Resignation from job

this_charming_girl

Hello all, could do with some advice if possible?

I handed my notice in to my part time weekend job on the 28th December 2014.
I had been with the company for nearly 4 years (april 2015).
The only contract that i have received from the company was when i got the job back in April 2011 which states i need to give at least one weeks notice.

I knew though that this could be my contract for the three months probation period so decided to give four weeks notice in my resignation letter, giving me a leave date of the 25th January 2015.

I was unsure if this was correct and verbally asked my supervisor if this was the correct date of my leaving and he confirmed this.
the store manager who was in the weekend previous to my leaving also said it was my last weekend.

However another- less senior manager told HR that my last day was the 31st of Jan 2015, because we get paid monthly and i was wrong to give four weeks notice- it should be a month?!

I was then told i had officially left yesterday by the same manager, but received a phone call today from HR telling me if I do not go in next saturday (31st) then they will have to tell Head office that i was a "no-show" and they will be chasing me for a debt.
This will also amount to no reference being given by the company.

Does anyone have any idea of where i stand on this issue?
Surely i have given correct written and verbal notice?
Thanks!

General_Grant

this_charming_girl wrote: »

Hello all, could do with some advice if possible?

I handed my notice in to my part time weekend job on the 28th December 2014.
I had been with the company for nearly 4 years (april 2015).
The only contract that i have received from the company was when i got the job back in April 2011 which states i need to give at least one weeks notice.

I knew though that this could be my contract for the three months probation period so decided to give four weeks notice in my resignation letter, giving me a leave date of the 25th January 2015.

I was unsure if this was correct and verbally asked my supervisor if this was the correct date of my leaving and he confirmed this.
the store manager who was in the weekend previous to my leaving also said it was my last weekend.

However another- less senior manager told HR that my last day was the 31st of Jan 2015, because we get paid monthly and i was wrong to give four weeks notice- it should be a month?!

I was then told i had officially left yesterday by the same manager, but received a phone call today from HR telling me if I do not go in next saturday (31st) then they will have to tell Head office that i was a "no-show" and they will be chasing me for a debt.
This will also amount to no reference being given by the company.

Does anyone have any idea of where i stand on this issue?
Surely i have given correct written and verbal notice?
Thanks!

"Verbal" as in "oral/unwritten" can't be proved unless you have independent witnesses.

However if you gave written notice you should have said it was something like "four weeks' notice terminating on 25 January". In fact, without having been advised anywhere in writing that it was anything other than one week (the statutory amount of notice in the absence of a contractual requirement for longer), then you need only have given one week. (Your employer would have needed to give you three weeks as you have completed three years' service with them but an employee's statutory notice does not increase.)

Are you able to work this coming weekend or are you unable to do so?

Have you any accrued holiday not taken?

Have they already paid you up to 31 January.

Just because you are paid monthly does not mean you have to give a month's notice.

this_charming_girl

I did plan on a day trip with my family, nothing booked yet though.
so yes, i could potentially work, but i don't feel i should need to.
I haven't been paid yet, we get paid on the 30th Jan.

I gave written notice on the 28th December 2014.
But because i was unsure if i gave correct notice i confirmed that with my supervisor.
It's the first job i have ever had to resign from, so i wanted to make sure i had given the company/store the correct information.

Also nothing has been said to me about accrued holidays.
I was able to book holidays for 2015 but i have not done so because i was thinking of leaving at the time the forms were given out.
I'm not sure if i may have accrued any at the present though?

thanks for your comment!

Undervalued

There is no connection between pay interval and notice required. This is a popular myth!

So the notice you have to give is whatever your contract requires. If nothing is specified in your contract, employee handbook or whatever then the legal minimum default applies which is one week. This does not increase with length of service, another popular myth!

Notice begins the day after it is issued.

If you have untaken holiday they have the option of requiring you to take it during your notice period or making you work and paying you for the holiday after you leave. That is their choice, not yours.

this_charming_girl

thank you UnderValued, for your comment.
I tried to research as best as i could before i handed in my notice, about notice and pay.
Am i correct in what i have said then?
During the phone call the HR lady did admit that i had given in four weeks notice which was correct and she had sorted payroll to reflect this, but was advised by the other manager that I, and she were wrong and i had to work the full month because that is when we all get paid.
The HR lady went off the managers advice and changed payroll with Head office- who apparently were annoyed at there being a change.

None of this was communicated to me until today- day after leaving.

Undervalued

Well yes, you were correct.

However, even so they are of course entitled to recover any accidental overpayment.

Check the holiday pay calculations carefully. Roughly, you accrue one days holiday for ever two weeks worked.

shortcrust

It genuinely sounds to me as though they just want you to work on the 31st because it makes things easier in terms of the payroll!!

If you don't want to work on the 31st and it's important to keep good relations (if you'll need a reference etc), I would drop them a note saying:

1. That you're sorry there's been some confusion between your managers regarding your notice period.
2. You're satisfied that you have given sufficient notice of leaving and that your final day of working was the 25th. This was confirmed by a manager.
3. That they can contact you if they think you have overpaid due to the confusion. If they provide details of overpayment you will return the money to them.
4. It's been lovely working with you!

this_charming_girl

of course, i would not dispute that, and have told them if that is the case then i will do what i can to get the over-payment back to them.
they still said that i will not receive a reference because i have left before my notice is up- according to the manager.

Right, thanks i will have to check that out; will i accrue holidays through-out my notice period or does that end when my notice was given?

Also, what would you recommend my next step should be?

HR lady told me she will send an email to head office to see if i have a bad mark against my name or not.

This is my second job, i was made redundant from my last.
Ive been working a full time teaching assistant job and this part time work since October and felt it was time to concentrate on my teaching career, however i don't want to part on bad terms with any company i am affiliated with.

this_charming_girl

shortcrust wrote: »

It genuinely sounds to me as though they just want you to work on the 31st because it makes things easier in terms of the payroll!!

If you don't want to work on the 31st and it's important to keep good relations (if you'll need a reference etc), I would drop them a note saying:

1. That you're sorry there's been some confusion between your managers regarding your notice period.
2. You're satisfied that you have given sufficient notice of leaving and that your final day of working was the 25th. This was confirmed by a manager.
3. That they can contact you if they think you have overpaid due to the confusion. If they provide details of overpayment you will return the money to them.
4. It's been lovely working with you!

Thank you for your comment, much appreciated.
i've tried to keep things happy and nice, and tried to cover all those points you have made in the phone call i received from today.
I still feel like im going against a brick wall though.

Any other ideas?
thanks again

Undervalued

Put it clearly but politely in writing.

Regarding references that is more difficult.

Apart from an handful of regulated professions you cannot force them to provide a reference.

If they do give one then it must be accurate and not deliberately misleading. So, if they falsely said you left without giving proper notice then, in theory at least, you would have a claim against them.

shortcrust

Don't enter another discussion about it. Just send a note. If they call again, politely say that you've said all you're going to say on the matter, that they should contact you in writing, and hang up. Remember that you've given them your notice and they're no longer your employer. You're free!!:D You don't need to reason or argue with them if you don't want to. I really do suspect that this is just someone trying to get out of doing the admin required to recover the overpaid day. They want you to give up a day so they can save a hour, which is a bit rubbish really. It'll soon be forgotten.