dunroving

Actually yes, they would. Higher education is a bit different from business. In fact, you usually have more than 12 months' notice if your contract will not be renewed (e.g., if you don't qualify for tenure). Even in situations where your job is canceled (e.g., due to state or university budget problems, or you are in a non-tenured position and they decide to change the job description), you'd get several months' notice usually.

Probably the only way you'd get less notice would be if you were fired for gross misconduct.

SimonG

Funnily enough last summer I had finally had enough of my family being miserable so I agreed to return, the wife and kids returned to the UK and I was left to sort things out. I didn't really want to go back but enough was enough. So I thought I would have a word (a quiet word) with my boss at work to let them know the situation and to let them know over the next 2-3 months I would be handing in my notice. Within 30 minutes of having this conversation I was in a meeting and my boss just happened to be there and she turned round and told everybody there and then that I was leaving. I was a little pissed about it as I had stressed it was confidential. In the end my wife changed her mind, I was happy, had a word with the boss again and she was happy. This time round I'm ready for being back in the UK and I will be ensuring that my boss gets my written notice two weeks before I leave and nobody will know anything until then.

Also just to respond to something earlier in this thread about Canadian Patriotism, and before I say what I am going to say this is not a dig at Canadians, but I get a feeling that it's not so much patriotism but more of a fear of losing their roots or heritage. There a number of houses in my street and neighbourhood that proudly fly the Canadian flag at the front of the house. I say all well and good, but why?

nun

I agree in eduaction or academia the conventions are different and longer notice is often given. Academic/research contracts are very different from commercial ones. Right now I'm at a university and they have to give me 1 years notice of termination (unless I do something awful to break the contract) so I would also given them multiple months notice of my leaving. University contracts of employment are often liked to fixed term grants whearas many commercial companies now "employ at will" ie the employer or employee can terminate the employment at (usually) 2 weeks notice and there doesn't have to be a reason. Of course the employer must comply with any state or federal employment laws, so you carn't be sacked for getting pregnant, being gay etc.

Phoenixuk2oz

Actually nun, short severence timescales are not always the case in commercial

It probably depends at what level a person is within commercial or what role. often [as in my case] a contract states a minimum 6 months notice, a prefrence of 12. However in practice it's difficult to work to these timescales.

The final decision is normally based on what's commercially viable i.e how much damage is caused by extending severence or letting go, and weighing up the pro's/cons and commercial risk either way. Normally both parties compromise with Garden leave and / or a golden handshake. That way the transaction suits both parties and is less about emotion, more about the practicalities of a severed working relationship.

Both parties look after their own interests and cut the best deal that suits themselves. Hence my original advice to dunrovin...i.e do what's best for yourself and family, with discretion ...and with no comeback regarding your job

nun

If you are in a senior mamagement position I can see that there might be a longer than 2 weeks notice stipulated. However, for the vast majority of people the 2 weeks notice is appropriate. What I've noticed is that with the ease of firing and hiring that's now the norm in the US most people don't even think about giving more notice and what I've seen done is to give 2 weeks notice and then take 2 weeks vacation immediately. Also if you resign many companies will give you 2 weeks severance and ask you to leave that day as they don't want you staying on as you won't be exactly invested in the job anymore and other employees might catch the resignation bug once you tell them what a great new job you've got.

Phoenixuk2oz

Agree. Senior Management severence is normaly longer.

BTW: I'm surprised it's so easy to dismiss people in US? I was lead to believe there was a process to follow, very much like UK

nun

The ease of firing really depends on your contract. For small to medium companies (less that 1000 employees) the contracts tend to be "at will" and they are negotiated on an individual basis, ie there are usually no unions. This makes it easy for US companies to lay people off in bad times and rehire when things pick up again. This obviously has benefits for the company, but many times individual employees get screwed as US companies often take advantage of easy firing. I left my last company as I got fed up with the way they dealt with people. They hired a PhD physicist who'd been unemployed for over a year. I didn't recommed his hiring as he was a bit too theoretical and the company was a very applied physics place, so they hired him against my advice. He worked there for 4 months and I thought he was adapting well and showing a lot of enthusiasm, but then I was told that he as going to be "let go" as he wasn't contributing sufficiently. Its another example of the American tendancy to want things to be easy and fast, so I resigned about 3 months later as I'd become totaly jaded and wanted to get back into academia.