Working notice

[juleejules]

Can my employee force me to work notice, I have resigned and requested a specific finishing date. Obviously I do not expect to be paid for the notice period not worked. Other people have recently been allowed to leave without working full notice period. I have been working for the company for 3 years and have never signed a contract.

[factor-fiction]

Yes, but if you are deperate to go it would make sense to agree an early release. They'd have to be careful though to do it properly to make sure you couldn't then put in a claim for not paying the contractual notice.

[ubasses]

If you do not have a contract how can you have a notice period? Surely one has never been agreed.

[factor-fiction]

After 3 years there will be a contract that will apply even though a written contract been signed

[factor-fiction]

Sorry- some text disappeared.

After 3 years there will be a contract that will apply even though a written contract HASN'T been signed

[Buenchico]

All employees have a contract irrespective of whether anything exists in writing. (If you ask me to do your shopping for a fiver, and I agree, we've both entered into a legally-binding contract).

However your employer should have provided you with a 'written statement of employment particulars' within two months of the commencement of your employment. (Many employers ask you to sign to acknowledge receipt of the document but, just because you've not signed anything, it doesn't mean that you're not bound by any reasonable conditions of your employment).

If you choose to simple walk out of your job, the employer has the right to take legal action against you in order to recover any additional expenditure that your absence causes. For example, you might be employed for £6 per hour, for a 40-hour week. If the employer has to pay an agency £12 an hour to get someone to cover for you for the first 4 weeks after you leave (while the employer seeks another employee), you'll owe the employer £960.

However if the employer suffers no financial loss from your early absence, it's unlikely that he could take any effective action against you (except, of course, refusing to give you a reference).

Chris

[thugulike]

It is unlikely that an employer would claim breach of contract from an employee who left early, BUT it may affect any reference you get. Always negotiate an early release rather than just walk out.