Notice Period Advice

CTA_2

Good morning.

I am currently 2 months in to my contractual three month notice period. When I initially handed in my notice, my employer wrote to me and stated that once a series of work had been completed I was free to leave.

I have provided that information to my new employer and gave an estimated date of 31 March 2013.

Now is where the difficulty has arisen. My boss has not been very helpful, he has made several excuses as to why he cannot review the work I have prepared (all of the excuses are blatently false also). We agreed a timetable on delivery which he tried to change and this has put us behind schedule.

My new employer is becoming frustrated as a concrete date cannot be agreed, my boss refusing to provide one simply stating that it is when work is completed. However, last friday he threatened to keep me for my whole notice period on the basis that he was able to if he wanted to.

My question is, can i vacate this employment in advance of my notice period? Could i argue that there has been a breakdown in the working relationship, due to broken promises which became a term of my employment contract, and now they have breached my contract?

Any thoughts gratefully accepted!

CTA_2

has anyone been in a similar situation?

InsideInsurance

If your current employer didnt explicitly agree a shortened date then the date given to the new employer should have been 3 months with a hope that things finish earlier

Leaving before your notice period is over is always a little dangerous because at a minimum you are burning bridges and you never know when your paths may cross with this company again.

A realistic worse case is that because you dont turn up to work you get sacked for gross miss conduct. If this new job doesnt work out for whatever reason you then have a big issue of two employers in a row that'll give bad references as well as the gross miss conduct on your work history.

Absolute worst case is evidently they could sue for breach of contract, to which your defense would be a frustrated contract, whilst this is unlikely to happen it is a pain and a cost you are unlikely to want to carry.

terra_ferma

Just personal opinion, but this is going to be tricky. Officially he is still letting you go when you finish that piece of work, he is simply saying that it's not finished yet.
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along, but to me it seems that officially he's sticking to the agreement, just being sneaky about the way he's actually not keeping his word.
Would you have enough evidence to demonstrate that you have finished the work if he sued you for breach of contract? Or could he give a bad reference stating you didn't finish the work you agreed to do?

CTA_2

InsideInsurance wrote: »

If your current employer didnt explicitly agree a shortened date then the date given to the new employer should have been 3 months with a hope that things finish earlier

Leaving before your notice period is over is always a little dangerous because at a minimum you are burning bridges and you never know when your paths may cross with this company again.

A realistic worse case is that because you dont turn up to work you get sacked for gross miss conduct. If this new job doesnt work out for whatever reason you then have a big issue of two employers in a row that'll give bad references as well as the gross miss conduct on your work history.

Absolute worst case is evidently they could sue for breach of contract, to which your defense would be a frustrated contract, whilst this is unlikely to happen it is a pain and a cost you are unlikely to want to carry.

The date given to new employer was three months with the prospect of earlier date, so fine on that point.

In terms of bad reference, I do not believe i will get a good reference from my current employer regardless of whether I fulfil my notice period. I am not concerned about crossing paths as I am working in a completely different sector and it is a very small company I work for at the moment.

Yes I am concerned about being sued for breach of contract. My main point is, can i claim that the working relationship has broken down to such an extent that the situation is unworkable and therefore i may leave without notice?

CTA_2

terra_ferma wrote: »

Just personal opinion, but this is going to be tricky. Officially he is still letting you go when you finish that piece of work, he is simply saying that it's not finished yet.
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along, but to me it seems that officially he's sticking to the agreement, just being sneaky about the way he's actually not keeping his word.
Would you have enough evidence to demonstrate that you have finished the work if he sued you for breach of contract? Or could he give a bad reference stating you didn't finish the work you agreed to do?

I have a diary of dates and agreed timetables and have created a log of events which contravene our agreed timetables.

And i agree that is his tactic, but is his tactic sufficient to break the implied term of trust in my contract of employment such that I can leave without notice?

InsideInsurance

CTA wrote: »

The date given to new employer was three months with the prospect of earlier date, so fine on that point.

In terms of bad reference, I do not believe i will get a good reference from my current employer regardless of whether I fulfil my notice period. I am not concerned about crossing paths as I am working in a completely different sector and it is a very small company I work for at the moment.

Yes I am concerned about being sued for breach of contract. My main point is, can i claim that the working relationship has broken down to such an extent that the situation is unworkable and therefore i may leave without notice?

Then why are they getting annoyed? You told them it will be 3 months and it is only 2 months gone now.

Generally speaking two wrongs dont make a right and so because they are being a bit of a pain doesnt mean you can throw your contract out the window. Employment law is more complex and isnt my area of expertise, from what you say to date doesnt to me (as a layman) sound like strong enough reasons to say the contract is breached or frustrated (just you are)

CTA_2

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Then why are they getting annoyed? You told them it will be 3 months and it is only 2 months gone now.

Generally speaking two wrongs dont make a right and so because they are being a bit of a pain doesnt mean you can throw your contract out the window. Employment law is more complex and isnt my area of expertise, from what you say to date doesnt to me (as a layman) sound like strong enough reasons to say the contract is breached or frustrated (just you are)

Because i gave them a clear steer that it was likely to be less than that, purely on the information provided by my current employer. I've tried to be honest and open with both parties and it has left me in this situation.

My current boss is acting more aggressive, not overtly but in his commentary and feedback. It is making me incredibly anxious, to the extent that i have digestive issues at work caused by the anxiety.

I thank you for your feedback, to me it seems plainly obvious that they are being awkward on purpose and its sufficiently serious such that I feel i cannot rely upon his statements such that trust and confidence is broken.

terra_ferma

CTA wrote: »

I have a diary of dates and agreed timetables and have created a log of events which contravene our agreed timetables.

And i agree that is his tactic, but is his tactic sufficient to break the implied term of trust in my contract of employment such that I can leave without notice?

I think there are three questions here:
A- is his written offer to let you go before 3 months contractual?
B- If it is do you have enough evidence to prove he is not sticking with the new agreed terms?
C -And if you do do you have enough grounds to leave your job without working the full notice?

Providing A is true (possibly, not certain), and B is true (probably not, your word against his), the answer to C is very likely to be no anyway.

But you need to get legal advice, we are just giving you opinions, some better informed than others, but just opinions nevertheless.

CTA_2

terra_ferma wrote: »

I think there are three questions here:
A- is his written offer to let you go before 3 months contractual?
B- If it is do you have enough evidence to prove he is not sticking with the new agreed terms?
C -And if you do do you have enough grounds to leave your job without working the full notice?

Providing A is true (possibly, not certain), and B is true (probably not, your word against his), the answer to C is very likely to be no anyway.

But you need to get legal advice, we are just giving you opinions, some better informed than others, but just opinions nevertheless.

Good points, although I am not seeking to claim any damages, merely not serve my notice period. If they wish to seek damages against me, then would it be up to them to prove me wrong?