One-month notice for resignation can be waived upon agreement of both parties

I have given one month's written notice to my employer and they verbally confirmed to waive the remaining 20 days or so of my notice. I have received another offer and I need to join immediately after I finish my notice period here. Should I simply stop going to work or should I first get written approval about the waiver and ask them to process my cancellation? Assuming they did not give it to me in writing and I completed the 30 days of notice, am I still bound to work more to avoid any absconding charges? SM, Sharjah

For anyone on a standard unlimited contract, 30 days’ notice is required to end employment, but that can be waived with the agreement of both parties. I would advise SM to get this confirmed in a formal letter from the company. If employment is terminated early, the usual formalities still apply and the company must pay SM any monies that are due in terms of salary, days of annual leave accrued and not taken, and any end of service gratuity that may be payable. The company must also process the cancellation of the employment visa and this should be done before employment is taken up with another company. If the notice period is reduced with the employer’s agreement, there would not be an absconding issue and such cases are only registered when an employee leaves service without the approval of the company. If for any reason the employer decides that the full notice period must be worked after all, then SM must turn up for work as normal.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 20 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE.

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only.

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