Successful asda interview... i accepted job offer but i have a query !

DAREDEVIL78

Hi , after a successful asda magic interview i have had a job offer made which i have accepted gladly because i really wanted this job, it starts in a few weeks time and i have to attend a weeks training but i still have a job which i intend to give notice to leave so i can start in time for the asda job.

My query is , now i have been offered a job and also been told what my days/hours etc would members agree to give my notice straight away to my current employer which will enable me to start the training with asda in time.

Or to put it another way is the asda job offer safe enough to leave an existing job . . . if i have my days/hours and rough start date all should be ok . . . shouldn't it ??

Jarndyce

Congratulations on your job offer.

Is the offer subject to references/medical or anything? If not then you're safe. If it is, many on here have learned the hard way to wait until the offer is unconditional before giving notice in your current job.

Oh, and out of interest have you got any tattoos?:D

SevenOfNine

........are you saying your first day of the 'training' hasn't been given as your start date?

Do you have the job offer in writing, start date, hours, days etc? If you have all of the latter (and I do mean IN WRITING), with no "subject to blah blah blah's" (other than references perhaps) then I'd resign. If not I'd hold fire until you've got a formal offer from Asda on the table.....and not one which might be linked to your performance on the training week!

Emmzi

unconditional offer in writing before handing in notice. Always.

DAREDEVIL78

Hi , thanks , yes the job offer is subject to references but dont feel that should be a problem as they only have to be satisfactory , also i got the impression that they weren't overly interested in the referees anyway because when i questioned it i told them i still had a job and now that i have a job offer that i intend to give notice to leave my current job.
I asked when would they ring them because my current employer is a referee and didnt want asda to contact them before i made them aware i was leaving.
At this point they said they would be contacting referees but said if they did it wouldnt be til a week or so. This then gives me time to give notice.

I just got the impression that they might not necessarily contact them . . . not sure why i felt that vibe ??

I have been off sick with my current employer for 3 months with depression and have recently been signed fit for work again by my doctor and coincidentally this job offer came at the right time as i have been looking for a job with less hours and more prospects so this fit the bill. . . i feel much better and will hopefully leave my current employer on a good note so they will at least give me a satisfactory reference.

........ and yes i have tattoos of my 2 daughters names on my lower arm area near my wrist . (only small so hopefully shouldnt be a problem)

DAREDEVIL78

Hi, i understand peoples advice , i assume the offer will be put in writing but i only got a phone call today , i was told my days and hours and was told i am been given a 20 hour contract , the asda is one of their new small stores and is supposed to open on the 27th september.

What would members suggest i do regards giving notice as my current employer isnt aware i am leaving yet and if i dont give notice til closer to asda opening then what happens if asda contact them and thats when my current employer is aware i will be leaving which the wont be happy about if they find out i intend to leave by my next proposed employer .

What should i do ?

bluenoseam

What i guess the way they're doing it (or atleast this happened with my last job offer in 2006) is that they'll phone you to confirm you're interested in the offer THEN send out the confirmation letter with details of start date etc given it's not the first time someone's said "ah actually, no thanks" to the phonecall, given you've confirmed verbally they'll then seek references to save them wasting time getting them only to not need them. Pending agreeable references they'll then send you the confirmation of start date by post i'd guess.

What you can do now is draft your resignation so as to make it sound as positive as possible, there's nothing worse than leaving your employer with all guns blazing (which i don't get the feeling you would), ofcourse don't make it sound too flowery, but thank them for the experience gained & state your reasons for leaving in a constructive manner so as maybe they might be able to learn something. Your current employer might not be too happy at you leaving rather than returning to work though so be ready for them being a bit brash and maybe not so co-operative when it comes to letting you leave prior to your contracted notice period is up, I'm not aware of this information but in a lot of cases it's 4 weeks, which is pretty much tight with the opening date of the store & tighter still with the fact you'll probably be needed for a training prior to starting.

Good luck and i hope it works out for you, by the sounds of it the change of scenery may be good for your wellbeing.

Emmzi

Do NOT give notice in case they specifically ask about your sick record and that means you don't get a confirmed offer. I cannot say this often enough!

You tell boss you have been for an interview and company may be approached for a reference. You do NOT give notice.

DAREDEVIL78

Hi , thanks to all for your advice and i do understand the caution but although all i have had from asda is a verbal yes with writing offer to follow what could go wrong now . . . . the job offer is subject to 2 satisfactory references and if these are fine then what would be a reason to retract an offer.

Also regards my sick leave at current employer , i have now been signed off sick and fully fit to return to work so as far as asda are concerned when i potentially start with them it will be from a fully fit to work point of view and any past info is just that . . . the past, and if the subject does rise i can explain to them what happened and that i am fit to work from day one.

If i start afresh with them and references are in order then what could be the reason for them going back on their job offer , as far as i am aware the offer is simply subject to references and not the training/induction with asda, surely anything that happens with asda now is with a view to working with them ??

Hopefully this is right and please correct me if members disagree !

bluenoseam

They can remove a job offer should the references not be satisfactory, so long as they don't do it as a direct cause of your illness then it's all good, they may chose to ask about any sustained periods of sick leave (which IS legal) which your employer would then answer that there has been - from there on in, it depends on if they want to assume that you're 100% good to go or are likely to be someone who will take off a further prolonged sick period. (someone may correct that there!) Right now it'd depend on if Asda chose to ask about previous periods of sick leave and then if they decide to look beyond it, as far as i'm aware your current employer doesn't have to (or can't) mention WHY you were sick. If Asda decide that there's a high enough risk of it being a recurrent issue then they can retract the offer - hence why you've been told to avoid submitting notice prior to confirmation coming in.

Emmzi

I strongly disagree. If your current employer replies about your sick record Asda may then decide you need a medical referal and they may decide you are not fully fit to start work, or find any other excuse not to start you.

You may suddenly find, after handing in your notice, they "made a mistake on how many people they needed." You will never know it was your sick record, you will never get a chance to explain, there will be damn all you can do, but you will not have any job at all.

However, if you are determined to disagree with me... I can only wish you luck.