Hello , am hoping someone can give me a bit of advice.

I have decided to hand my notice in next week as i'm no longer happy at work. I've never done one before and was just wondering exactly what i need to put in it?

Many thanks in advance ,

Kate

I have done a few of these and basically point out that i will be leaving the company, that i am giving them said weeks notice and that my last day of work will be such and such date.
I wouldn't go into not being happy, you don't need to give a reason. Should someone in HR call you into the office to ask then you can verbally give the reason why if you should so wish.
I leave it very basic and to the point.

You will need to have a look at your contract so you can see what notice period you have.  Generally 4 weeks. If you have any annual leave left, the company may also let you use this up - but this will come up after you hand your notice in.

If you're in a position financially to no longer need to work then great, but if you're looking for another job they're not easy to come by at the moment. If I was unhappy at work rather than just handing my notice in I would go and speak to my manager/director/hr department and let them know the reasons and see if things can be improved. If they couldn't I'd find another job first before handing my notice in :-)

Hi Kate, no matter how miserable I ever am in a workplace I always try to find something positive to say in the resignation letter as you never know when you will meet the same people or organisation again.  It is usually along the lines of appreciating the opportunities to develop whilst in their employment.

I have always gone with the thought "don't burn your bridges" like the poster above try to be positive in your letter, ie no need to say "I hate this place". Just tell them you are leaving and the date from you will be leaving, and you find you would like a change of direction etc. 

Personally I wouldn't put anything into the letter except the basics ie "I'd like to hand in my notice", "according to my contract I'm giving x days notice" etc etc.  I would not go into anything about the reasons for leaving etc.  All the companies I've worked for have given me an exit interview where you can go into details about why etc if you want.  Two companies I've worked for have asked for an informal chat before the exit interview to talk about the why and if there was anything they could do to change my mind.  If I was to put anything above the basics in the letter it certainly wouldn't be anything negative.

Last time I was determined to leave my job and not certain what to do I ended up sitting in my car ready to go in one morning....burst into tears...me who doesn't really cry.....So I didn't go in, I phoned in to say I didn't feel to good and took myself to the doctor to explain what had happened, she signed me off, gave me prozac and slowly things started to look up.
I am so glad that it worked out as I do love my job, everything about it is good.
Karen :)

Thank you all so much for your replies , they have really helped. I've never had a contract - just started doing Saturdays while at college 12 yrs ago and went on from there. Have been to the boss about previous bullying taking place months ago ( thank you for advice back then too ) which was sort of sorted but have found myself not wanting to be there and getting frustrated about having to do others peoples jobs while they are getting paid to do them!

Am going to give them 6 weeks as we are a small staff and will wait till the other girl is back from her week's holiday.

Who do i address it to? does it have to be formal i'e Mr , or can i put first name as we all call each other by?

Thanks , Kate

I'd make it formal and personally would wait a couple of weeks then give them 4 weeks notice.  I'm very suprised you have no contract I thought it was a legal requirement for permanent staff.

Sugar
I would go and see Citizens Advice re your employment situation.  You may have no contract but I am sure you will still have rights, seeing as you have been there for so long (payslips would prove this).  You may only need to give 2 weeks notice if you have no contract, but get this checked out first.