On Stress Leave and Unable to Serve Notice Period!

Jarndyce

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Not the first, probably the second. Although the first case has not yet gone into a courtroom as far as I am aware.

The truth of the matter is yes, the employer may sue you for the costs of hiring a replacement, but their claim might only be upheld for extra costs over and above the costs of employing you. And it is one thing to sue, another to win.

OP, don't let this deter you too strongly - there is enough in this case that you could probably claim for constructive dismissal [yes, I know] which would mean the the gain from pursuing you could be so trivial that it is just not worth the effort, given the dirt you could spill in the constructive dismissal case.

if you think that any employer, tribunal or anyone else is going to be a) aware and b) remotely bothered about that then you have clearly never been near a tribunal hearing. If I had a pound for every claimant who had rubbed their hands in glee at the thought of their 'day in court' only to leave bewildered at the dullness of it all then I would be a very rich man.

Uncertain

Jarndyce wrote: »

If I had a pound for every claimant who had rubbed their hands in glee at the thought of their 'day in court' only to leave bewildered at the dullness of it all then I would be a very rich man.

Indeed.....

But I think you underestimate how much some employers (particularly very small owner run business) worry about it. Often their business is their whole life and they are convinced, quite wrongly, that any "dirt" will be headline news. So it does sometimes work both ways.

Jarndyce

Uncertain wrote: »

Indeed.....

But I think you underestimate how much some employers (particularly very small owner run business) worry about it. Often their business is their whole life and they are convinced, quite wrongly, that any "dirt" will be headline news. So it does sometimes work both ways.

Fair point.

C1ueless

Errata, when I was invited for the job interview at the new company, I told them the situation, that I was on sick leave and the reason for it. In fact, we discussed it at length during the interview and because of this, I really did think I definitely would not be offered a job with the company, but au contraire.

However, I did say that I thought my notice period is for a week. I checked later and found it to be a month.

As soon as the lady from the HR Department rang me to offer the new job, I asked her to e-mail me this and to confirm it in writing. I am just waiting for the employment contract to come through, which I am expecting to arrive on Monday, at the earliest. In the meantime, my sick note expires this coming Sunday.

My company is not a small employer-it is an extremely successful corporate company.

This is going to sound really stupid, but I just want to make this an easy a transition as possible. What I was thinking of doing was sending them an e-mail confirming in writing that I will not be returning to work and explaining the reasons why. Obviously, this would mean that I would not be serving the one month notice period stipulated in my contract, meaning that I have breached an express term of my contract of employment. In response to this, I wanted to offer to pay them for any losses they may have incurred because of it, or to compensate them monetarily.

Sounds stupid, I know, but I really can't bear going back. I am glad I have been offered this new job because, then, at least, I have an income, but over the last week since I had the interview, just the thought of having to go back to that place with those people upsets me immensely to the point where I feel if I went back I would have a nervous breakdown upon return. My Manager, although, acknowledges my standard of work and quality of work is far superior to my colleagues, he has always been eager to keep them happy because they are an established team, having all served for a minimum of 7 years, whereas one colleague has been there for 10 years, since the conception of the Department. I, on the otherhand, have only been there for about 8 months.it

Anyway, if you guys could let me know whether what I have suggested in the emboldened text is viable, I would really appreciate it. I just want a quiet life.

Uncertain

C1ueless wrote: »

This is going to sound really stupid, but I just want to make this an easy a transition as possible. What I was thinking of doing was sending them an e-mail confirming in writing that I will not be returning to work and explaining the reasons why. Obviously, this would mean that I would not be serving the one month notice period stipulated in my contract, meaning that I have breached an express term of my contract of employment. In response to this, I wanted to offer to pay them for any losses they may have incurred because of it, or to compensate them monetarily.

I really wonder what you gain by this.

Given that you have been signed off by a doctor with stress I would suggest they you simply inform them that you would like to resign with immediate effect in the interests of your health. I'm sure you can pad it out a bit thanking them for their understanding etc etc.

Leave it unsaid but I'm sure you could imply that the alternative is a further sicknote.

Although it could theoretically happen I would have though the chance of them making any claim against you is very slim indeed.

I would be amazed if there is a problem.

C1ueless

Thank you 'Uncertain'.

What are the repercussions of resigning with immediate effect (due to my health?)

The new offer of employment is not currently subject to references, but they will take references once I have started, and want most recent employer. I don't think my current employer (corporate company) will be providing me a glowing reference-although I appreciate by law it is meant to be accurate and I am a great employee by my Manager's admission, but just leaving so suddenly is not going to get me a good reference from him.

Also, I feel bad leaving them so suddenly, even though they should have sorted this out in the first instance. My Manager was away for three weeks. A colleague was aggressive and confrontational towards me for no reason, I tried to calm him down and to understand his reason for being like this, but he wasn't interested and started making personal attacks on me. Even after this, I returned to work. There was no one to report it to and two days later, the exact thing happened again. I had been working in the evenings, and it was only my colleague and I in the Department when both these incidents occured.

LL30

Ok, so I know that everyone's situation is different, but I resigned from a job a few years ago with immediate effect due to bullying (very long story!). Occ Health had said I could never return, my doc was happy to sign me off forever and we were at stalemate with grievances etc. My representative explained to them that a) either I serve my notice under a sick note or b) I resigned with immediate effect. They were quite happy for me to pee off and to stop paying me...

Like I said, everyone's situation is different, but could be worth a shot. (Oh and I got a lovely compensation package a year and a half down the line, but that's another story!)

nlw_2

I resigned after a similar experience within my workplace. If you say your manager appreciates your work then maybe put some of these into your resignation to smooth it over?

In my resignation email I stated that I'm sure they will understand why I am resigning, thanked them for the opportunity they had given me. And that we could part on good terms.

The response I got was they accepted my resignation, although they didn't want me to leave. Thanked me for all of my hardwork and despite my immediate resignation they would give me a good reference.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do

DVardysShadow

Jarndyce wrote: »

if you think that any employer, tribunal or anyone else is going to be a) aware and b) remotely bothered about that then you have clearly never been near a tribunal hearing. If I had a pound for every claimant who had rubbed their hands in glee at the thought of their 'day in court' only to leave bewildered at the dullness of it all then I would be a very rich man.

Not saying that at all. I am saying there is enough here to turn suing OP for leaving into a zero sum game for the employer.