Leaving employment

[Guest Andrew]

Hi all -

Anyone have any bright ideas on how to reduce the notice time at a place of employment?

My current employer (those of you who know who it is don't mention who they are hah) is just being stupid about it and saying I have to stay the month - which is fine - I did sign a contract. But i'm offering to leave without being paid and not come back - how can they refuse that. Why would they want someone there that can potentially cause a lot of crap due to the position they are in. I'm not wanting a reference from this company either.

I have just been paid - could I just leave and not come back? What's the worse that could happen?

The reason I am leaving is I have been offered another job that I want to start doing right away.

Cheers

[Silver Fox 43]

Guess they just don't want you to go to the other job and are just being nasty about it, can't be any other reason if you don't want to be there. They could take you to court for breach of contract and try to get lost productivity from you I guess, but depends how far you think they'd go. Good luck.

[bravo 34]

Gay - I think you are trapped. They may simply want to use the time to find a replacement.

Do the time and the new job will be all the sweeter.

[DCEIVN 0]

check your contract andrew. There should be a clause saying that if you do not show for work for 3 days (without notification) they will take it as you have left employment. They cannot do anything about it unless otherwise stated in your contract. If you are not looking for a reference from them you can just leave and not show up. Also, look to have your holiday pay paid out out you first (if it appplies to your job), otherwise you may find it a hell of a hard time to claim it.

if they were trying to get rid of you then they would offer to pay you for the month and ask you not to show up anyway, so you can do the opposite, however make sure you dont get paid for any days you don't work (you may have to pay it back)-might just help informing your boss you're not going to show up.

good luck

[Jazzbass 1]

Take your holidays..

[E30-323ti 66]

Tell them you have taken a position with the opposition, usually gets you marched out pretty quick & paid out.

[Hartage 0]

Yep i am with glenn, tell your going to work directly in competition, and you want to use your time still there to talk to your customers!! bet your gone by 5pm!

[Carl 3]

Just don't do anything that can come back and bite you in the arse

[hybrid 1042]

Yep i am with glenn, tell your going to work directly in competition, and you want to use your time still there to talk to your customers!! bet your gone by 5pm!

qft

[martyyn 2]

Tell them you have taken a position with the opposition, usually gets you marched out pretty quick & paid out.

Unless its stated in your contract that you cannot join the opposition for a period of time !

However you can always argue against that as the contract is null and void, for all intents and purposes, once you leave

The only sensible way is to negotiate with your current employer. Tell them you want a clean break and want to leave under the best possible circumstances. Ive done this a couple of times and have never had trouble leaving early.

If they wont play ball state your prepared to take any sick leave and holidays your owed, but dont threaten the with and see what the reaction is.

If they still wont play ball then do the time. Dont do anything that will come back to haunt you later. NZ is too small to p!ss people off in my experience.

Is your desire to get out early because your new place want you asap or because you want out ?

[37 South 6]

Take your holidays..

yes,that would be the way to go.don`t do anything unrational to effect any of your future employment applications.

[bimbam 0]

worst they can do is not pay you out any leave or holiday pay that is owing to you, this is done to compensate the employer for any earning they lose by you not attending work

[cainchapman 0]

A 'restraint of trade' clause in your contract is easy to get around in a niche industry. No-one can exclude you from getting a job.

I'd advise them I was off to the competition. If you have no customer contact, then they have no incentive to get rid of you. You can only disrupt internal staff.

You can leave without giving notice, just don't expect to be paid any outstanding monies owed to you or your holiday pay.

If the new salary (or you don't care) will offset this loss, then just politely advise them, work out the week, if they want and go.

Oh, if they pay you 2 weeks in arrears, 2 weeks in advance. You will need to work the time they have paid you for, or give them the money back.

Edited June 2, 2006 by cainchapman

[Guest Spargo]

Let me know if you need an actual employment lawyer, Drew.

They can't hold holiday pay for the hours you've already worked, as thats 6% banked, so I wouldn't even worry about them trying to stop you from taking that.

Normally if you come to an agreement, like you've mentioned, both parties can in effect "forget" about the contract, but if you go to work for the opposition in your particular industry (i suspect you are), scan carefully for restraint of trade clauses, although that will depend on what role you actually played - if you dealt with customers in a sales type role, you're f**ked.

If you haven't given notice already, do it in writing and keep a copy.

If they do make you stay the month, take the cash and do f**k all, remember to use up all your sick days and time in lieu, they're there for this express purpose

[shadowninja 0]

As far as I can see 4-week notice periods are very common for positions that have any real level of responsibility attached to them. The reality is that the time it takes to advertise & recruit decent staff is quite long, especially with the tight labour market. Plus once the new candidate accepts the position they probably have a notice period to work out too. Without any allowance for training the new guy...

So in short I think it would be mean-spirited to try & wriggle out of the notice period. As the others have said, doing anything that is going to bite you on the butt later on is not going to be worth it. Leaving early from a job doesn't just affect your boss, but also all your workmates who will have to pick up the slack in the mean time, the last thing you need is for a recruitment agent or one of your old colleagues to get the idea that you don't honour your contracts.

The cases I've seen where employees have been encouraged to leave by the end of the day usually involve very sour employment relations, and may include cleaning out your desk under supervision & being escorted from the premises.

My advice- work out the notice period.

[*sic 1]

dude with a big scum company like that your f**ked. They can be real assholes about anything so do the time, rock sick leave lots. get the f**k out.

you signed and they have to many lawyers to f**k with.

[Guest Andrew]

Thanks guys -

Martyn: I want out cause the new guys want me in ASAP.

I'll try and talk to someone tomorrow - but with 57392 levels of middle management you can never talk to someone who can actually do something.

[Neal 516]

Andrew,

In my view unless you can legally get out of this I'd suggest for your own reputation that you finish your current job in the normal way.

If you're staying within the same industry word could get around that you lack ethics by finishing early. May not effect your next job , but when in the future your going for a job and someone does a background check , calls this employer and finds out you walked out. Could limit future opportunities by leaving early.

In IT we have a saying "Don't burn your bridges" .