I have recently accepted an offer for a new role and they want me to start on the 18th July.
I am currently in an extended probation period until 17th July. The wording in my contract states:
Notice Period:
During the probationary period - 1 week by either party
13 weeks to 4 years continuous service - 12 weeks by employee/4 weeks by employer
I am currently over 13 weeks but still in my probationary period, my salary is ~55k pa.
I have known the company for a while and I feel bad knowing I have a new job and knowing they are not looking at recruiting. I know I should not but I have a lot of good friends there and they have been good to me, it's just purely the line manager I cannot get along with and there is no one else I can report to. It is a small company with 30 staff.
So I have 3 questions:
Am I still in my probation period technically? I have an officially headed letter or does that now not matter as I am past the 13 weeks?
I have my suspicions that this letter was written by my line manager only without their boss's consent (The CEO who is also HR), I do not think the CEO knows my probation is extended, I think this was a trick for me to respect my manager's authority more as they are very much a "Do what I tell you even if it compromises your role" boss.If I did give 4 weeks' notice, could they then just give me one week's notice even though I handed in my notice first and am trying to be nice? I do not want to suddenly be without 3 weeks' pay.
If I gave 1 week's notice, could they try and say I should have given 12 and am in breach of contract? I know they need to prove I am losing them money by leaving that quickly but I understand this is a long and difficult process for them to prove.
I really do not know what is the best option here. My heart tells me to give them 4 weeks' notice and be nice and hopefully, they will be nice back as I do have project work to finish. But my brain is telling me to give them the minimum of 1 week's notice and move on.
Any help appreciated.