I once had a colleague "go on holiday" and never come back to work. If you don't work your notice period, you obviously won't be paid for it, and any reference

I once had a colleague "go on holiday" and never come back to work. If you don't work your notice period, you obviously won't be paid for it, and any reference will state that you broke your contract. (Unless your employer asks that you don't come into work any more. This is called "gardening leave" in Britain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_leave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_leave , and it's normal in some industries and circumstances.)