I'm an American looking to hire developers in the EU for one of our business units. I've been absolutely astonished by European employment 'contracts' that require a 3 month (!) or longer (!!) notice period to quit a job. It's difficult for me to understand how this isn't indentured servitude, especially in a region known for its stronger labor protections than the US. Here in America employees customarily put in 2-3 weeks of notice, maybe 4- but it's purely a courtesy, and technically the employee could leave literally anytime they want.
A contract stating that you're not allowed to leave without 3 months of notice seems extraordinarily restrictive. (What happens if you ignore it?) I can't imagine how a future employer can wait a full quarter to just hire someone- so this must greatly restrict labor mobility and hence wages. How is this legal, in the famously pro-labor EU?
With great variations between member states. Germany has long notice periods, Greece has as short as 2 weeks notice.
> how this isn't indentured servitude
Labour law extends similar protections to employees. A long notice period simply levels the playing fields by returning some protection to employers. That's why in the EU there aren't mass layoffs like in the US right now, or riots, or mass shootings.
> (What happens if you ignore it?)
Maybe nothing, depends on how litigious the employer is. Usually a shorter notice period can be negotiated, eg. by agreeing to some un/pre-paid post-departure consulting for the previous employer.
> I can't imagine how a future employer can wait a full quarter
It's about planning. I wouldn't want to work for an employer who is hiring in panic because they haven't foreseen labour needs. I'd be afraid that they'd let me go as easily as they have hired me.
> so this must greatly restrict labor mobility
Yes
> and hence wages
That is why you are trying to hire in Europe, aren't you?
> How is this legal, in the famously pro-labor EU?
Because it is literally the law.
Has this person ever been to France or Greece?
> mass shootings
In foreign countries without second amendment rights criminals just ram trucks into people instead. Since no guns are involved, these don't get reported as "mass shootings", not that it would bring any comfort to the victims and their families.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Nice_truck_attack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Berlin_truck_attack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Toronto_van_attack
> Because it is literally the law.
Ha, fair enough. I believe OP meant to ask and should have asked something along the lines of: "How is this the law in the famously pro-labor EU?"
In the EU country I live in employees have 30 days of notice and the employee has to pay the employer for each missing day of required notice. Employees generally don't pay anything anyway, as they mature several additional "bonuses" (13th and 14th month, severance pay) during their employment and the missing notice payment can be detracted from those.
Would you rather be sick and poor in the US or in a more socialist country? Of course there's nothing like being wealthy in the US but if you fall behind in the US, there's definitely less support for you and might make people more.. desperate. US also has the highest incarcerated rate in the western world for a reason.
Those are all opinions and I have nothing to quote, but it's hard to argue that there is a strong difference in how societies are structured and what support they provide to their citizens to live a better life
South europe countries have ~ 50% youth unemployment and very little prospects however there's no mass shootings?
https://sifted.eu/articles/startup-tech-company-layoffs-2023...
Generally you can agree with your employer to waive the notice period. Often people will also take their accumulated vacation days at that time. Some collective labor agreements also specify that employees can take so many days off a month to look for a new job.
I suspect that even though most individuals want to be labor secure, most people would actually be better off with more mobility instead.
You wouldn't mind being laid off if you were pretty certain you could get a new job with a similar salary within just a few days. The only reason being laid off is so stressful is because there isn't sufficient mobility, and it's likely it will be many weeks or months till you find a new employer.
I'd kinda like to see an 'employer of last resort', where the government guarantees to employ anyone anytime. That should at least take away much of the fear of being laid off, even if few people actually use the service.
But I don't believe in these perfectly efficient systems, like the one you describe, in which as long as we remove friction everyone can do what they want. Humans are not robots, they need emotional and social stability to thrive. A job comes with a location, social bonds, an expertise, habits ... You can't swap one for another and call it good as long as the paycheck stays the same.
Great labor protections! Very few job openings.
There's always a flip side to the good things online Europeans like to brag about.
Three months is not "EU", it is more likely a Law of a specific country in EU.
Typically (but again it may depend on country) you can of course leave, but without an agreement on the lack of advance notice the employer may keep the equivalent of your pay for the period.
It's not an anti-employeer, nor anti-employee policy, and it just goes to show how less of a friendly workplace USA market has.
- Other companies are absolutely used to this period, and you already sign the contract with the start time that much ahead - there is no need to haste. - If there was a workplace conflict, most companies just give this as a "free holiday" - rather than go through the legalities of making it shorter. - Nobody expects much performance during notice period, you are not taken into long term planning, but you have ample time to give workshops or write documentation about siloed knowledge so it is cozy for both the employee and the employer.
Wouldn't that also be the case with a short (say two week) or even no notice period?
Simply start your job search before you tell your current employer that you want to leave.
I think everybody understands this.
The ethical problem is trying to force an employee to stay and work when they want to leave. It is a basic human freedom.
Germany is famously pro-labor, so you actually have two notice periods: one for the employer (statutory) and one for employees (contract). The two are usually aligned, and only get out of sync when the employee has been working somewhere for a long time. Let's say you have a month-long notice period in your employee contract. You work at your job for 5 years. By that time, the statutory notice period has increased to two months: if your employer wants to fire you, they have to give you two months. On the other hand, if you're the one who wants to leave, you only need to give them one month, per your contract.
Pretty neat.
as a business owner, it protects me from key employees leaving me in the shit and gives me 3 months to replace them
as an employee, it gives them security that I won’t drop them in the shit and they will have 3 months to find a job or risk not being able to pay their bills
It doesn’t seem super complicated
You may in theory get sued for the cost of covering for you, but in practice what happens is you lose any outstanding owed you by the employer (wages and payment for holiday not taken).
It's generally considered that this is an employee protection, because it works in the other direction as well. The employer has to give you 3 months notice to end the contract.
(it's not unheard of for people to get the "locked out of your account and building" at the point of resigning, then get paid for the 3 months. This is referred to as "gardening leave")
Europe’s work culture is very different to America’s in that there’s mutual expectations around the commitment made by the employer and by the employee. All companies understand that to hire someone means to wait for their notice period to expire, so it’s not as if it prevents anyone from opportunities.
* in some places, an employer could pursue the ex-employee for contract violation if they didn’t respect their notice period, and the employee could incur the cost of replacing them in the short term… but it’s very rare and typically only important in the context of high-skill jobs. I’ve never seen it happen.