Leaving your offender healthcare job amicably
Leaving a job role can be an emotional time. Whether you’ve worked there for years or you’ve been employed on a short-term contract, it’s important that you part ways with your employer and your colleagues amicably.
Offender healthcare is a niche-role; after all, you not only need to have your nursing qualifications but you also need to have different security clearances enabling you to work in a secure setting. Therefore, we would always recommend parting ways amicably when leaving an offender healthcare job role – after all, you never know when you may work alongside previous colleagues in a different environment.
If you’re used to working on short-term contracts then you may find that moving on harmoniously is easy to do; after all, you know from the outset that you’re only going to be working there for a specified amount of time. But if you work in a permanent job role, moving on can be much harder.
To make the process much easier for everyone involved, we’re sharing our advice regarding how to leave your current job role amicably.
Resign in person
No one ever enjoys handing in their notice. Even if you’ve been unhappy at work, you’ll undoubtedly feel nerves as you ask to speak to your line manager. But as easy as it may be to simply send a swift email, you should always resign in person. It’s an opportunity to explain to your manager why you’ve chosen to move on and to show any thanks/appreciation for the opportunities that you’ve experienced. Offering a formal resignation in person will show much character, and how you handle this can play a big part in how effective your notice period can be.
If you are planning to resign, it’s important that the first person you tell should be your line manager. It may be easy to share the news with a trusted colleague, but if the news leaks before you have a chance to speak directly, it could make you look unprofessional or untrustworthy.
Give as much notice as you can
When an employee resigns, it can be extremely difficult for an employer to find an immediate replacement. Not only will they need to find a nurse with the same skill set, but within the offender healthcare profession, there is also the added challenge of finding a candidate with the right security clearances. In order to ensure that you have an amicable departure, you may wish to try and provide as much notice as you can. Your contract with stipulate what your notice period is. For some people, it could be as little as two weeks; for others, it could be much longer. The RCN has some published some great information which helps you to understand your contractual rights when working during your notice period.
Have a clear handover with colleagues
Leaving your employer amicably isn’t just about parting on good terms with your managers. It’s also about parting on good terms with your co-workers. We’ve mentioned above that you never know when you could work alongside a former colleague, so it’s always wise to avoid burning any bridges where possible.
An easy way to ensure that your former colleagues think highly of you is to ensure that you have a full handover with them on your last day. This could be about updating them on a patient’s prognosis or helping them to understand what specific medical attention an individual may need. It’s also about ensuring that all administration tasks have been completed before you leave. The easier the handover process is with your colleagues, the more amicable your departure will be.
If you’re ready to resign from your current offender healthcare job role, then you need to ensure that you have a new job lined up. At Sanctuary Criminal Justice, we recruit for a wide range of offender health jobs across the UK. You can find more about our latest vacancies by searching through our jobs page.
