Notice Period to & from Employer

[Northern Guy]

Hi,

4 years ago I signed a new employment contract following a promotion at work. Under 'Termination of Employment' this new contract says:

The notice required by either side to terminate your employment is one calendar month.

After 5 years' continuous employment, you will be entitled to 5 weeks' notice from the Company; this will
increase for each year of completed service up to a maximum of 12 weeks' notice after 12 years'
continuous service.

Now, I have worked there far longer than 12 years, although in this new job with new contract only 4 years as stated earlier.

My questions are:

a) What notice period does my Employer owe me now?

and

b) What notice do I owe my Employer?

My reading is that this extending notice clause is asymmetric, i.e. my notice period from my employer grows annually from 5 to 12 weeks with no mention of my notice to my employer doing the same. But I am puzzled as to if/why they would benefit me this way but not themselves.

[jaguarsuk]

One month, you started in the job 4 years ago and as it's less than 5 years either owes the other one month. The promotion was a new job and resets the clock in my opinion.

[Northern Guy]

One month, you started in the job 4 years ago and as it's less than 5 years either owes the other one month. The promotion was a new job and resets the clock in my opinion.

OK thanks. But will my notice period due to my employer grow, as theirs does to me, if I remain longer than 5 years in this post and beyond? And do you agree it appears asymmetric and therefore unusual?

[ULA]

You need to go back to the promotion contract to check what is says about the date of your continuous employment is. My opinion, since you are still employed by the same company albeit in a promoted capacity, is that your continuous employment commences from when you first started with the company, that is normal.

What is stated in the contract at the notice period from your employer as being a month initially and then from 5-12 years increasing by one week per year of service is the statutory notice period requirment which is a maxiumum of 12 week after 12 years service.

The notice period that is appears you have to give is one calendar month. This is not unusual.

[Northern Guy]

ULA - thanks for that. Elsewhere the contract just says:

Your period of continuous employment for the purposes of your statutory employment rights will began
on

(followed by original date well over 12 years ago)

So you see the 5 to 12 week escalator as just a restatement of statutory (i.e. Redundancy situation) notice due from the Employer, around a basic One Month either way contract? A chance remark from my Boss recently suggested he thought all his staff of my rank were on 3 month notice contracts due to their importance to the Company. I did not pass comment, historically 3 month notice contracts weren't common in this Company as Redundancy used to happen quite regularly and the Company back then just didn't want to increase its costs when doing so, I suspect.

But it would seem there's nothing in this contract to mean I'd need to give the Company anything more than one month?

[ULA]

Yes the notice as swt out from the compamy is the statutory notice requirements

From what you have posted up then all you are required to give is one month's notice. It may be that it should have been increased to three months at the tine of your promotion but if so it seems this was overlooked and your notice period remainds unchanged.

[Northern Guy]

OK thanks for confirming my suspicions, I will not rush to correct their oversight.