How to handle resignation timing with conditional offers?
I’ve verbally accepted the offer, but I haven’t yet received or signed the conditional contract.
After reading stories about offers being withdrawn for various reasons, I'm becoming more cautious about exposing myself to unnecessary financial and immigration risk. Ideally, I’d only resign once all contingencies are cleared and the new visa is formally approved.
How is this usually handled in practice?
- Do people usually just push the proposed start date back by X weeks before signing the contract?
- Or is it better to wait until all contingencies are cleared and the offer becomes unconditional before signing?
- Is it even realistic to structure things around contingencies instead (e.g. "start date to be X weeks after successful checks")?
If employment history checks are completed before resigning, is it best to decline contact with the current employer and provide pay stubs instead?
Or am I overthinking the importance of the start date? In practice, are companies generally flexible if checks take longer than expected, and I haven't resigned yet, provided I communicate that clearly?