[baboonworld]

WHAT CAN YOUR EMPLOYER DO IF YOU TELL THEM YOU ARE GOING TO EMIGRATE BUT YOU DONT KNOW EXACTLY WHEN.

IT THIS GROUNDS FOR THEM TO TERMINATE YOUR EMPLOYMENT??

:wah

WE ARE THINKING ABOUT TELLING OUR EMPLOYERS TO GIVE THEM PLENTY OF TIME TO GET READY FOR US TO LEAVE (BOTH WORK FOR SMALL COMPANYS AND ARE IN MANAGMENT ROLES) SO WE ARE TRYING TO BE GOOD EMPLOYEES BY TELLING THEM - ALSO DONT WANT TO HAVE TO SNEAK ABOUT ALL THE TIME.

BUT WE ARE JUST CONCERNED THAT THEY MIGHT FIND A REPLACEMENT, LET US TRAIN THEM AND THEN THEM SAY "SEE YA LATER" WHEN WE HAVENT YET SOLD THE HOUSE.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS / WHAT ARE OUR RIGHTS???

[Mildred]

I'm not an expert but I think if they make you both redundant they can't then have someone else doing your role.

If they sacked you it would have to be on a discipline matter otherwise it would be unfair dismissal.

If you log onto any of the big Trade Union sites there is lots of information which may prove useful.

Good luck.

[Bubbles]

Hi,
Good question. I think Frances is correct in her assumptions, legally they can't sack you for giving them the heads up and solong as you follow the correct proceedure for resignation periods when the time comes you should have no problems. Even if you didn't, I don't think there's many companys out there that would chase you around the world for not providing the right amount of notice. But, and there is a but, it all depends on your employer :uhoh They could/can make things difficult for you and still be within company law. It's down to your gut feeling and how well you think you know them.

I told my employers about my intention to emigrate when I knew my chances were good for success. They've been good as gold with regard to me and generally seem quite interested about the process and whats involved. To date I am still employed by them and I haven't put my notice in, yet. ;)

[sarahw]

I think it totally depends on your relationship with your employer. If you're not sure how they'll react wait until a month before you're going (or whatever your notice period is) - Ian did this & so did our friends coming out here (they found it hard not to say anything but managed it).

Technically you're not giving your notice to them you're just giving them a head's up. You can always let them know that you'll give them your set contract amount of notice as soon as you know it's a goer.
If you're going to be difficult to replace or you really care about the company which it sounds like & want to give them plenty of notice then go for it.

I was very secure in my role - they weren't going to find a manager for 40 staff in a week or 2 so I gave them 4 month's notice - my boss nearly had a heart attack as it was but he let me work until the date I wanted to work until rather than forcing me out when he got a replacement. The great thing was that I was able to find & interview a good replacement & get her fully installed to take over. I was particularly keen on not leaving the company in the lurch. However, word of caution - my boss was excellent & we had a great relationship - his word was his bond, but the HR Director wanted me out ASAP (luckily the CEO wanted me to stay as long as possible) - it may not be your boss but someone else that can sabotage things - just make sure you don't have anyone that can overide your boss on a decision... if I hadn't hae had the CEO on my side I would have been forced to leave a month earlier because I had officially handed in my notice - despite the agreed finish date (in writing from me).

Good luck!

[Bubbles]

but the HR Director wanted me out ASAP

:laugh :laugh

That made me laugh.
Thats what they're there for, " Resourcing humans " and generally a very cold breed of person I find.

[jubjub]

Have a look on the ACAS website for legal implications,
http://www.acas.org.uk/

but like the others have said, it depends A LOT on what relationship you have. Hubby handed his notice in when he had booked flights and accepted a job offer just the 4 weeks notice, and I handed mine in at the same time, with an approximate date, saying it would probably only waiver a couple of weeks either way, and then I confirmed it in writing as soon as I had booked my flights, and we had an agreed house sale, they ended up with about 10 weeks notice in the end, I did not tell anyone until hubby had his job offer signed and sealed, as although I was well thought of in the company, I did not want to be pressured into giving dates I could not give at the time.

[Miffy]

It really depends on your company.

Its not uncommon for many places (banks and financial institions in London) when you hand in your notice you are asked to leave that moment and are put on Garening leave for the remanider of your notice. (ie you stay at home with full pay) thi sis so you don;t disrbut other workers as you'll obvisously be less motivated, not to take company stratgy info with you . This especially happens in fron office (dealing) and sales postions.
I guess you'll know from other people leaving if this is the norm.


I ended up telling my boss at my xmas review. I felt bad listening to her outling my proposed career development for the next 12 / 18 months (I was going to be put forward for promotion etc) so I had to tell her I was planing on moving to NZ but wasn't sure exatly when. But it wouldbe as soon as I sold the house.
they were really good about it and appricaited my honesty. We maanged to write out all my procedures for my job during Jan & Feb.
I finally confirmed my leaving date in March and it would be mid April, they even honered my bonus which was nice (normally if you are on notice you don't get your bonus which is paid at the end of March. )

We planned a long hand over period for my replacement which was one of the conditions of my bonus. Noramlly you are lucky to get a day handover but I gave mine 3 weeks. As we could start the recruitement process early, she could work her ntoice out and still start when I was still there.

And I managed to get 2 days 'working from home' when the movers came so Ididn't need to take those days as holiday. I just drafted out a report so it was only a few hours work.
Another agreement I got was that I was paid for any outstanding holiday I didn't take (this was not company policy) as my boss wanted me in as much as possible to share my knowledge with the rest of the team.


Personally I'd let them know asap you know when you were going. That way they can plan ahead. But then I worked for a large company and had excellent relationship with my immediate boss and the head of department. :)

[foolsgold99]

My advice is to tell them nothing, until everything is signed & sealed on the house and plane tickets purchased. Nothing good of telling them early can come. Best case all that will happen is that you'll get marginalised and left out of things.

No matter how much you think you trust them, or want to be "fair" with them, no good will come out of it. A few years ago, I accepted a job offer to go an work in New York, we went through the US immigration process, and I had a conversation at work. They were ok about it, but after that it was never the same. (we never did go to live in New York btw)

Look at your contract and find the notice period, and give them exactly that. It's just a business transaction, nothing personal

If you do speak to them early, make it clear that you are not resigning, but just discussing your longer term plans

[Avalon]

We did really quite well with being upfront about it. In our case, people pretty much expected us to want to emigrate after we came here on holiday, so were in fact asking us if why we had come back at all!

Hubby was then advised by his manager that he could always opt for a leave of absence instead of resigning when the time came. Which would give us a safety net if we needed it. In the end, he got a paid LOA - 1/4 salary which was even better, and then allowed hip to take a redundancy package last month - and get even more money.

At all times, his managers were well aware he wouldnt be coming back, but amazingly - they backed his decision and did everything they possibly could to help us. They even did late night phone calls to NZ to give references for a new job.

I guess theres no telling till you do it whether it will work in your favour or not. In our case, the company saw it as a chance to have first dibs on the skills and experience if we had to go back, so were not going to be churlish!

Good luck

Avalon

[Jo and Andy]

Know what your going through, Andy told his work that he planned to leave in October, as they are a smallish company and he did not want to leave him in the lurch. We are not biting our nails, as the new guy has started and they are expecting Andy to leave at the end of Sept. He has still not handed in his notice.

When he asked if he could stay on longer if the house did not sell, they said they were not sure.

I am going to look at the sites suggested and see where we stand.

I told my boss when she was making plans for my next year and what she was going to be doing, making sure I felt in safe in my job. She has been great. Made a plan of everything we need to get finalised and she looks that any day after September is a bonus. No pressure.

Will have to see how Andy's company goes. Then again we have 3 weeks holiday to get through, so at least we will be able to relax a bit. I hope.

[baboonworld]

After looking on Acas - never much help - i rang the FSB (federation of small businesses) which advises my company on Employment Law.

I spoke to them about an employee who had told the company that they were intending on emigratin - but hadnt given notice. They said until notice is given the company cannot do anything to get rid of the person.

So - unless they have the usual reasons for termination they cannot terminate employment based on emigrating.

So that makes me feel a bit better - although i guess i have misused the service slightly!!!

[jonSE]

Simple answer

Don't tell them until you are committed ie house sold and flights paid for and new job to go to in NZ.

Complicated answer

Try and put yourself in your bosses shoes or their bosses shoes - and then try and work out their reaction. If you are not immediately replaceable and ot going to work for the competition they may well want to keep you as long as poss to gain all over your knowledge about your job. If you do the same job as 20 other people and are immediately replacable you should consider how honest they are as hey may decide to "make you redundant" or fire you without cause etc etc. after all you are not going to complain if you are in NZ are you.

Obviously if you work for smith and smith and sons and daughters and grandchildren and your surname is smith then you have a whole host of other issues!

I felt really guilty when I handed my notice in before coming out here. My boss and his boss are/were friends and purely coincidence 3 of us at my level resigned on the same day which was one complete tier of management gone (Not pre-arranged and as much of a shock to the bosses as it was to us). I had considered telling my boss about 1 month previous that i was applying for jobs in NZ but decided to keep my powder dry.

At the end of the day you need to consider that your boss and their boss's interest is doing their job well which unfortunately means that your interests come second.

Hope this helps

Jon