[tom-lord]

It's also worth noting that (at least in the UK) such notice periods are not legally binding.

You can only be forced to give a notice period up to your payroll pay frequency. So for example, if you get paid monthly then you cannot be sued for failing to give > 1 month's notice!

... But of course, most people will still honour their company's "3 month notice" (or whatever) period out of good faith, as it's generally a good idea not to burn bridges.

[hackerboos]

>It's also worth noting that (at least in the UK) such notice periods are not legally binding.

Erm. Yes it is.

It's unlikely that your old employer would legally enforce a notice period. But they are entitled to sue for lost revenue.

There are standard periods depending on how long you have worked there but after a probational period, the contract lengths are legal.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2490277/D...

[mattgibson]

I wasn't aware of this. Do you happen to know which law/act/whatever covers it? Would have come in handy a few weeks ago when I was trying to negotiate my way out of a 3 month notice period.

[choult]

Are you sure about that? There is a statutory notice period of one or two weeks depending on how long your employment has been, but this appears to be trumped by contractual agreements:

https://www.gov.uk/handing-in-your-notice-resigning-leaving-...

[dspillett]

The statuary period sets the minimum that an employee and an employer must give. Unless otherwise agreed this is the only value to care about. A longer notice period can be arranged via contract. A shorter period can not be agreed (well it can, anything can be agreed really, but it will not be legally enforceable).

IIRC the statutory rules are as follows:

* After one month of employment the minimum period is one week

* After two year's of employment the minimum period becomes two weeks

* Each year after the first two one further week is added, up to a maximum of twelve (so because of how long I've been here the three months dictated by my current contract is pretty much aligned with the statutory minimum notice period).

While there is some room for ignoring a contract with unfair terms, unless the notice requirements set out in what you have signed are rather egregious you will be expected to honour them unless you successfully negotiate otherwise at the time. People can and sometimes do ignore this though because the costs and time involved in taking you to court for breach of contract are high enough that it just isn't worthwhile to most employers, but this is a risky stance to take as you could create a reputation for yourself that travels around your industry fairly quickly and may stick around for some time (and, of course, such action is morally wrong: if you signed a reasonable contract in good faith you should stick to it just as you would expect the other party to). If your contract (that part or all of it) can be declared void because it is not enforceable (you can't sign away the statutory minimum) this becomes moot. It can also become a moot point due to some other significant breach by either party then (well by the letter of the law it doesn't, but "you could take me to court but you don't really want the whole truth being a matter of public record do you?" can be a powerful argument in dissuading the other party from taking action).