Nah. We got on fine. We stayed in touch after and I had open invites to visit her at whichever country she happened to be Canada's ambassor at the time.

What she wanted to do once she knew I was leaving was to convert my position into two new positions. She couldn't do it with me still in the chair. Sacking me would have been nigh-on impossible (there were no grounds for doing so). Redundancy would have been nice for me but pointless for her because it would have been the position that became redundant, and the funding with it. No public servant throws away budget.

I'm pretty sure she leant on the immigration guys, though.

When I interviewed for my last job in the UK, I explained that if I was in the process of applying for emigrating, and if I were offered the job, it would be a matter of maybe 12-18 months before I would be leaving (all being well).

I explained that I had been working in a very small niche area, and wanted some wider recent experience to help with my job-hunt when I got to Canada.

I was offered the job anyway, with all this being on the table, and yet my boss still seemed really surprised when I did hand in my notice. I only needed to give one month, but I think I told them as soon as we had the visas and were able to make definite plans to go.

It never crossed my mind that it would be detrimental to put my cards on the table, but I would have understood perfectly if they had decided not to hire me under those circumstances and I wanted to be fair to them!

I warned my company that I had been offered a job in Canada and that I have accepted their offer. Problem was I still don't have an exact date to go out (sub contractor for a year) was told end of September. Then got a phone call recently from the firm saying that it has been put back a month because of legal hold-ups with transportation of the "mega loads" through Idaho.

I've been with my company for close to 14years and felt I should show them some respect and atleast pre-warn them ... Biggest mistake I could have done ... I'm due close to 21 days holidays left for this year and was told as of monday (19th Sept) I was to take 3 weeks off as they didn't want to pay me for the holidays that I'm due.

Needless to say I'm actually hating every minute I have to endure in that place now. I just want a phonecall ASAP to say that I'm going to Alberta at the middle to late Oct.

Sorry about that but it illustrates what has been said.
Don't think honesty and loyalty will be reciprocated by a company.

I'm not suggesting you should say daft things on the internet, all I'm saying is it's not as big of a deal as is often made out. Certainly in my job I have come across fake profiles, or even more common are people with the same name. Lots of people for example think I'm dead because two people with the exact same name as me and birthdays within a couple of months have died and their obituaries are on the web and one of them did the same job as me.

As for your reference, the reference has to be factually based otherwise that can land you in legal trouble also. So if you confront someone and they deny it, without any evidence to prove otherwise giving a bad reference on that basis would be on very dodgy ground also. Giving bad references is always very dubious unless the person was actually dismissed for cause, and I've got to say you're a galactic idiot to put someone down as a referee who you think might give you a bad one anyway.

a) Since references for work are confidential you do not necessarily get to see your reference before the damage is done.
b) Factual it may be, but it isn't necessarily saying bad things about you that scuppers your chances of a job, but omitting all the good things. No-one can force an employer to mention those things if they choose not to even though they are true.
c) Not everyone has had a string of jobs from which to choose their referees. Any employer will probably think it is a bit odd if you do not give your most recent employer as a referee.

I think it is galactically naive to think that bosses are always fair or follow the rules.

Well thankfully I received great recommendations from my current employer and to be honest I should. I have never messed them around and have always gave them a full days hard work.

They however have started this funny business since I informed them of my plans which really has begun to annoy me now.

It depends on who gives the reference and if they're going to be a pratt and infer something from the web they can't prove then they're a pratt and it's as simple as that. Whenever I give references all I do is say they worked here from date x to y, their job responsibilities were x and they were never subject to disciplinary procedures (unless they were). With all the litigation that can happen around it you have to be careful what you put down.

At the end of the day this is a discussion about how stupid people are, and you can't stop people from being stupid, trust me I've tried. If you're stupid enough to go around saying to stupid people that your employer is stupid then by definition you are stupid.

Different businesses require different things from a reference.

In some a simple report such as you have indicated is all that is ever given, but in my business that is far from the case.
It is expected for a previous employer to wax lyrical about you and actually state that they are making a positive recommendation.
Anything else is considered a negative by omission.

I'm not sure I get what you are trying to say in your last sentence.

This isn't about people being stupid.
We were discussing whether it is sensible to reveal that you plan to emigrate before you are ready to resign.

Some people seem to treat their employer as if they are a friend and that is a mistake.
An employer is not a mate or close friend, they are a business and their decisions should be made on business principles, not personal ones.

In such a situation, it is best to keep your own counsel until you are in a position to resign formally.

Remember, the notice period is set by the company and therefore has been considered by them as sufficient time to find a suitable replacement for you.
An employee need not feel they are being in any way mean or disloyal to their company by doing this.
If you were looking for another job in the UK you wouldn't tell your employer until you had it in the bag, so why do it in the emigration plan scenario?

I think that fact that some people have thought that they are on safe ground nd that they are doing their employer a favour by telling them sooner than strictly necessary but then discovered that they have been disadvantaged in some way after this has been revealed shows that even if you think you would be alright to do so, you may be proved wrong.

Why risk it?

I agree.

In my case I took 6 months unpaid leave. They knew I was going out to Canada but I had the option to return within the 6 months to take up my position again.

Needless to say, I sent a resignation letter from Canada a few days before my 6 months were up.

It's easy to be cynical, but sometimes it's worth taking a punt on your employer if you've got a good relationship with them and you are moderately competent at what you do. This is my employment story:-

Late 2004 -
Me: I'm emigrating to Canada, I need a reference.
Boss: When's this gonna happen?
Me: God knows, a few years maybe [visas where taking min 2.5 years at the time].
Boss: Speak to HR, they'll sort you one out.

Early 2005 -
Me: We've just outsourced some work to Bangkok. I fancy a few years there - can I go too?
Boss: Sure.

Mid 2007 -
Me: (In Bangkok) My Visa has arrived, I'm off to Vancouver next year when my assignment here runs out.
Boss: Ok.

Early 2008 -
Boss: We've just acquired an office in Vancouver - you want to work for us, but from there?
Me: Ok.

I now realize how much this honesty paid off, and how much of a massive favour my employer actually did for me when they offered the transfer. Without the transfer I would have had to find work and I consider work in my field very poorly paid here (as an aside, private sector wages in BC seem generally shit for mere minions like me - I'm surprised anybody wants to come here unless they are going into the public sector).

Well we were discussing whether it's a good idea to go yapping about your employer on the internet and thereby pissing them off, which I agree is stupid, but my experience is that it's not as big of a deal as some people make out.