job offer withdrawn

angel1987

@MrsManda- yes it was unconditional and yes i accepted it with the manager and the trainer before the manager rang me.
as for budget costs etc, they were also recruiting for advisors in different departments so they could have easily slotted me in.

zzzLazyDaisy

There are two issues here - the law and the practical consequences.

The first is, has the employer done anything wrong in law? The answer to that question is - provided an unconditional offer of employment has been made and accepted, then a contract has been formed. If the employer then withdraws the offer there is a technical breach of contract.

What does that mean in practical terms for OP? Not a lot, probably.

It does not give OP any more rights than if she had actually started the job, and could have been dismissed within the first month without any statutory notice.

It does not give OP the right to force the employer to follow through with the job offer.

If the contract/job offer specified a notice period of (say) one months then OP would be entitled to one month payment in lieu of notice as compensation for breach of contract. However, for the type of work the OP is describing that is very unlikely - statutory notice is much more likely. But let's say the contract did provide for one month's notice - would it really be worth sabotaging any future job prospects with the company for the sake of one month's money - even if it meant having to go to a tribunal or the small claims court for breach of contract to get it?

The only real protection is if the employer withdraws a job offer for a reason that amounts to unlawful discrimination in law. A solicitor recently won her case for compensation because a job offer was withdrawn. She was originally told that the company had decided not to proceed with the position. But she had a history of mental illness and the job offer was withdrawn only after she completed the health questionnaire revealing this. She went to tribunal and lost, but appealed to the court of appeal and won. She was backed by the EHRC who funded her case.

OP did the employer know about your mental health problems? And was the decision to withdraw the job made in response to this information? The law on pre-employment questionnaires changed last year so the scenario described above should no longer be possible - but that is in theory and in fact many employers are still using these questionnaires.

OP, and I can see why you might feel aggrieved, but unless the withdrawal was discriminatory (in law) I think you probably will have to put it down to experience and move on. Sadly, your views on the ethics and morals of the employer are irrelevant, unless their actions are also unlawful.

GothicStirling

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

OP did the employer know about your mental health problems? And was the decision to withdraw the job made in response to this information? The law on pre-employment questionnaires changed last year so the scenario described above should no longer be possible - but that is in theory and in fact many employers are still using these questionnaires.

OP, and I can see why you might feel aggrieved, but unless the withdrawal was discriminatory (in law) I think you probably will have to put it down to experience and move on. Sadly, your views on the ethics and morals of the employer are irrelevant, unless their actions are also unlawful.

She's already said that the reason the offer was withdrawn, was because there was sufficient staff [i.e they didn't have the budget to cover the extra hours.]

GothicStirling

angel1987 wrote: »

@MrsManda- yes it was unconditional and yes i accepted it with the manager and the trainer before the manager rang me.
as for budget costs etc, they were also recruiting for advisors in different departments so they could have easily slotted me in.

Then you shot yourself in foot, or you don't have the revelant experience to work in the other departments. If you are hired to work in the shoe department, they won't but you on lingerie sales.

angel1987

after the offer was withdrawn and i complained to a higher manager she said she had looked into my previous hr record as i worked for the comapny about 3 years ago and said that she could see i had long term absense- and i told her yes i did, due to being attacked at knifepoint on my way home from work, after which i was suffering depression. i think this may have come to light and this was the reason for the job offer being withdrawn and they told about over recruitment just to give a reason.

ohreally

Have a search through the forum, this has been covered previously (several times)...
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=12866945&postcount=6

sho_me_da_money

ohreally wrote: »

Have a search through the forum, this has been covered previously (several times)...
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=12866945&postcount=6

I think they screwed up and I reckon you go all out on them.

They offered, you accepted, there is a contract in place. Most likely, they they realized your past-sickness record and withdrew - difficult to prove as they are stick to their BS about over-staffing.

I say try it on. The law is the law and they are in breach of it.

Googlewhacker

angel1987 wrote: »

after the offer was withdrawn and i complained to a higher manager she said she had looked into my previous hr record as i worked for the comapny about 3 years ago and said that she could see i had long term absense- and i told her yes i did, due to being attacked at knifepoint on my way home from work, after which i was suffering depression. i think this may have come to light and this was the reason for the job offer being withdrawn and they told about over recruitment just to give a reason.

Can you prove this conversation? If so you may have a good case but you do need to ask yourself what you wish to gain from taking this further because you are very unlikely to get a job from it, maybe a bit of money but most likely alot of stress.

Googlewhacker

sho_me_da_money wrote: »

I think they screwed up and I reckon you go all out on them.

They offered, you accepted, there is a contract in place. Most likely, they they realized your past-sickness record and withdrew - difficult to prove as they are stick to their BS about over-staffing.

I say try it on. The law is the law and they are in breach of it.

Quite rightly so, but breach of contract will be negligiable as its not cost the OP anything and proving the discrimination is not going to be easy especially if they can 'prove' to many people were offered the job.

bendix

Isn't this all irrelevant? The offer may or may not be a contractual obligation, but as it is universally known and accepted that an employer can fire someone for no reason whatsoever in the first 12 months of employment, the end result is the same.

In this case they can simply say you're fired before you start.

End of discussion.