Notice period advice

bulb66

bulb66

bulb66

Associate
Joined
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Location
Suffolk
Hi all,

I need so advice on the matter of notice period at my current place of work.

basically the only contract i have, that is signed and dated by me and the place of work states that i have to give one weeks notice.

However in the colleague handbook is states that the notice period after 6 months of employment is 4 weeks, unless stated differently of your contract.

Now the contact i have is the fixed contract i got given when i started, but in the wording for the notice period it does not say anything to do with fixed or permanent and how this will change the notice period.

OK the said place of work and been getting increasingly annoying over that last 4-5 months and i'm leaving earlier than i need to (Going to Australia, work wouldn't let me take this as holiday or unpaid) and will be doing a number of this before i go.

But here's the problem, i handed my notice in last night (work 7-12) and had a phone call this morning saying i have to give 4 weeks notice now that i a permanent colleague and not 1 week. I should say at this point when i signed a change of contract/department the subject of notice period was not mentioned and i have not had anything in writing since this change of contract/department even though i asked if i would get anything in writing and was told "No the contract you have is your contract"

So my question is can they do anything legally or money wise to me if i don't give them 4 weeks notice?

Thanks in advance

James
 
If your contract says one week, then that's what it is. The colleague handbook says that it's 4 weeks unless your contract states otherwise. Raise the issue with them, they can't withhold pay if you have a contract that goes against what they say.
 
ask them to show you a contract with your signature on it stating you are pernament and on 4 weeks otherwise tell them it is 1 week and lump it for being slack.
 
If "The contract you have is your contract" and "the notice period is 4 weeks unless stated otherwise in your contract" tell them to do one.
 
Beerbaron said:
they may mention it on any references but if its disputed then they may opt not to due potential legal action.
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Bearing in mind that you can't give a "bad" written reference. Although if it's a telephone conversation, then who knows what they'd say.
 
-westy- said:
Bearing in mind that you can't give a "bad" written reference. Although if it's a telephone conversation, then who knows what they'd say.
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That is not true you can give a terrible refference provided everything you state is true, most companies won't give a bad refference due to potential legal issues if it is contested not being worth the bother.
 
Most companies will state facts. If your attendance was poor, expect them to say so, as it will most likely have been documented. The same goes for disciplinaries, etc. Anything that is conjecture will not likely be in a reference.
 
Notice periods seem dodgy....

Someone at work was on a 1 year fixed contract had 1 months notice.

She got let go on the spot the other day.....no notice, effective immeadiately, she took it to H.R and was told it was unfortunate and unprofessional, but within the law, somehow. I don't know the ins and outs.
 
Name said:
Notice periods seem dodgy....

Someone at work was on a 1 year fixed contract had 1 months notice.

She got let go on the spot the other day.....no notice, effective immeadiately, she took it to H.R and was told it was unfortunate and unprofessional, but within the law, somehow. I don't know the ins and outs.
Click to expand...

Nothing dodgy about it. If the contract says 1 month's notice, then she is entitled to 1 month's pay from date of notice. She isn't required to work for that month unless they want her to.
 
bulb66 said:
Hi all,

I need so advice on the matter of notice period at my current place of work.

basically the only contract i have, that is signed and dated by me and the place of work states that i have to give one weeks notice.
...
I should say at this point when i signed a change of contract/department
Click to expand...

So there are TWO contracts or variations that you have signed but you only seem to have one. Where is the change of contract/dept paperwork?
 
piggeh said:
So there are TWO contracts or variations that you have signed but you only seem to have one. Where is the change of contract/dept paperwork?
Click to expand...

The change of contract/department was a single page that was filled in by my manager when i moved department. This was done on the last day of my fix contract which is why i stated contract/department as i assume that was done as the same thing.

This paper work is in HR and i have never had a copy, i did ask if i would get anything and was told "No the contract you have is your contract"
 
Last edited:
I stuck my notice in and my contract stated 1 week. I had been there 5 years. They gave me it back, and said "No, its a month, we changed it last week because too many people were leaving". I could not get through to them how illegal it is to change a contract without even notifying the employee, HR were off that week. And this is a company which is aprt of one of the largest manufacturing companies in the UK (worldwide really!). I left when I said I was going to leave. Tough titties tbqfh.
 
If i've got this right..

You were taken on and given a temporary contract which stated 1 weeks notice.
You then signed something else that made you a permanent employee.

Did that second piece of paper state that you were now subject to the company's normal terms and conditions, that you would remain on the same terms and conditions but in a permanent role, or was no mention made?

If the first then technically they probably have you for 4 weeks, otherwise you could argue the 1 week?
 
bulb66 said:
Hi all,

....

However in the colleague handbook is states that the notice period after 6 months of employment is 4 weeks, unless stated differently of your contract.

...............

I should say at this point when i signed a change of contract/department the subject of notice period was not mentioned and i have not had anything in writing since this change of contract/department even though i asked if i would get anything in writing and was told "No the contract you have is your contract"


James
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I suspect that you were misinformed when you were told that the contract that you have is you contract and that the second item you signed supersedes the first. As such any terms not mention in the second contract will be covered by convention of the handbook.
However, this is speculation since I have not seen either, and especially the second, contract.
 
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