To take a new role or not

Good Afternoon,

I have been offered a maternity cover contract as a HR Assistant for a SME for a period of 14 months (It states that it may end sooner with appropriate notice being given), however I have been verbally informed that at this time the person I am covering for will be coming back part time, if at all and that they will be looking for a second assistant to help take the recruitment in house anyway as they are paying nearly £9000 per month just on agency fees. The role will take me back to doing a proper HR role rather than the shared services role that I am doing at the moment where I am only dealing with acknowledgment letters and recruitment. This contract lasts till the end of June but the head of HR is hoping to put together a business case to keep me and another girl on. There have been some changes in HR in my current role which looks like I won't be able to progress whereas the new role they want to train me to be able to work as the HR Manager in their absence which I think will greatly help my HR Career. The salary is £1000 more but the hours are longer slightly longer Monday to Thursday but its a much shorter working day on the Friday.

The two things I am worried about are having to tell my current employer that I am leaving as they are having numerous issues at the moment and me leaving would mean them having to get someone else in for 3 months (I have to give 4 weeks notice) and me then having to work in this environment for the next few weeks. The other is that my landlord is seeking possession of his property at the end of March for personal reasons so I need to find somewhere else to rent and not sure with this all being up in the air in regards to the job that I am putting myself in the best position in the short term. I suppose I am looking for reassurance that I am doing the right thing. I really want to continue to learn and develop and although the people here are lovely it's not the right place for me (I've been here 8 weeks now)

L

Parents
  • Hi Laura

    If there's no guarantee that your current role will be extended, then I would accept the maternity cover contract. I appreciate that you don't want to leave your current employer in the lurch, but if they were in your position I'm sure they would do the same thing - we all need to be able to pay the bills!

    Good luck

    Ishbel
  • Hi Guys,
    I have accepted and now my current employer has asked if it would make a difference if my role was to be made permanent. I have said no as it is the development that I need so I'm hoping the 'gamble' pays off, if not I'll have a little while before I need to start looking again.

    Laura
  • If it helps, 2 years ago I left a perm role for a mat cover, whilst looking to buy a house. Everyone thought I was mad but I am now on my second mat cover contract and am likely to be made permanent in the next few months - I have no regrets as the job has given me the opportunity to learn which is what I wanted and if I don't get made perm I have some extra experience under my belt. I haven't found a house but that is more because I am too fussy! Good luck in the new role.
    Elsa
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  • If it helps, 2 years ago I left a perm role for a mat cover, whilst looking to buy a house. Everyone thought I was mad but I am now on my second mat cover contract and am likely to be made permanent in the next few months - I have no regrets as the job has given me the opportunity to learn which is what I wanted and if I don't get made perm I have some extra experience under my belt. I haven't found a house but that is more because I am too fussy! Good luck in the new role.
    Elsa
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