Switching jobs during notice period

Generally, notice period clause will be a fixed time or salary equivalent to the notice period time in lieu of the notice period. Is it not in that way in your appointment letter.

For any reason, the management wants you to go. they can give you a notice asking you to leave the company on so and so date after completing your notice period. Some companies pay you the salary of that notice period and relieve you on the spot.

In the same way, the candidate can also ask for relieving him early and he has to pay money for the notice period salary. For example, your notice period is one month. But you want to get relieved after 7 days. That means you want to get relieved 3 weeks before the notice period is completed. Then you have to pay money to the company equivalent to the 3 weeks salary and you can get relieved. Only basic salary is taken into account and not the total salary.

But some companies may not insist to wait till the notice period is over. So take up the matter with the HR department of your company and explain the situation and then they will do the needful.

As your new recruiter is insisting you to join within a week, you tell him that You have to pay so and so amount to your present company and request for reimbursement of the same. Many companies will oblige.

Notice period in a company gives time to employer for searching a replacement of the existing employee, who is about to leave, and an employee to hand over the overall charge like files, documents, information etc. to the department.

Legally you will have to serve one month notice period with the current employer and there will be some clause in your job agreement. It may be serving one month notice period or surrender salary of one month. On failing to follow the rules of the agreement, your current employer is free to legally sue you.

But as you have already faced interview with some other employers and got offer from big company. Now there are two options:

1. You can negotiate with your current employer. You can talk to your employer and can explain them your situation and can also request for early relieving like one week or 2 week. Further, you can ensure them that you will do work honestly and hard and will handed over all the documents and information to the new or existing employee sincerely. Your employee may allow for early relieving as it will save their time and money also.
But I think doing conversation with the current employer might be risky to some extent because, you have not signed agreement with new employer yet. You may be fired by your current employer on hearing about new job offer and you never know about new employer.

2. You can talk to your new employer about the notice period of current job. May be they extend your joining or they may surrender one month salary to your current employer on your behalf.

You should think carefully and talk to your colleague and HR department about it. However, already you have an offer in your hand and if you want to join the new job, you can talk to head of the Department or HR department and also you can give a shorter notice period and leave the job earlier.

Read the terms and conditions thoroughly as mentioned in your appointment- letter, if it is one month notice period, it means both the parties( yourself and the Management) are at their liberties to relinquish the existing responsibilities with the payment of one month basic salary. It would be applicable for both the parties.
In your case, you have been asked by new the employer to join within a week, you can meet the personnel department of the present employer to reconsider your case on compassionate ground so as to relieve with the proportionate payment of the remaining weeks. In your case, it will be the tune of three weeks for which the payment of the basic will be made. Process will be easier in case you do have a good rapport with the bosses of the department. They will facilitate in the process of your relieving.
The other approach would be to ask the new employer to extend your period of joining to some more time say a month or a time as suggested by your present employer. If the new employer is need of your service they will accede to your demand. In fact, before being relieved, you need to submit all your documents to your Boss, any material procured from the stores or any book if issued from the library is to be returned.
A good relationship with the workforce including your colleagues and bosses will hasten the process of your relieving.

When you are working in an organisation then you are having a contract with them that you will be working under certain terms and condition on getting a payment of a fixed renumeration. Generally there will be a clause in the agreement or contract that one has to give one month notice or one month salary in lieu of it. Hence, this condition is to be met in all cases of leaving the organisation. So yo have to give them a notice for a shorter period and deposit the proportionate salary amount for the period that you are pre-poning your separation. It will be better to talk to your current boss about this and many times company may not insist for deposit of the salary or part salary in case of early exit.

You can also explore the possibility of getting some extension in the new job for joining and if it is so you need not to forego your salary or part salary in the present organisation.

The situation has to be handled smoothly and without rubbing wrong edges.
If your current employer is a small orgnisation (and not a large organisation) and If you have a good name and well wishing support from your bosses and colleagues, you can tell them about the matter and request them to relieve you within a few days Only if they assure that you submit resignation. Usually people try to help especially when someone leaves on a better prospect. You can offer to remit one month's salary i lieu of the notice period.
But if the superiors insist that you will be releieved only after one month notice period , then you have only very risky alternative.
You can try the risky way only if youare sure that that will not affect your job in the new organisation. That organisation should not have a condition or code that if you were employed elsewhere you should produce relieving letter. They should not inssit on a releieving letter or NOC from previous employer.
If that is assured you may subitresignation at the current job, remit one month's emoluments through proper banking channels, send resignation letter and information of having remitted salary by registerd post . Put it clearly in the resignation a request to relieve you as on so-and-so date , waivingthe one month notice period , as a special case due to urgency. Personally request any well wisher boss to see that you are not harassed afterwards.
Then simple leave and join the new job.
But that is a risky attempt. That wil succeed only if the new employer stands with you and support you. Because if the previous employerwants, they can proceed legally. That should not affect your new job.
Think all these and decide.

Normally it is not correct to leave before the completion of notice period. So far you have served the gratitude should be there. If you are very particular to leave without notice period you have to pay one month salary in lieu of notice period.

It's the most common practice that instead of the agreement signed in between the employer and the employee having certain terms and conditions, most of them are negotiable which depends upon the necessities and the circumstances of either sides. Suppose that if the company doesn't feel that they need you anymore then they simply convey this through the HR but the exception could be whether you are given with the notice period or you just need to leave. In such scenario, the employee has less or no options as the company with huge resources wouldn't give you much space to hide. But suppose that the situation is just opposite to the above than again you don't have much space to work with.

The company having with the good back-up for the jobs wouldn't intend to keep you for long but for the companies having with the less resources wouldn't want to give early reliving till the time they feel to have the replacement.

So what I feel that in your present situation, you make a request to the management for early relief and for that you can make certain personal excuses which often have worked with others. But on overall the final decision would lie on the management side and I don't want you to show any impatience or short tempered kind of attitude or else things wouldn't go right with you.

Pl. note that without agreeing if the employee leave the job or do switching to some other companies than the original company can land you in lawsuit and the other company may lose its brand name or market image and therefore it's important to note that without FNF (Full & Final settlement) and without proper reliving letter no other company would accept such employees.

In a concern wherein, "The new company says that they cannot change my joining date as they're requirements are completely based on project requirements", can be negotiated depends on your candidature and how diplomatically you handle it. Best of luck.