I had a "to the next quarter" period in my last job, and when moving to the new job the deadline was missed, making the contract valid for a whole quarter. It

I had a "to the next quarter" period in my last job, and when moving to the new job the deadline was missed, making the contract valid for a whole quarter. It wasn't a problem. I was on good terms with the previous company (I'm still getting invited to their anniversary parties and stuff like that), so there was no issue in working something out. Also, remember that ~6 weeks of vacation per year is common outside the US, so often it boils down to taking your remaining vacation. (Though I think you need to be careful with taxes and other regulations if the contracts overlap.)