Notice Period Definition
The notice period, in simpler words, is the period between the date of resignation and the last working day of an employee. Notice period varies from company to company.
When employees decide to leave, HR managers are responsible to make sure they have a smooth exit experience.
Do you know that there are different types of notice periods as well? If not, you are yet to get a clear understanding of this common concept.
Let’s dive in and explore everything about the employee notice period together!
Here, we will discuss:
What is Notice Period?
Let’s start with the notice period meaning!
A notice period is a specified period that an employee must work for the company before s/he leaves.
While some companies ask their employees to work for just a week, others require a notice period of more than a month. It completely changes from employer to employer.
The notice period is important for both employers and employees alike. While it gives time for employers to find a good replacement, employees, on the other hand, get a chance to get done with all their pending duties. We will discuss this in brief in the next section!
Why Do Companies Require Employees to Serve Notice Period?
There are a few reasons why serving notice period is important for employers, let’s talk about them one by one!
First things first, companies have enough time to find a suitable candidate who can replace the resigning employee. This, in turn, will also help the employee to leave without any pressure or issue.
Secondly, it helps employees to work and complete any important tasks without fail and smoothly transfer their duties and assets accordingly.
Third, the notice period also benefits HR professionals. They also get plenty of time to complete the required paperwork and formalities from their end.
In essence, it is a win-win for everyone in the organization.
Different Types of Notice Periods
Take a look at the three types of notice periods you must be aware of:
Statutory Notice Period
A statutory notice period is a legal requirement wherein companies are obligated to give written notice to a working individual before terminating him/her. Now, the length of this type of notice period often differs based on the country, the employment type of the employee, and the law.
Contractual Notice Period
A contractual notice period is the amount of time that both parties agree to give each other to let the other know that they want to end the contract. This way, both the employer and the employee get the gap to make necessary arrangements. This type of notice period used to be longer than those of statutory notice periods.
Zero-Hour Notice Periods
This means that the company is not legally required to give the employee a certain number of hours. Legally, the employment contract with the employee can be broken anytime. Even though zero-hour notice periods do not have to follow formal notice rules, it’s still a good idea for companies and contract employees to agree to one whenever they can.
Role of HR in Employee Notice Period
As an HR professional, you must:
Create Clear Policies
First things first, you should design a transparent policy for the employee notice period. While doing the same, make sure that the warning period is fair and compliant with the laws.
Communicate to Employees
Just creating the policy is not enough. You should make sure that every employee has a clear understanding of the notice period rules outlined in the policy. The best time to do this is, of course, at the onboarding process of employees. Just in case you missed doing it then, you can communicate it before their notice period starts.
Support the Transition
Employees usually have a lot of queries/confusion related to the notice period. In such a scenario, HR managers are the ones who are responsible to help them. Schedule a meeting and sit with them to discuss the issues they are facing or the doubts they have in their minds. This, in turn, will ensure a smooth transition for everyone.
Do Exit Interviews
For the uninitiated, an exit interview is an official meeting between an employer/HR professional and an employee who is leaving the company. In most companies, the human resources department is in charge of conducting such interviews and getting feedback from the employees. With the help of the exit interview, you can find out why the employee is going and find ways that the company can improve along the way.
Voila! We have covered everything about the notice period.
Utilize all the aforementioned information to build an effective notice period policy for your organization to ensure a seamless transition for everyone. To make things easier, you can rely on HROne as well. With HROne, you can carry out any and every process related to offboarding with ease.