notice period

[ziggy]

If i was offered a job and need to start asap how do i stand with regard to lack of notice?

My contracts say i would give 4weeks. Would could parents do if i was unable to do this?

[miffy]

Sue you for loss of earnings if they had to have time off work due to lack of childcare.

I'd phone your insurers for advice before you do anything.

Good luck with the new job

Miffy xx

[mama2three]

I would think that at a push they could sue you for loss of earnings unfortunately. If you could find alternative childcare which could start straight away maybe this would help and they would be happy to accept less notice.
I think 4 weeks is reasonable to tell your new employer though - most employees would need to give 4 weeks notice too so even if you were in another job just now you couldnt start any sooner iyswim. Your new employer will probably expect this.

[Erika]

This would be a very clear breach of contract for which they could claim against you in the small claims court.

The breach in itself is enough to submit a claim but if they are minded to seek legal advice and get someone good, they would be advised to claim all manner of costs. These could include loss of earnings, costs of seeking alternative childcare (this can be physical costs such as the cost of phone calls in addition to cost for time spent), the cost of deposits on new childcare and their legal fees. That's not to say that all of those costs would be awarded, it would depend on the claim but they are just some of the costs that a good legal advisor would seek on their behalf.

If you are not in the situation now but may be in the not too distant future, the only way to protect yourself would be to do a contract review with a shorter notice period that you can stick to.

[The Juggler]

agree with above. you have a contractual duty to give them this time to find alternative care hon.

what you CAN do though is tell them would they like to finish earlier than that? if not, there is not much you can do :(

can't your new job wait? most people would have to give a few weeks notice it seems very unreasonable of them