Resources
Legal Council
Termination Without Cause Six Month Notice
Question:
I contractually obligated myself to give a six month notice for Termination Without Cause in my first position out of residency (which I now realize is quite long). Unfortunately, I now would like to relocate to another state. I realize this may be a problem if many "would be" opportunities cannot wait this long. Obviously I take some risk if I just serve notice and look aggressively for a position. Any suggestions on how best to deal with this?
Response:
Your assumption is correct. Based on the information you provided, you would be contractually required to provide six months notice prior to leaving your current employer. Without knowing your specific circumstances, I would suggest that you discuss the notice period in your current interviews. You might find that the long notice period works well with your prospective employer's plans, especially if your employer is terminating another physician or needs the time to prepare the office for your arrival. Many employers are actually used to hiring employees well in advance of the employee's start date.
You may also need extra time to relocate you and your family. Alternatively, you could discuss your plans with your current employer. You may find that your employer would appreciate your up front style and might allow you to leave prior to completing the six month notice period. This may be the case if your employer finds that it can replace you prior to the end of the six month period. Additionally, some employers would not want you around the work place after tendering your letter of resignation. Finally, you need to make sure the contract does not allow for any other means of terminating the relationship that would be applicable to your given situation.
The preceding was prepared by John Powers, JD, an attorney with the healthcare practice of Husch & Eppenberger. It is prepared as a source of general information concerning recent health law developments and is not legal advice or an opinion. No action should be taken in reliance upon this information without obtaining the advice of a knowledgeable healthcare attorney.
Attorney John Powers has partnered with Cejka Search to address healthcare legal issues in our Legal Counsel feature on cejkasearch.com. His areas of expertise include hospital and medical practice issues, physician recruitment transactions, managed care counseling, development of MSOs, IPAs, and managed care delivery systems, antitrust counseling to healthcare clients, insurance matters, physician-hospital contracting, medical staff matters, and bioethical issues.
If you have a question or comment for Mr. Powers, please send a message to: info@cejkasearch.com