I have been just today offered a new role with a great firm, interesting placement and shed loads more cash.I have a contractually-stated notice period. I hate my job slightly less than I hate my manager and almost as much as I hate this project.I want to leave yesterday. I am paid one month retrospectively and know that if I leave on the spot I can kiss almost 2 months worth of pay and expenses goodbye. However, I hold an ace up my sleeve - I have a lot of material which will need to be "handed over" to the poor sucker taking my position as well as the main day to day client relationship.My new employer is more than happy to take me on immediately and does not consider leaving my current position without notice a bad thing. They want and need me now. I am going in on Friday afternoon to sign the paperwork. While I don’t think they will, I can always go ahead and sign the paperwork and see if they shaft me because of my actions before I officially give notice.While I am considering staying until the next pay day (27th) I figure that if they don't give me all of my money they can kiss goodbye all of the project work to date. I have no issue burning the bridge and the month's pay and expenses will be quickly recouped.Have you been in a similar bind?What would you do if you were in my shoes?

It sounds like you're operating in a slightly different environment than some people might be familiar with. Could you clarify:* Which country/legal jurisdication you are working in?* What is your contractual relationship with your current firm? For example, are you working as an employee, as an associate, or as an independent consultant?* What is your contractual notice period? I.e. how much notice do you have to give on your side to end your current contract?* What is the nature of your job offer? E.g. is it for a permanent job, limited contract, associate contract or a contract with your personal company (i.e. you'll be working as an independent consultant)?

UKPermanent employeeOne calendar monthPermanent employee

Thanks for the clarification.If in your shoes I would do the following (in this order):1) Confirm how much holiday leave you have used/remaining.2) Sign and return the contract for the new job and make sure you have a copy of it.3) Hand in your resignation letter in person. Keep the letter very brief and formal. Make sure the letter is dated, state that you are giving notice with effect from that date, and request to forfeit your notice period. This would allow you leave immediately without breaching your contract. The reason for handing over the letter in person is so you can briefly explain to your manager that you have an opportunity to start elsewhere immediately, wish to take it and reassure them that you will be able to make suitable provisions to enable someone else to take over your work (NB. this has to be true to work).4) Confirm your departure date. If your request to leave immediately is turned down, you can still request to put your remaining leave towards an earlier departure date. Again, you remain within the terms of your contract but can leave earlier. Get your departure date in writing.5) Confirm your start date for the new firm. Although you'll technically still be under contract with your old employer for the period when your holiday leave is in effect, you should be able to start your new job during that time without any problems.* Leaving in an amenable manner is the best idea, even if it is very tempting to ditch the job asap. The idea is not to burn bridges - for example, even if right now you can't imagine wanting to come back, the people you work with could transfer to the new firm and end up working with you again.* It's also important not to breach your contract because references generally will check your last two employers as a matter of course. So when you move on from the firm you are going to now, a diagreeable departure could come round and bite you.* Sounds obvious, but make sure you get everything in writing, from both your old and new employers, to avoid getting caught in the middle.* Here's how the holiday thing works if it's not clear. Assume you have a 25 day per year holiday entitlement, a holiday year running 1/1-31/12 and haven't used any of this year's entitlement, then assume that you resign tomorrow (so your contractual last day is 20 May). 4.333 months worked /12 months in the year x 25 days annual entitlement = 9.72 days holiday you can ask to take off your effective departure date. That's pretty much two weeks (10 working days) so you halve your notice period.

Normally I would say that you could get away with walking out and not giving notice, but if you're likely to leave a client in the lurch (particularly if you're seen to be "holding them hostage" by threatening not to hand over deliverables) you could find yourself without a final paycheque at best, and facing the business end of a lawsuit at worst.The consulting world is a very small place and people have long memories. As tempting as it is to chuck it all straight away, one month is not that long. See if you can negotiate a shorter notice period (as per the message above) but don't leave on bad terms.

Oh yes, should have said, holding onto materials is a huge no-no. If you do that as an employee, besides getting sued, potential criminal proceedings, and generating huge ill-will, your resignation would be invalidated by your dismissal for gross misconduct. That would be a problem for future employment. Even your new employer could turn around and retract the offer on the basis that it was always contingent on satisfactory references.

never burn your bridges (unless you win the lottery). people have a habit of turning up later in your career.A short resignation note thanking them for the opportunity and wishing them well will suffice. State in the letter when you plan to leave and how much holiday etc you have remaining. Offer to go asap or go on gardening leave. New job can wait a few weeks however good it is.

Psee, that is one of the most lucid and informative messages to ever hit this board. Thank you!I have to agree on leaving on good terms. I left Accenture, I was not that happy with the firm or individuals within it, hence the move. Within the first year of my new employment I have worked for an old colleague (who moved to industry) and with several members of my old department. Your old colleagues will leave the firm too, but will take the lingering memory of your conduct with them. You never know when this will come back to bite you on the bum!I do know of several old ACN managers who are on unofficial 'do not employ' lists from ex colleauges who went industry side, so you never know what might happen...

Once you get your resignation out of the way, things always start to look better because* You're no longer stressing about how to resign, whether people will suspect you're leaving, etc.* You're no longer under pressure to perform - nobody expects you to spend your notice period working particularly hard, so they're much more impressed by any effort you do put in* People start to realise how much information is carried around in your head and you're the centre of attention for knowledge transfer* Office conversations become more interesting - you have something to look forward to in your new job, people who may be thinking of leaving themselves are interested how you found your new job and whether your new employer is looking for anyone else, the avid networkers spot an opportunity to link to another firm and want to get your contact details for future reference, and so on.

There's some excellent advice in here. Your new employer cannot make their offer of employment conditional on you breaking the law by not honouring the terms of your existing contract. So get your new contract signed.Thereafter I would approach your current employer and make it clear you would like to leave ASAP, whilst handing over matters in a professional manner. Most consulting firms will be loathe to have a consultant hanging around who's talking to colleagues about the great new role they've secured, whose heart is not in the job anymore and who is probably leaving the office at 5pm every night. This is just bad for morale and most firms I know would want to manage you out professionally in such a scenario.Good luck with the move in any case!Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com

One other observation to add: as an MC you spend your time developing your professional credibility, behaving in a professional manner, and doing the best (presumably) by your clients and colleagues. Given that the experiene you have gained in your current firm has contributed to your obtaining the new, great role, can you not extend a little of that professionalism and courtesy to your current firm and serve the few weeks of your notice should you be required to do so? Top Cons is right - you will be put on gardening leave anyway, but its a shame to besmirch your efforts by not behaving in a credible (not to mention creditable) manner.

Apologies, I meant to acknowledge the advice from Tony, not Top Consultant, in the previous post.

I know... TTC's just out to confuse.

I'm not looking to confuse anybody. However, I think I'll change my name to avoid any possible misunderstandings. From now on I'll be posting as "The Senior Vice President". Please remind me if I accidentally slip back into using my old handle from time to time. Thanks.