Could I have taken legal action?

Szamar

Hi all.

New account here as i can't for the life of me remember my old details, anyway;

I was wondering if anyone could advise on this situation (it has been resolved, at least so far as i know, that i will be starting this job, but it'd be nice to know what my options would have been).

So. I went for a job interview a few weeks back, and they offered me the job there and then. I was told they would send out the job description/contractual agreement type thing which would confirm it, this being around 3 weeks ago, i still have yet to recieve this.

A few days later while working out of office and not being able to check my emails, i recieved a call saying that they require me (during work time at my current job) to attend Training Courses and it was all detailed in the email. I had to get this cleared at work to attend one of them, as the other i was off on leave because i would be in the middle of moving home. It also asks me to start sooner than the agreed date from the interview. I figured that they will send it out, and so then trusted that i would recieve it and handed in my notice at my current place of work.

I said i could not move the date forward as i had things to get other people up to speed with at work. I however, never mentioned that prior to even being offered this job, that i had leave booked due to moving (they do, however, know i was moving as i had mentioned it several times). I did not feel that i needed to mention my leave or reasons for when i could start, but did mention some anyway, as the current date is more than reasonable anyway. They never asked me if i was on leave at the interview, either.

Today, by admission and fault of my own and being caught in moving and things going nowhere, i completely lost track of my day and completely forgot to attend a second training session.

They phoned up my current workplace who informed them i was on leave, to which they called me. I wholeheartedely apologised and i hoped they could understand that moving can be stressful. But they said that i had lied about my leave, and therefore would terminate the job offer, due to start in a week. My current workplace now had me down as leaving at the end of this week, and i would have had nothing come the end of this week.

Would i have had a case, based on the fact that i had prrof in an email asking me to start sooner than verbally agreed and that they had not sent out a job description? Or would i have needed the Job Description or Contract infront of me as the only viable proof?

What would be my options?

I only ask because all this happened in an hour and i can say i've never been more anxious or stressed and it'd be nice to know what my options are, should something similar every occur again (they shouldn't, i think i've learnt my lesson and wait for the job description etc to come through first), or maybe occur with other people.

Thanks in Advance

Szam

Uncertain

Szamar wrote: »

Hi all.

New account here as i can't for the life of me remember my old details, anyway;

I was wondering if anyone could advise on this situation (it has been resolved, at least so far as i know, that i will be starting this job, but it'd be nice to know what my options would have been).

So. I went for a job interview a few weeks back, and they offered me the job there and then. I was told they would send out the job description/contractual agreement type thing which would confirm it, this being around 3 weeks ago, i still have yet to recieve this.

A few days later while working out of office and not being able to check my emails, i recieved a call saying that they require me (during work time at my current job) to attend Training Courses and it was all detailed in the email. I had to get this cleared at work to attend one of them, as the other i was off on leave because i would be in the middle of moving home. It also asks me to start sooner than the agreed date from the interview. I figured that they will send it out, and so then trusted that i would recieve it and handed in my notice at my current place of work.

I said i could not move the date forward as i had things to get other people up to speed with at work. I however, never mentioned that prior to even being offered this job, that i had leave booked due to moving (they do, however, know i was moving as i had mentioned it several times). I did not feel that i needed to mention my leave or reasons for when i could start, but did mention some anyway, as the current date is more than reasonable anyway. They never asked me if i was on leave at the interview, either.

Today, by admission and fault of my own and being caught in moving and things going nowhere, i completely lost track of my day and completely forgot to attend a second training session.

They phoned up my current workplace who informed them i was on leave, to which they called me. I wholeheartedely apologised and i hoped they could understand that moving can be stressful. But they said that i had lied about my leave, and therefore would terminate the job offer, due to start in a week. My current workplace now had me down as leaving at the end of this week, and i would have had nothing come the end of this week.

Would i have had a case, based on the fact that i had prrof in an email asking me to start sooner than verbally agreed and that they had not sent out a job description? Or would i have needed the Job Description or Contract infront of me as the only viable proof?

What would be my options?

I only ask because all this happened in an hour and i can say i've never been more anxious or stressed and it'd be nice to know what my options are, should something similar every occur again (they shouldn't, i think i've learnt my lesson and wait for the job description etc to come through first), or maybe occur with other people.

Thanks in Advance

Szam

I'm not entirely clear what you are asking.......

Do you mean could you take legal action against the firm that offered you a job but has now withdrawn the offer?

If so then, in theory, just possibly but in practice not really - if that makes sense!

If they made you a firm, unconditional, job offer then withdrew it without a sound reason this is arguably breach of contract. However, the problem is that the firm could sack you for most reasons during the first year without any comeback so your provable losses are very small.

If you were headhunted, offered a "golden hello" or various special terms then you would have more of a case - always assuming their reason for withdrawing the offer was unreasonable.

However, if you just applied for a job in the normal way then I think your chances are next to zero.

bap98189

Look at it from their perspective. They have offered you a job. On the second day of work (training) you were absent "because you forgot to turn up". Not a very good first impression.

Would you employ someone who did that? You can argue about whether you received a legally binding job offer or not, but it's pretty much irrelevant. The reality is that they can dismiss you very easily during the first 12 months of employment, and were I in their position, I would do so.

Szamar

bap98189 wrote: »

Look at it from their perspective. They have offered you a job. On the second day of work (training) you were absent "because you forgot to turn up". Not a very good first impression.

Would you employ someone who did that? You can argue about whether you received a legally binding job offer or not, but it's pretty much irrelevant. The reality is that they can dismiss you very easily during the first 12 months of employment, and were I in their position, I would do so.

To be fair, the training 'day' i am technically not getting paid for, and i'm not due to start until the 1st of June, i have no contractual agreement or job description through the post that i was promised, and i agreed to the dates set for training out of my own free time. The first time ended up me having to make up hours back at work due to the 2 hours i spent there, and the extra hour travelling. These training days were also dropped on me at the last minute, and quite frankly, being dumped on some software i've never used before and expecting me to learn the entire program in a total of 4 hours, when after the first 2 i was completely overloaded with information, is asking a little too much.

I do, however, understand your view that no-one would hire someone like that. Thing is, i don't usually forget these things, i've just been completely caught up in moving houses (of which i even mentioned to them, several times) i completely forgot about it, and these things very occasionally happen, unfortunately for me, at probably the worst time. Don't get me wrong though, i've felt pretty stupid all day for forgetting and it's not something i'll let myself forget any time soon.

However, this was not why they initially terminated the offer. The termination was because i was taking leave to move into my new place instead of starting for them earlier than the agreed date and working for them during that leave time (which is this week basically). They did not ask me if i was taking leave and why should i have to explain myself AFTER agreeing a set date for starting the job? If the date has been agreed, then that should be that, however, i recieved emails repeatedly asking me to start sooner. Firstly, i could not comply with that because i had to give leave for my current job, secondly, my leave had been booked and the moving had been organised. Why should i have to explain why i cannot start at an earlier date? Surely that is my business and the date agreed should remain the date i start.

I'm pretty sure i'm repeating myself now, so i'll leave that at that.

Obviously, this has all been sorted, but had it not, i would now have had no job at all. Which is why i was wondering for future reference if i had any case against a similar termination as it would have essentially left me high and dry.

And thanks Uncertain. Clears up alot of my questions, sorry if it was worded badly, i think i had the most anxious hour of my life just before typing that.

Any

Hi,
Sorry, I cannot see anything obvious about having it sorted now - how was it sorted out? Did you stay in your old job or did they offer you the job again?

In my opinion it is not an employer you want to work for anyway - they weren't even able to send you the required paperwork and asked you to go on non-paid training. Then they got upset because you didn't let them mess you around. Yes, you shouldn't have forgotten about that training day if you wanted the job, but I think the company didn't do anything right if they wanted you as an employee either.

The company is obviously run by arogant idiots and as much as they theoreticaly cannot dismiss you for not canceling previously organised time off in the last minute, in the first year they can dismiss you pretty much on a drop of a hat.

I think it was lucky escape mate.