Unfair and unreasonable notice period?
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To be fair though it does seem a little unreasonable to ask someone to follow through with the full three months notice two days after passing their probation, the purpose of the contract is to ensure they have enough time to replace essential personnel, did going two days over the probation period really make him that much more irreplaceable than he was on day 90?
Speaking from experience it takes a few months to really get up to full speed in a development role so I can't imagine keeping him on is going to be a huge asset to the company, will probably end up costing them more than they get back.Has something changed & you can be taken to court for not working your notice? If you haven't been paid for it then where's the issue? Apart from the moral one of leaving them in the lurch obviously.
No it's not really "changed", it's pretty much always been the case...0 -
Recruitment doesn't happen over night, They will have to advertise to find someone to replace you, and then train that person. It's not unreasonable for them to want the work to be covered during the process.
Finding a new job doesn't happen overnight either, yet this company seems to think it's ok to give employees only 1/4 or 1/3 of the notice they want for themselves.0 -
Yes. And actually, it is ok! You get a contract, read it. If you don't like it, don't take the job. "This company" are acting within the law.mynameisclare wrote: »Finding a new job doesn't happen overnight either, yet this company seems to think it's ok to give employees only 1/4 or 1/3 of the notice they want for themselves.0 -
It
I understand about the breach of contract. I have only been there for 3 months so don't plan to use them as a reference, I can easily justify the gap on my CV. My main concern is if they took me to court. Would the contract be deemed "unreasonable" and work in my favour. I also don't see how they can claim "loss of income/contract" if I am literally at the bottom of the company hierarchy and been there for 3 months.
It doesn't matter - all they have to demonstrate is that you didn't abide by the terms of the contract. They are not unreasonable terms by definition as you've agreed to them.Debt 1/1/17 - Credit Cards £17,280.23; overdrafts £3,777.24
Debt 5/1/18 - Credit Cards £3,188; overdrafts £00 -
I could be wrong here but, if you're not going to use them for a reference, not going to acknowledge them on your CV then why not just not turn up for work?
Work the time they've paid you for & then don't go back - what can they do?
I completely agree.
If you simply refuse to work your full notice, you are technically in breach of contract. The employer's only legal recourse would be to sue you for breach of contract, which requires them to prove actual financial loss. The employer is also required to mitigate their loss (for example by hiring someone to replace you or covering the shift with another member of staff).
For most employers proving financial loss is impossible to do. Even if the employer has the stomach for incurring legal costs they won't be able to recover.
It would only usually be possible for an employer to prove financial loss in a situation where the employer has to hire an agency worker to replace you, or has to pay overtime at a higher rate, in which case you would be liable for that less the wages the employer would have had to pay you.
Its a risk, but can be a risk worth taking as it is unlikely anything would come of it (unless you need a reference).0 -
It doesn't matter - all they have to demonstrate is that you didn't abide by the terms of the contract. They are not unreasonable terms by definition as you've agreed to them.
If the employer demonstrated in a court that the employee has breached the contract, that by itself would only get the employer nominal damages of £1.
The employer would need prove quantifiable financial loss (over and above what the employer would have had to pay out in wages) to get anything further.0 -
Sure it's easy to say that I agreed to the terms, and therefore I should respect them but at the time I had no idea how bad they actually were. Previously I had been working for myself, and was at University. I had no idea that 3-month, biased notice period was not normal for the industry and for someone at my skill level.
The internet is funnily enough not a great tool to research this too, as notice periods are very specific to your experience, industry and location. Unfortunately I did not know many people in the industry and I simply had no way of knowing that the terms were bad. Since then I have spoken to people in similar roles at other companies, which has confirmed that the contract is extremely biased and I now feel quite stupid for agreeing to it!0
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