Employment offer via email but no start date. Ok to hand in notice?
HandyToes
Posts: 10 Forumite
Just received this in an email from the NHS:
"Further to your conditional offer letter for the post of (XXX Advisor), we are pleased to confirm that all of the pre-employment checks are complete and you are now ready to commence work. We will shortly be issuing your unconditional offer and contract but please accept this email as an offer of employment in the meantime and feel free to give notice to your current employer if applicable.
Your formal offer letter and contract of employment will follow by email in due course."
I have verbally agreed a start date of 6th November with my new Line manager. I have spoken to their HR who said due to high recruitment I won't receive my contract for 2-3 weeks. Which means I'll receive it 2 weeks before my start date. My current employment requires me to give 4 weeks notice.
Is it safe for me to officially hand in my notice now? Is this email legally binding? Should I ask them to resend it including the agreed start date? Would that make a difference? :question:
Many TIA
Handy
"Further to your conditional offer letter for the post of (XXX Advisor), we are pleased to confirm that all of the pre-employment checks are complete and you are now ready to commence work. We will shortly be issuing your unconditional offer and contract but please accept this email as an offer of employment in the meantime and feel free to give notice to your current employer if applicable.
Your formal offer letter and contract of employment will follow by email in due course."
I have verbally agreed a start date of 6th November with my new Line manager. I have spoken to their HR who said due to high recruitment I won't receive my contract for 2-3 weeks. Which means I'll receive it 2 weeks before my start date. My current employment requires me to give 4 weeks notice.
Is it safe for me to officially hand in my notice now? Is this email legally binding? Should I ask them to resend it including the agreed start date? Would that make a difference? :question:
Many TIA
Handy
0
Comments
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Just received this in an email from the NHS:
"Further to your conditional offer letter for the post of (XXX Advisor), we are pleased to confirm that all of the pre-employment checks are complete and you are now ready to commence work. We will shortly be issuing your unconditional offer and contract but please accept this email as an offer of employment in the meantime and feel free to give notice to your current employer if applicable.
Your formal offer letter and contract of employment will follow by email in due course."
I have verbally agreed a start date of 6th November with my new Line manager. I have spoken to their HR who said due to high recruitment I won't receive my contract for 2-3 weeks. Which means I'll receive it 2 weeks before my start date. My current employment requires me to give 4 weeks notice.
Is it safe for me to officially hand in my notice now? Is this email legally binding? Should I ask them to resend it including the agreed start date? Would that make a difference? :question:
Many TIA
Handy
Yes, but it doesn't mean they can't withdraw the offer before you start or dismiss you on the first day! All you would be entitled to (assuming you could argue that a starting date has been agreed) is your contractual notice.0 -
Ok thanks for that! But would that be the same even if I had a contract?
Handy0 -
Ok thanks for that! But would that be the same even if I had a contract?
Handy
Yes. Apart from certain types of unlawful discrimination you cannot claim unfair dismissal during your first two years of employment.
You can claim breach of contract (wrongful dismissal). So if your contract gives you a right to say three months notice then they must honour that (except in cases of gross misconduct). If they don't you could make a claim for the notice pay but not for unfair dismissal.
So, although it sounds reassuring, an "unconditional" offer doesn't really guarantee you very much at all!0 -
A similar thing happened to me when I started at the NHS - some years ago now, but it does sound like it might happen often!
I was promised and promised that I would get something in writing and a start date and eventually they just called me to confirm the start date, nothing at all in writing, and the start date was so close that I had to sit at work that afternoon, type up my notice and hand it in immediately in order to be able to give the four weeks' notice.
A few days later I received a confirmation email, but
I didn't receive anything in writing for my entire notice period, and was only given my contract etc after several weeks in post.
It was a bit of a leap of faith but in my case it worked out OK, although it's far from the preferable state of affairs!0 -
About-time wrote: »A similar thing happened to me when I started at the NHS - some years ago now, but it does sound like it might happen often!
I was promised and promised that I would get something in writing and a start date and eventually they just called me to confirm the start date, nothing at all in writing, and the start date was so close that I had to sit at work that afternoon, type up my notice and hand it in immediately in order to be able to give the four weeks' notice.
A few days later I received a confirmation email, but
I didn't receive anything in writing for my entire notice period, and was only given my contract etc after several weeks in post.
It was a bit of a leap of faith but in my case it worked out OK, although it's far from the preferable state of affairs!
Yes it's not a great position to be in. Have discovered my manager could allow me to leave earlier than 4 weeks- her discretion-so thinking best option is to keep her in the loop and officially hand my notice in once have contract in hand!0 -
It's not that unusual in the public sector. I received a phone call asking me to start on a date I had advised them at interview that I would be on holiday. The response? "Can you start the next week then?" When I said Yes I was just told to ask for xyz when I arrived! I arrived, they weren't expecting me so I sat twiddling my thumbs the whole of the first day.0
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