Leaving A Job To Study Full Time (Help!)

[Luke__36]

Here is my dilemma – I currently work full time as a purchase ledger clerk (deliberate absence of capitalization there), but have decided to begin a full-time degree in September of this year, a decision which is the end result of close to a year of deliberation and reasoning. I am very much looking forward to this, and believe that I am putting myself in a position to achieve something worthwhile during my time on the planet. Optimistic as I am, there is the small matter of leaving my current job, which is of course something that I need to take very, very seriously. It has been made clear in the past that the position is strictly full-time, so the possibility of me taking on a part-time role during my studies is almost non-existent. So, I have the task of deciding when it is best to announce my departure. The required notice period is one month, and the few people that I have sought advice from so far have urged me, usually rather manically, that under no circumstances should you ever give any more notice than is needed, meaning that I should wait until the last minute and then suddenly spring the fact that I have been planning to begin a degree for the past year on them. The whole thing is contaminated with guilt, but I hope to convince you that I am being sincere in my belief that I am doing the right thing, and that I should make the announcement right away: first of all, waiting until August to hand in my notice would mean lying at several junctures over the next few months. For instance, I’m pretty sure that the company will begin taking bookings for the Christmas party soon, and having attended the past two years, people will, naturally and innocently, enquire if I were to decline. I’m ok with simply not speaking about my intentions, but I would feel that I had somehow ‘crossed over’ if I were to begin actively giving out misinformation. Second, would the company not be grateful that I would have given them ample time to find and train a replacement? In my naivety, it seems that it would be advantageous from their point of view to transition rather than replace. Perhaps there could even be a small handover period. Third and finally – holiday. Becoming a student for a few years means that I am probably not going to be doing much vacationing for a long time. I am planning to go away for my birthday in August, for which I believe I have enough holiday left to cover. If I were to announce my departure now, would they still allow this, or are you expected to surrender your time off as soon as you make it known that you are leaving? I would be happy to stay until mid-September when the degree begins if I were able to get this time off, but I am beginning to consider giving August as my leaving date if they do not allow it. What I do know is that giving my one-month notice and asking for a holiday in the same meeting would not go down very well, and it seems to me that they are more likely to grant me it if I show that I am not leaving out of spite, and want to do my best to keep things running smoothly until I do. Again, I must stress that this seems to reasonable to me, and if anything I have written seems arrogant or selfish, know that it is certainly not intended that way, and I have deliberately come to you for help first so that you may correct me before I go marching into my Managers’ office (she doesn’t actually have an office as she sits directly opposite me, but you know what I mean). I do feel that I have sacrificed some of the most important years of my life sitting at this desk, so I do not feel ashamed about wanting to claim something back at the end of it (yet).


Thank you in advance,

Luke

[factor-fiction]

I think I would let them know earlier than August but I can see that there is a small risk associated with that.
As far as your holidays are concerned, if you have earned them you keep them. It's up to them whether they make you take them before you leave or make you work throughout and pay you for any holidays due at the end

[boxtops]

If I were you, I would tell them now - you can give more than the minimum notice. This will give them plenty of time to replace you. Do you have an HR department, where you could discuss your options? Your holiday will be pro rata from the start of your holiday year until the date you leave - if you are owed any at the time of leaving, that could (depending on your contract) be paid, or taken before your leave date (so you actually depart the company after your leave period).