law in the state/country where you live. However, I would echo SQLSister's advice on not burning your bridges. Resist the temptation to extract vengeance (however justified it may be!), you could regret it later.

Mind you, if your contract is drawing near its end, be quite blatant about looking for work elsewhere. Sometimes that concentrates the minds of clients to sort out that extension that they "never quite get around to".

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd
 
spamly,

The training costs is pretty common and, I think, reasonable. If you're past probation, it doesn't sound legal to withold accrued vacation.

SQLSister made a great point about making your own effort to record every account/access code etc. you know so your employer can change them. You're making a good faith effort to help them and even if you're leaving on good terms, what if something were to happen a few months later? You want to minimize your chance of ending up a suspect.


_____
Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]
 
Chris Hunt,

I've heard of that strategy being used in various places, usually in taxpayer-funded areas. It's not only a cruel strategy, but also an incredibly stupid one because there's a strong likelihood the best people, whom you'd most like to retain, will manage to find a job elsewhere before the rescind notices go out.

 
Where I work, when you leave your work gets "dumped" on your soon to be ex-teammates. I would give sufficient notice out of respect for them at least. Sometimes it not just about you and management, but the guy who is picking up after you.
 
Notice is required contractually in some cases, and should be respected in the case that you are contractualy obligated to do so. You would have signed this agreement prior to employment if it is a pending agreement. In some cases employment contracts refer to other documents such as employee manuals, or employee policies which are not provided at the time of signing the contract. In this case signing that you recieved these documents may amend your employment contract after the fact.


In the case where notice is not contractualy an obligation because you signed an employment agreement with this provision, or local law does not demand notice you are pretty much on your own to decide. In general, companies do have another way to set policy on notice periods by their established procedures.

In some states if a company does not accept notice periods without ceasing to compensate the employee for it's endurance they may have no ability to legaly claim you gave no notice. In my state there is precedent in court for an employee suing, and winning damages for their former employer stating that the employee gave no notice when the company had some history of immediate dismissal upon recieveing notice.

I consider notice is established as required only when reasonably percieved to be something which is accepted by the employer. Accepting notice means you are paid, and your ending date is considered to be the date specified in your resignation letter. This would include for calculating benefits, vestings, training reimbursement period expirations, scheduled pay increases, etc. Beyond that, wait until you are vested, benefits are earned, training reimbursement periods are passed, and you get that last pay raise so you can claim it as your highest pay rate before you give notice.



 
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