Employer getting stroppy because I am giving 1 month's notice, although the contract says 2 months!

[SqueezedMiddle]

This happened to me a number of years ago.
I needed to start a really great new job with just four weeks notice but my current employers had me on two months notice.
Threats etc followed.
I have my two months notice and called in sick for the next month.

 

[peteb]

This happened to me a number of years ago.
I needed to start a really great new job with just four weeks notice but my current employers had me on two months notice.
Threats etc followed.
I have my two months notice and called in sick for the next month.

No offence but were you 15 and it was a summer job?? It goes back to the original point made about references etc. Your's wouldnt look good. And you probably breached your contract by working elsewhere when still employed.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

The position for a senior executive or client-facing person is clearly different to that of a junior or back-office person.

The advice should be tailored accordingly.

 

[MrEarl]

Hello,

For what it's worth I would not be too concerned about what your employer is suggesting:

In the short term, if they are slow issuing your P45 you will just go on emergency tax with your new job. While frustrating and will impact on cashflow, it will only be short term. If necessary, arrange a short term overdraft or raid the piggybank to get your through a couple of lean months. I would also give the Revenue a call and ask them whats the situation if your (soon to be ex-) employer is unnecessarily delaying the issue of your tax documents - they might be able to apply some pressure.

As for the company reference, a lot of large companies do nothing more than issue a letter saying you worked there from X to Y date. Employment references seem more relevant when provided by an individual, so is there an individual at your former employer's business that might be able to provide you with a good reference if ever required in the future (perhaps by phone or something, rather than on company letterhead) ?

I would make it known to the new employer you are going to work for that your former employer is giving you a very hard time over this - odds are they will be supportive and it might help deal with the reference issue. Also, don't forget if things go well in your new job, then they will become your primary reference in the future.

Final thing that you might like to tell your outgoing employer ... is that there are lots of websites where people post comments about their experiences working for various parties and if they want to continue to take the current approach, you'll name and shame them publicly - that will do long term damage to their reputation. Not the ideal way to go, but there comes a time where you have to start fighting back a bit and not just tolerate it while silently counting down your final days. If things get bad, then there's also the option of going to your doctor and going out on stress leave for a week or two

 

[T McGibney]

Final thing that you might like to tell your outgoing employer ... is that there are lots of websites where people post comments about their experiences working for various parties and if they want to continue to take the current approach, you'll name and shame them publicly - that will do long term damage to their reputation.

Good God, what awful advice.

 

[Seagull]

Good God, what awful advice.

I'd have to agree. It's a small country, and something like that will get around, especially if you're in a small industry. I would also suggest it reflects far more badly on the individual than the company. "X are big bullies and meanies because they wanted me to hold to the terms of my contract, and give full notice". Most people will give it almost as much attention as they do to clickbait.

 

[MrEarl]

Good God, what awful advice.

No it's not, there's a time and a place where you have to start standing up for yourself.

If you go public on something that's true, then there's nothing to worry about - just like whistle blowing (or, eh wait a minute... whats happened to the poor old whistleblowers I hear you say ? ... so, does that mean people should not speak out against whats wrong in the world, or does it mean we need to do more to ensure we live in a just society where people do the right thing ?)

 

[Ceist Beag]

MrEarl you do realise the OP is the one who is in the wrong here don't you? They are the one breaking the terms of the contract. You're now suggesting the OP should also threaten the employer by publicly having a go at them on websites? I don't know how you equate that with being good advice!
As a few posters have stated already we don't know enough here to really comment on this and it looks like the OP won't be responding further so I'm not sure there is any point offering further advice on this thread tbh.

 

[newtothis]

As for the company reference, a lot of large companies do nothing more than issue a letter saying you worked there from X to Y date. Employment references seem more relevant when provided by an individual, so is there an individual at your former employer's business that might be able to provide you with a good reference if ever required in the future (perhaps by phone or something, rather than on company letterhead) ?

I would make it known to the new employer you are going to work for that your former employer is giving you a very hard time over this - odds are they will be supportive and it might help deal with the reference issue. Also, don't forget if things go well in your new job, then they will become your primary reference in the future.

Final thing that you might like to tell your outgoing employer ... is that there are lots of websites where people post comments about their experiences working for various parties and if they want to continue to take the current approach, you'll name and shame them publicly - that will do long term damage to their reputation. Not the ideal way to go, but there comes a time where you have to start fighting back a bit and not just tolerate it while silently counting down your final days. If things get bad, then there's also the option of going to your doctor and going out on stress leave for a week or two

I have to say, this is just about the worst advice I have ever read on this site! It is precisely because employers generally do no more than issue a reference to confirm you worked there from X to Y date that "informal" references, based on direct contacts (usually by phone), are so important. Although various sectors have grown greatly in recent years, it's still a small country, and your next employer (or the one after that) is highly likely to have some contact into your current employer: especially in an era of LinkedIn it is very easy to see if there is someone you can tap into for an opinion on someone. This is done regardless of the size of the organisation. In my experience, it never, ever pays to leave somewhere on bad terms: even if it doesn't bite you immediately, it is highly likely to come back at you at some stage in the future. As for naming and shaming, it says more about the person making the claim than the company complained about, and most people will read it like that. If you want to find out about how good or bad a company is to work for, use the same informal network employers do: find someone who worked there recently and ask them.

 

[Leper]

Mr Earl and Newtothis are reasonably good posters on this site. And while I agree with nearly everything Mr Earl says, I think it's OTT to threaten a former employer with bad publicity on a site such as this. I would not see a good outcome for somebody doing such. However, Mr Earl is right inasmuch as every employee is entitled to be persuasive rather than being aggressive. The last thing any employer wants is a lamb. The more I read this thread the more I think the job being left is not senior management where dynamism is a prerequisite and I reckon the "old" employer is just being difficult for the sake of being difficult, merely because he can.

Some posters pointed out that some employers would hate to see a new employee breaking a previous contract. Again, there is no proof of this (here, at least) and anybody breaking what probably is a stupid part of contract would gain kudos merely by breaking out of the deal.

At my age, I think I've seen the lot, the guy who gets out and tells everybody that his current employ is just for losers (a fate that caused many to return eating the humblest of pie). The guy who gets out and somehow improves his lot, says nothing, but two fingers to the old firm. The guy who gets out and fails. Etc, etc. People do what they need to do and good luck to them. The lambs do nothing and deserve less.

 

[newtothis]

Mr Earl and Newtothis are reasonably good posters on this site.

For some reason, the phrase "damning with faint praise" came to mind when I read this!

At my age, I think I've seen the lot, the guy who gets out and tells everybody that his current employ is just for losers (a fate that caused many to return eating the humblest of pie). The guy who gets out and somehow improves his lot, says nothing, but two fingers to the old firm. The guy who gets out and fails. Etc, etc. People do what they need to do and good luck to them. The lambs do nothing and deserve less.

I too am of an age when I've seen a lot (I can't say "the lot" as I continue to be surprised....). I'm not suggesting people act as lambs, just that they don't go out of their way to generate bad feeling: there's a right way and a wrong way to go about trying to get out of a previous commitment. Similarly, giving two fingers as you walk out the door might make you feel good for a time, but it will quite likely come back to haunt you later.

In my experience, employers will assume you'll behave the same way as you did in the past. An example: within the last month a new employee of ours presented us (unasked) with information from their previous employer, potentially of use to us (supplier pricelists, internal process descriptions and the like). They are relatively young and inexperienced and I think done from the best of motives in an effort to help us. However, my immediate reaction was that I didn't want to see it and an immediate assumption by me it was likely we'd suffer the same security breach when they came to leave us. I know this is now well off-topic, but the point is related: employers will generally put themselves in the position of previous employers when looking at how an employee behaves and assume they will be on the receiving end of similar behaviour in the future, regardless of how justified it may have been.

 

[odyssey06]

I don't think anyone is encouraging the OP to get on a rampage across Linked In, Twitter and Facebook bad-mouthing the employer... they'll be the best damn tweets the OP will ever regret!

But it would not seem unreasonable once all business is over with the previous employee and P45 extracted, to leave a carefully worded anonymous comment on a site like Glassdor (et al) to the effect that you should think twice about working here given that they will try to hold you to a long notice period which will cause you difficulty in switching employer. I don't see much risk of blowback there from either employer at that point.

 

[Setanta12]

Having suffered through one or two bad employers - best course of action leaving is to do nothing. Lick your wounds and move on. Agitating for revenge even anonymously can only come back to bite. My current employer has negative comments everywhere - but we're still hiring (and firing)!

Consider it unlucky.

 

[Redone]

Can't believe some of the responses here. A minority to be fair.

OP,

There's a very good reason your new employer did not ask your current employer for a reference. It was your current job and convention means they are not contacted.

What happens when you leave your new job? Your next employer could request a reference from the current employer.

That's when karma kicks in.

Still, not convinced the OP is a not a troll post.

 

[odyssey06]

Having suffered through one or two bad employers - best course of action leaving is to do nothing. Lick your wounds and move on. Agitating for revenge even anonymously can only come back to bite. My current employer has negative comments everywhere - but we're still hiring (and firing)! Consider it unlucky.

Does informing people to watch out for the small print of their contract e.g. notice period, before signing up counts as "agitating for revenge"?
How can the employer object to that? It's hardly protected data.

 

[Palerider]

' Still, not convinced the OP is not a troll post'

+1 Redone... but it trundles along anyway.

 

[MrEarl]

Folks,

While we won't agree on everything, all of the time I would just like to make a couple of small points clear or add to what I've said already:

I'm working on the basis that the relationship with the outgoing employer is already gone. It went as soon as the outgoing employer started acting up ... they could have had a reasonable conversation and agreed some form or compromise on the issue of notice, but elected not to and instead has made threats. As such, I don't ever see a reference of any quality coming from this source and hence my position in my original post.

There comes a time when we all need to stand up for ourselves, fight fire with fire and while it should not be the first option we go for, we are entitled to defend ourselves and thats the position I felt was required. Furthermore, lets not forget, each time a bully gets away with picking on someone it only encourages them to do it again to the next victum etc.

Finally, my reference to going public about what the employer was doing to the outgoing employee was not referring to posting all sorts across the internet - but sticking to the facts and using services such as Glassdoor.ie where it is common for employees to post about experiences and also, for potential employees to research a potential new employer. As I said above, if you tell the truth (in a reasonable manner, in case anyone thought otherwise) then there is nothing to fear. A prospective new employer will see the situation for what it is if they are reasonable.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

This is an extraordinary thread; it really is.

 

[PaddyBloggit]

OP lost my sympathy after I read his thread title:

Employer getting stroppy because I am giving 1 month's notice, although the contract says 2 months!

The use of the word 'stroppy' and the exclamation mark clinched it for me.

Why did the OP bother signing a contract when he was/is so ready to break it?

I'm all for employee rights but the employer has rights also.

 

[Leper]

Why did the OP bother signing a contract when he was/is so ready to break it?

I'm all for employee rights but the employer has rights also.

I wonder why such a "clause" was put in the contract first day, when the employer probably knew it was going to be broken anyway? I reckon, he put it in just because he could.