I work as a developer at a relatively large company. I recently started applying for some PhD positions (not related to my company's field), as I feel that might be a better fit for me. My employer could make me happier, but I really cannot complain - the reason for leaving is my interest in research, not dissatisfaction with my current position.
When putting reference contacts together, I thought it would look bad on my application if I didn't have anyone from my current company (I've been here for just over 3 years) to recommend me, so I asked my line manager if he'd agree to be named as a reference contact.
I was hesitant to do so because I didn't want to show my hand too early, but I did it anyway. The two of us had a meeting about it and I made it clear that I intended to give my notice as soon as I got a suitable offer, and that there was nothing management could do to keep me. My manager then said that higher management will probably be willing to keep me only for a month or so. While not impossible, I probably won't get an offer within that time, so that would leave me without income at a critical time.
Legally, they cannot let me go without sufficient reason (which they don't have), so I might be in for some guilt-tripping because they cannot depend on me for upcoming long-term projects. That's an understandable issue, and I can empathize, but I don't feel it's in any way my responsibility.
I'm currently not crucial in any ongoing projects, but I don't expect them to pay me for sitting around - there are plenty of small tasks which could be done on current projects and I can make myself useful.
In anticipation of a follow-up meeting, I should know which stance to take. My line manager told me he wouldn't mention this higher up until after our follow-up meeting - which is shortly before theirs, AFAIK, so maybe there is still time to adjust course.
How should I make it clear that, while I want to stay with the company until I get an offer, I won't give in to the guilt trips, but without getting confrontational? I would also like to avoid having to resort to legal action. Finally, I think there's a big difference between going to another company and going to a non-industrial PhD position - how could I argue that to management, other than hey, why not support science?