RickyZ Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 My girlfriend and I are in the middle of buying a house together and she is in the middle of accepting a new role at work. I think her bosses have cottoned on to the fact that as were moving a little further away that she might want to find a new job sometime in the future. She has been offered her new contract and her notice period has been extended from 4 to 8 weeks. As she not a manager or senior staff I think this is a little excessive as no potential future employer would probably want to wait 8 weeks for her to start a new job. It seems like they are trying to trap her essentially. Has anyone on here had to negotiate their contract terms before or have any advice on dealing with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 pretty sure my employer starts at 4 weeks notice, then adds on a week for every year of service, up to a maximum of a lot of weeks! How long has she been with the company and what does she do? sounds like she may have been doing well to have had it at 4 weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkmatt Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Due to there being a change in contract, there's not a lot she can do other than accept the new contract, try to negotiate different terms or refuse to sign the new contract. She could question the new notice terms and determine whether this is normal for her new role or whether it's something they've only applied to her. There should be an employee manual that states the companies policy regarding notice periods. If her notice differs from that it would be reasonable for her to ask why it differs. If they can't provide a valid reason then I don't think they could reasonably enforce it as it could be classed as discriminatory. This is all from my basic understanding of contracts and HR. Please take professional advice before making any further move. Acas (http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1461) are an independent advice service for HR matters and would be the best people to contact. I hope you can sort it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 If they want to extend the notice period, then I assume her salary has increased to take that into account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 works both ways if they want to get rid of her as well, see it as a positive and not a negative, its nice to be wanted 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 This is true. We had one guy at work who became a complete nightmare, and he was on 3 months notice as it seemed like a good idea at the time. After paying him 3 months gardening leave it suddenly seemed like a really bad idea, so new contracts are now 4 weeks only! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkmatt Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 If they want to extend the notice period, then I assume her salary has increased to take that into account? Why would her salary need to increase? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 This isn't uncommon. I am on 3 months notice and that's the norm. There were a number of people in the business on a months notice who are client management and a few left recently and a month is no time for a business to replace someone so they are all being shifted into 3 monthly contracts in line with everyone else. You might also find the more senior someone is the longer the notice period. What does she do out of interest? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payco Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) As a previous poster has said "it works both ways". I am on six months notice. If she finds a new role elsewhere her notice period with her current employer should not affect their decision to take her on. Edited July 31, 2015 by Payco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeezeebaba Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Mine is 12 weeks (three months) notice too. I started with the company 12 years ago and it has risen from 4 weeks originally. However this was a standard clause in my original contract. Edited July 31, 2015 by Zeezeebaba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Mines been 3 months notice in the last 3 jobs ive had and that seems to be the norm these days. As others have said, it works both ways. When I was made redundant from my last job, They had to give me 3 months money up front which was great as I found a job on a building site within 3 weeks and ended up not having to really touch my redundancy money much. It is a pain when changing jobs, but these days most new employers accept that people might be on 2 or 3 month notice periods and are prepared to wait if that person is worth waiting for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 If they want to extend the notice period, then I assume her salary has increased to take that into account? Why would her salary need to increase? Why would it not? I wouldn't be signing a new contract that gave me (in my eyes) worse terms without a financial increase to make up for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Thanks for all the advice. She works for an accountant but only does admin related duties. She's been working there for 4 and a bit years and is getting a modest rise. It seems like they've only applied this to her as they think she'll leave in the near future, even though she might not. Looking at other people in similar situations I don't think its too much of a problem to have. At least she's not being made redundant. If she decides to go they might not want someone who's not fully dedicated hanging around for 2 months anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 This is true. We had one guy at work who became a complete nightmare, and he was on 3 months notice as it seemed like a good idea at the time. After paying him 3 months gardening leave it suddenly seemed like a really bad idea, so new contracts are now 4 weeks only! Wasn't me was it!? Lol That's exactly what I did. Handed my notice in, shaved a hitler mustasche in and got immediately put on gardening leave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I run a recruitment company, 8 weeks isnt long by any standards. If you want good people you often have to wait, Ive known of people with year long notice periods before now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkmatt Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 If they want to extend the notice period, then I assume her salary has increased to take that into account? Why would her salary need to increase? Why would it not? I wouldn't be signing a new contract that gave me (in my eyes) worse terms without a financial increase to make up for it. That's fair enough. I don't think an increase in notice period automatically requires a rise in pay to compensate though. Having said that, I'm with you and I'd be questioning any detrimental change. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugg90 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Not sure I wud want to have a notice period that long most jobs want people starting as soon as possible in my line of wrk so its a weeks notice for me Edited July 31, 2015 by dugg90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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