Yes, it’s very normal to have long notice periods. An employee absolutely can ignore their notice period if they want* but most respect them because they don’t

Yes, it’s very normal to have long notice periods. An employee absolutely can ignore their notice period if they want* but most respect them because they don’t want to burn bridges. Long notice periods are a companion to much greater worker rights, not in competition with. Europe’s work culture is very different to America’s in that there’s mutual expectations around the commitment made by the employer and by the employee. All companies understand that to hire someone means to wait for their notice period to expire, so it’s not as if it prevents anyone from opportunities. * in some places, an employer could pursue the ex-employee for contract violation if they didn’t respect their notice period, and the employee could incur the cost of replacing them in the short term… but it’s very rare and typically only important in the context of high-skill jobs. I’ve never seen it happen.