Offered a new Job - Resignation/Notice advice needed

[Gimpymoo]

The situation is I have been on sick leave for 5 months.

I have recently applied for and were successful in being offered a new job.

My current employer contract states I receive full pay for 6 months if off sick. My current notice period is 4 weeks (I think).

Can I give notice while on sick leave and if so, can I still receive the contracted pay while off sick if I have tendered notice?

I also have outstanding holiday, if I am unable to use this holiday owing to being sick, is this wiped out or can I claim this into my final pay packet? Or, if I return from Sick for my last few weeks of notice, can I simply use holiday to "work" my notice period?

I expect to be able to return to work in a few weeks.

Also, if my notice period is longer than 4 weeks, what are the odds of my current employer enforcing it and blocking my new job, for example, if my notice period is 12 weeks owing to length of service, that puts my new employer in a difficult spot and I cannot expect them to wait it out.

Hope all of that makes sense.

Many thanks.

 

[Gimpymoo]

Stay on sick, start new job, ghost old job

Is that from experience

That was my initial thoughts. Seems awkward though as that will end up with me being "terminated" and been there for a LOOONG time, would not look good if the one job I had for 20 years I got fired from.

New job needs references though, so old employer is going to find out but even if they did, I suppose nothing they can do as not ilegal to look for work, even if sick.

 

[Gimpymoo]

However does your new employer know youve been off sick for going on 6 months...

No. Not that it is a secret, just never came into the conversation, as weird as that sounds but it is what it is.

But the chance is, resign, new employer rejects appointment, hey ho, no job at all.

Frustrating when you have been working somewhere for 20 years but owing to getting older, stuff does stop working sometimes but nothing more I can do other than get better and get back to work, the time off just allowed reflection on current employment.

 

[Gimpymoo]

Does new job address the reason for being 'sick' at old job? Seems odd your too sick to work, but well enough to get right to the edge of full pay sick leave period and find a new job to step into.

Was a combination of a lifelong condition and then covid.

Yes, too sick to work and now after the time off, feeling better. That is how it is meant to be isn't it?

I also had lots of time to ponder during the sick leave and that made me want to do something instead of just sitting there moaning about it when I was well enough to return and not feeling sorry for myself.

Old job contributed to sickness owing to their general attitude. Some employers are just bad. I had made myself ill many months and years prior just burying my head in the sand.

 

[Gimpymoo]

If after being

I think the first step here is find out what type of reference your company provides, factual or detailed. That will dictate how you proceed

The reason that you being off sick didn't come up in conversation is that an interviewer is highly unlikely to ask "Are you off sick at the moment?". There are, however, likely to be questions such as "Tell me a bit about your current role and responsibilities", "Talk me through your last 20 years at Company X" or "What is it that's made you look for another role" - all of which would have been your cue to explain your present circumstances.

You haven't lied, but you also haven't been transparent, and that may well come back to bite you now.

With regards to your notice period, you should have known what your notice period is when you interviewed for another role, were you not asked? Maybe it never came up in conversation...
It's a critical piece of information for any employer as everything hangs off the date that you are expected to start, so I'm surprised it's being discussed post offer.

I have made an offer to a candidate who couldn't confirm their notice period - contractually it was 3 months, but the candidate was hoping he could negotiate that down to 1 month.
As an employer, I understood this and allowed him a week post-acceptance to try and negotiate this before confirming a start date.
He asked, they said no, we had to wait the 3 months.
The difference here is that he was totally transparent pre-offer, so we could make an informed business decision as to how we proceeded.
It doesn't sound like that is the case with your situation.

I know this might sound negative, but if I was your new employer and these things started coming out I would have alarm bells ringing all over the place right now.
Assuming they still want you as the facts emerge, I'd be surprised if they don't put you on a fairly strict probation plan and watch you like a hawk...

All of that is fair.

Not going to spill my personal life on here but my work has been contributing indirectly to the ill health and I need to get out of there and yes, I am getting better and having that time has allowed me to see that after going back after the first time and am now at the end of the recovery and where by I have not seen it before and rather than complain and do nothing, I chose to try and change it. Having been with the same employer for nearly over 15 years with maybe 10 instances of sickness, 2 of them being long term sick (this time including) I do not believe I am a bad employee, I honestly wish I had not had to deal with these issues.

Although I desperately wanted the new Job, I honestly just wanted to get "out there" and get used to interviews again as it has been a LONG time since I interviewed but being offered the job was both a surprise and a realisation that there is an alternative but it was never an intention to "mislead".

I will take what happens from here on as a lesson in life, if the offer is removed, I will stay where I am for another 6 months and then try again but it is good to know I am "employable" elsewhere, kind of.