Two new opportunities

[Invertigo]

I've been feeling very restless and generally undervalued by my current employer now for a few months so I've started to investigate my options to move. My current work is with a specialist construction subcontractor.

Now I've got a couple of options following interviews and I'm feeling a bit lost as to which would suit best.

Option 1
Identical segment of the industry - direct competitor to my current employer
Offering a significant pay rise (nearly 70%)
Commute would be a 15 minute walk each way
Modern city centre office with plenty of space, communal areas etc (obviously not a big deal currently but construction seems hugely resistant to adopting remote working as a permanent thing)
Use same software, methodologies etc as my current employer

Option 2
Main contractor based in Civils - significant more variation in projects
Lesser pay rise (25%) but a more rounded package i.e. gym membership, health/dental insurances etc
Flexible working a given, commute is a 45 minute drive each way but this would be 2-3 times a week at most. Typical out-of-town business park offices so nothing around.
Same software again, but different processes and more levels of approval being part of a national group vs current and opt1 employers both being family owned.

Now, in terms of financial situation I'm currently in the mid 30s salary wise, so opt1 is a huge boost to our household income and one that I'd be amazed if my current employer even contemplated matching (and regardless, I doubt I'd accept anyway) and will go a long way towards setting us up financially i.e. buying a house. It's also a job I know I can do well, albeit I'd expect to be busier than current. Option 2 has much less financial gain, but arguably could be a better long-term bet due to being a much more varied role at a significantly larger company, thus offering more in the way of future progression. That being said, there's nothing to stop me going for something like this again in the future anyway.

So basically, I'd be happy to work for either. Both are small teams within the department that seem to have a good dynamic and the ethos of being given a job and left to get on with it without being micromanaged. Any opinions from anyone on which way is a better consideration?

 

[Invertigo]

I think I'm agreeing with the above, it's too big of a step up financially to ignore in any situation, gets me on the property ladder significantly faster/easier and gives me more scope to save and go after something else in the future if I need to.

 

[Invertigo]

Another consideration; if I leave before September I have a financial commitment to repay to the current employers and my official notice period is 4 weeks. If I were to say hand in a 10 week notice letter, I'm assuming there's no way they could force me to leave earlier to try and claim this back? It's a bit tricky to understand.

 

[Invertigo]

Option 1 sounds much better to me due to pay and commute, ESPECIALLY in an industry that is frowning upon remote working. 15 min walk is fantastic because you have no commuting costs, very reliable travel time etc compared to 3-4.5hrs of driving per week and the associated costs.


I would double check the wording on this agreement. When you say "leave before September" are you 100% sure it's driven by leaving date and not based on resignation, entering a notice period or similar? A lot of financial handcuffs tend to be driven by when you declare you are leaving, not when you actually leave. But in any case it depends how much you have to repay, you could earn back that money pretty quickly in the new job anyway. You are bascially getting a £2k/month gross pay rise with option 1 so if the repayment is small you might find you are better off leaving sooner and paying it off that trying to delay your departure.


It's ~£60k not ~£50k. Teaching you to suck eggs here OP but do consider that once you go past £50k you pay more marginal income tax and start losing child benefit etc (if you claim that). So whilst it would indeed be a big boost to your household income, +70% gross will impact net income a fair bit less.

A lot of valid points in this, I've read and reread the agreement re education costs and the wording is clear, in my eyes anyway. It states 'if you leave the business for whatever reason we would expect recovery of costs in the order of below .... ". Now, I'm no lawyer but that seems pretty clear its relying on date of leaving rather than date of notice? The agreement was then signed 30/08 so would cease to have any bearing on me if I leave 31/08 or later. It's 3k of additional costs and my monthly take home would be just over 1k up so certainly worth trying to avoid for the sake of a few weeks.

I suppose the potential issue I might run into is if they choose to utilise payment in lieu of notice, would this stand up to any sort of scrutiny in regards me 'leaving' earlier than the notice I've given, and if so I may as well just bike the bullet and hand it in now.

 

[Invertigo]

Definitely a topic to include in your letter of resignation. Make sure you get any waiving of that in writing.

So, worth stating that my proposed resignation date is after all my liabilities clear, effectively? And perhaps a comment that I'd be agreeable to leaving earlier if the business would like, but on condition of these liabilties being waived?

 

[Invertigo]

So, having spoken to Citizens Advice, it seems their take on it is that payment in lieu of notice is fine to take and doesn't have any impact on my effective leaving date in respect to any financial agreement with the business. So lets say I issue 4 weeks notice and they give me payment in lieu, it would be treated as leaving in September in terms of my liabilities even though my employment would end in August.

 

[Invertigo]

So I accepted option 1, explained to them my situation and they're going to speak to the directors and see if there's anything that can be done regards a 'signing bonus' effectively to clear at least the additional I'd have to pay leaving before September. Positive news at least!

 

[Invertigo]

Well it's accepted on the basis of a September start because that was simple to sort, with the option to look at an earlier start if the directors approve this early payment thing.

 

[Invertigo]

So an update. New employer has agreed to pay the extra costs for me to hand in my notice immediately so I'm now working my notice period. Happy days!

 

[Invertigo]

And following the above, the MD has now approached me and asked what it'd take to keep me as they don't want to let me go if they can help it, apparently.
So I've gone back with a list above and beyond what I've been offered, as keeping me saves them both the salary cost of bringing in someone else but also the recruitment time and lost productivity while searching.
If they're willing to accept, then I'd stay, as it's still a huge step up over my current setup. I have however put factors like remote working and improved software suites as non-negotiables as they're elements that I consider crucial to fulfilling my potential and saving wasting time on unnecessary elements.

 

[Invertigo]

Don't do it. They're make you pay over the next few years in withholding incremental increases; make you work "extra hard" for it.

Considered that, one of the points in my request was a contractual minimum annual salary increase above inflation. Unlikely that any of the requests will be met but asking can't hurt.
Mindset was pitch high, if they say no then I say thank you and leave. If they accept the particularly high requests then we can see.

 

[Invertigo]

So the counter offer matches the new offer, just to confuse things a bit more. The key driver, honestly, was financial. I felt totally underpaid and this has basically demonstrated I was right, but I do have a positive relationship with the rest of the management here including the directors. There's been some disagreements over the last few years but looking at it pragmatically, I've generally been happy where I am.
It's a small company, talking 40 people at the head office, so everyone knows everyone.
Now, financially, staying put actually puts me in a better situation over the next year or 2 at least, and as above certainly improves my apparent worth without having to jump ship. Plus they've agreed to invest in better software/equipment to make the work more efficient (for whatever those words are worth)

Genuinely torn now, needs a long think about to resolve.

 

[Invertigo]

Took the new role anyhow. Using a week of my 2.5 weeks outstanding to finish a week early and have a break before starting the new one, so only 8 days left now.