Advice - Long notice period

Hi guys,

Happy new year, I hope everyone had a good Christmas period.

Thanks for all your responses, i really appreciate it. Sorry I haven’t got back to you all sooner, Iv had covid over new year and only just been allowed to get back in work to my laptop.

jessejazza:
It would help if you gave a us more detail although I can understand why you may not want to disclose more. You must have skills that they do not want to lose… did the new notice period come with an increase in salary. Unusual to have notice period increased… presumably either side - if only on your side I think you would find that’s not legal.

Most jobs in transport are a weeks notice (sometimes a fortnight) and other industries a month/four weeks. Notice period almost always has to correspond with wage payment.

My current line of work is not really related to transport/logistics, although I do liaise with drivers quite regularly.
The long leave period is due to the length of time I have been at the company (ten years). As someone else mentioned, my contract states that I must give a weeks notice for every year worked unfortunately.
There are two other employees that can cover my work and have the same knowledge so it feels like I’m being held hostage a little haha.

Dolphin85:

Yata:
Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice really. I passed my Class 2 in November and have Class 1 training/test booked for early April.
I have been looking to get work as a Class 2 driver but my current workplace has given me a 10 week notice period. This is proving a bit of a stumbling block as no recruiters are interested in waiting 10 weeks, which I can understand.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation ? And do you think I should I hand my notice in, in the hope that I can pick up work closer to my leaving date?
Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers

I was in a similar situation although I am starting from scratch with Class 2 training and faced a 2 month notice period.

Difficult to make a suggestion because really in depends on your financial situation.

For me, once I got my dates for my theory tests was when I put my notice in, leaving on 5th December (my training school said there was no major delays in booking driving tests so took the risk) Passed all 3 theories in one go, had a 4 hour assessment and then my test was booked for 15th December (ideally I’d have liked this to have been before my leaving date but not the end of the world as I knew when it was)
I was happy enough having received a full salary at the end of November that I’d be comfortable enough until the end of January before wanting/needing to find work and it obviously fell at a lovely time to have some down time over Xmas and New Year for a change.
Unfortunately I failed my test but I immediately booked in again and go for test 2 on Tuesday but, amazingly, I’ve already had 2 offers of work based on a pass.

As I say, it depends on your circumstances but I firmly believe in taking a punt on yourself. If you don’t, you can’t expect anyone else too.

Good luck

I am fairly comfortable financially and could afford to survive if I was to end up with no work at the end of my notice period, but I would prefer to have something lined up.
That’s great news that you have something lined up and gives me hope. I hope you passed your retest and were able to take them up on their offer.

Terry Cooksey:
With the length of your notice period it will be very unlikely any company would wait around for you to be available to apart, especially if you lack experience.
If driving is something you want to do then start saving as much money as you can so you’ve got a safety net if you do decide to take the leap.
Looking at time frames, the recruitment process could take 4-6 weeks, so you could start looking roughly half way through your notice period, hoping to have something secured with a start date that lines up with the end of your notice period.
Also consider the time of year your notice period would be likely to end. If you handed it in now, it would end roughly Easter time, which traditionally has been a good time to find temporary work, but not always the best time to find permanent jobs

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Thanks Terry, I thought as much and just wanted to confirm my theory. I do have enough of a safety net to cover mortgage, bills, etc but ideally wouldn’t want to touch that. I was thinking I can even do some non driving agency work while still looking for employment if it comes to it.
That’s nice to know, I’m pretty much a complete newb when it comes to the logistics industry so that’s good to know and I will bear that in mind. I’m just really keen to get into a driving position, temp or perm, as soon as I can to accumulate experience and start learning.

stu675:

Franglais:
Your current employer has written, that you must give 10 weeks notice to quit, into your contract of employment?

I’m incredulous too, makes me think he’s giving up a really well paid, high powered job?

I wish that was the case…unfortunately the reality is that I pick up just over 25k basic and I’m not in a managerial position. I do get leaned on quite a lot when problems arise as I have been there 10 years but there are other people with more experience than myself.

David DeHavilland:

Yata:
Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice really. I passed my Class 2 in November and have Class 1 training/test booked for early April.
I have been looking to get work as a Class 2 driver but my current workplace has given me a 10 week notice period. This is proving a bit of a stumbling block as no recruiters are interested in waiting 10 weeks, which I can understand.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation ? And do you think I should I hand my notice in, in the hope that I can pick up work closer to my leaving date?
Any advice is appreciated.

Cheers

I was subject to a 3 month notice period and I was advised at the time whilst cutting it short unilaterally would constitute a breach of contract it is unlikely I would be taken to a Tribunal. I discussed this with my employer and they set out some objectives (hand overs etc) which once done I was free to leave in good standing after 4 weeks.
Its unlikely an employer would want to hold onto a disgruntled or demotivated employee !

I have had numerous people tell me to just give four weeks as the likelihood of ending up in court is slim, but I don’t want to leave on bad terms and knowing my luck I would be the one they make an example of!

Zac_A:

a weeks notice period for every year worked

Yeah, that’s not unusual, and it’s not illegal, but as David has said it’s not likely they’d go overboard to enforce it.

I’m not suggesting this as a possible way out of your bind, but some years ago a former employer of mine told me I was going to be subject to a disciplinary procedure and could be dismissed if “found guilty”, I told them “Don’t bother, I was planning on leaving soon anyways, so here’s my resignation, I know I was not the one responsible”, yet they still claimed I needed to give them eight weeks notice

Nothing came of it, after I’d submitted a statement to their disciplinary process, casually mentioning all the various wrong-doings by management that I’d been witness to, having been told by a solicitor that this would have to be admitted as evidence to a court or tribunal if they did want to take action against me.

Haha, fair play. I’m not currently in any disciplinary procedures so that might be a bit tricky for me.

Just to update, after weighing up the pros and cons with my girlfriend, I have taken the decision to hand my notice in. All being well I can secure something by the end of my current employment.

I have also had some good news since writing the first post. The driving school has managed to bring my Class 1 training forward to February, so all being well I may have another string to the bow by the time I leave.

Thanks again for all the responses, I didn’t expect to get so many and to have others with similar experiences, so that gives me confidence going forward.

Cheers