Handed notice into old job and now new job won't take me on due to Covid19

Rebecca_R93

Hello everyone!
I'm looking for some advice. Before the outbreak of Covid19 I had handed my notice into my current job, this officially ends on 31st March 2020, I had accepted an offer for another full time job, due to start on the 6th April 2020. Over the last week the job I was ment to start with have now told me they can no longer take me on as they as a company are unable to work due to the virus and have said that they may consider taking me on in June...
This obviously leaves me in a terrible position as I thought I would be going straight into a job will full pay and now I find my self unemployed after 10 years. My old job will not take me back, we are also not currently working due to the virus but I will get my last pay and then that's it. Does the new employer have any responsibility to help me? I have just seen about the "furlough". Does this apply to me as they were going to take me on? I have applied for new style JSA within the last week as that is the only help I can see is open to me at the moment.
Thanks in advance

Rose_Hill12345

Hi Rebecca
I am in exactly the same position as you and have spent the last few days trying to research this. I was due to start my new job yesterday, but my new employer informed me at the end of last week that they would have to delay the start date by at least a month, and then review it. I have been fortunate that my current employer has agreed to let me stay for another month but, after that, I have no idea what will happen. I fear my employer could terminate my contract altogether.

You ask whether your new employer has any responsibility towards you. The question is whether or not there is a binding contract between you. Was your offer conditional (for example, conditional on your new employer receiving satisfactory references?) and did you meet those conditions? If you did not meet the conditions then I am afraid there is no contract. But, if you did meet those conditions then there is a binding and enforceable contract. Likewise, if the offer was not conditional, and you accepted the offer, then there is a binding contract. Where there is a binding contract and the employer no longer wishes to proceed, then this is a breach of contract and you would be entitled to bring a claim for damages.

The next question to ask is whether there is a termination clause in your contract. Mine says that I am entitled to two weeks' pay in lieu of notice if my contract is terminated. You should look at your contract and see what that says. If your contract does not contain such a clause, then you are entitled to the equivalent of one week's pay, which is statutory. 

Hopefully, your employer (and mine) will not terminate the contract and does simply delay the start date as they have said. However, as you say, another possibility might be the new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which the chancellor announced last week. Under this scheme, the government will pay up to 80% of a furloughed worker's wages for a period of three months (tbc).  There does not seem to be any drawback to this for the employer, because this amount would be a grant and not a loan. However, the question is whether or not we would be eligible for the scheme through our new employer, because we would not have been on the employer's payroll before 1 March (which is the start date for the scheme). I am trying to research the answer to this but it looks as though we are waiting for HMRC to provide more detailed guidance. This is - apparently - expected by the end of this week. I am thinking of proposing the idea to my new employer and see if an agreement can be reached.

This is a horrible position to be in because there is so much which is yet to be clarified. At the moment, people in our unusual position do not seem to be offered anything in the way of protection. I really hope that more information will follow shortly and that it is positive. I will update this thread if I find out anything new. Do keep me updated as well because it will be interesting to hear how other employers are going to treat this scenario.
Take care and keep well. 

Rebecca_R93

Thank You so much for this. 
I'm unsure on where I stand with the contract as I accepted the job offer over the phone and I then received a letter stating I had accepted the job and what my salary will be. I also have had multiple messages saying I had been put onto thier system to start etc but I haven't physically signed anything, I'm guessing that makes a difference? 
I'm also going to message the new company tomorrow to see where I stand with all of this. 
It's just horrible being in limbo. I have no idea what's going to happen and as you said there's no real help for people in our position. Thank You for your help! If I see anything updated on this suitation I will post it on here too. 
Hope everything works out for you x

7Phil

Uh, guys, I really feel for you.
When this thing really started to crash down on us I thought how bad it would be to be stuck between jobs, or even in such a tiny gap as you both are.
I think you are looking in to what you have and what your options are in a very sensible way. Keep at it.
The only thing I can recommend in my uneducated opinion on the matter is exactly what you are looking for - whether you have anything concrete to fall back on. I firmly believe that any written offer of employment should be honoured given that they are made in good faith. Holding them to their promises immediately is a different story but you may still succeed.

If there is any local employment support advice, including paid legal advice I'd get whatever I could [if this was happening to me]. I realise that advice is in hot demand right now but I would act asap and not wait for the govt to save you soon.

I wish you both luck and hope it turns around quickly in your favour.

PS: Skip straight to making phone calls directly to whoever your contact point is. Don't wait on messages being replied to.

ianjw

Hi
I'm glad I found this thread as I am in the same predicament i was made redundant last July and could not get a permanent job and finally broke through and finally got an interview and successfully got offered a job which was due to start on the 13th of April I got confirmation by email that all was confirmed and signed off but received a call from my new employer which is my local council on Monday that due to the Covid-19  I will not be starting on the said date and if things change in the future they will contact me with a new start date or if at all. I am totally gutted and left without any money now and fear for my house which I mortgage and my car which is on finance and obviously all my bills.

i need help and I need it soon 
thanks 
Ian 

Nutcase15

I am in same situation.  I finish on Friday new job 1st April 2020. Advised today that they have shut as its hospitality.   They said they will check out if they can help am waiting for them to come back to me.   I have signed a statement of particulars with confirmation of start date and salary so its in writing.  My husband is a freelance teacher so no money there at the moment.   Old job construction and I am relocating for new job as just got married.  I really don't know what to do but sit tight and hope. 

Jeremy535897

Check whether you are entitled to universal credit in the meantime.

Rose_Hill12345

Hi Everyone
Sorry to see that this has happened to so many people over the last few days. It is a shocking time.
Rebecca, from what you have said, it sounds as though you have a binding contract of employment, even though you haven't signed one. An offer of employment, once accepted, forms a binding contract (provided you also meet any conditions of the offer, if there were any). I don't think a lot of companies realise that. Furthermore, if there are emails showing that your new employer has set you up on their system then this very much suggests that they are proceeding on the basis that you awere due to start work and that a contract is in place. In which case, Rebecca, your new employer should pay you a sum of damages in compensation for breach of contract. If there is nothing in writing stating how much you should be paid in the event that your contract is terminated, then you should ask for the statutory entitlement which is equivalent to one week's pay. You might even want to try to ask for more, given the circumstances and how difficult it is now going to be to find work in this climate. Put it in writing. You might need to rely on it if you bring a county court claim later (using Money Claims Online).

This advice to Rebecca applies to everyone. There doesn't need to be a written agreement for a binding contract to be in place. Therefore, look through your emails and even think back through phone calls with your new employer. If they have said anything that confirms that your references are complete, for example, and that they look forward to seeing you on your start date, then that indicates a binding contract which you can try to enforce (bear in mind that if the company has gone down the pan as a result of coronavirus then you may not recover anything from them).

I think a lot of companies will have panicked last week and immediately terminated contracts which they don't realise are binding and without realising the legal consequences.
 
Definitely worth a shot having a conversation with your new employers about this. I will be doing the same. Pulling out of a contract at this late stage is a very controversial move. But we live in extraordinary times.

In the meantime, fingers crossed that the rules regarding furloughed workers become clearer ASAP because this could be a way to negotiate with new employers.

I hope this helps. I would like to mention that I have worked in law for over 10 years and, although employment law isn't my field, I have researched this. However, each of you should each try to call ACAS for free legal advice and don't rely on what I've said!
Hope you all have a good day.

Rebecca_R93

Thank You so much!
I spent some time into the early hours last night reading up about it and yes I think your absolutely correct that I have a binding contract and there were no needs to be met of the job so I was taken on without any problems. I will be contacting that employer today and will,a the bare minimum expect a week of SSP. It's absolutely awful that so many companies have done this to us in what will probably be one of the hardest times of our life. I have also reached out to my previous employer today so ask again if they can help or even take me back on. Im hoping that they can help in some way.
Thank You Again! X

tasticz

i am also currently waiting for response from my new employer. I resigned from my current job some time back... I was supposed to start new job in April but no idea what is going to happen now 

virago63

I too find myself in this position. I live on a small Scottish island where our employment is fluid, often part-time, temporary and frequently seasonal. From Feb to March 21st I was employed part-time on PAYE in a shop on a very temporary basis.  I then got the offer of another PAYE job in a different shop, to start on Tuesday 24th March, which would have been perfect ... until the shutdown! On Monday they had to close, as it is a non-essential business. I have hours, pay etc agreed with the boss by email so I would class that as a contract on employment, although I haven't signed one. In a phone conversation with the boss since the closure, he has said the job will be there for me one they can open up again. 
My understanding of the Job Retention Scheme is that it's based on your wages in February this year. I got this from a small business advice website "JRS is intended to run for at least three months from 1 March 2020, but it will be extended if necessary. The JRS will cover the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020 and is open for workers who were in employment on 28 February."
So that doesn't fit with the new job that I have yet to start. However, I was employed in my previous, very temporary job, on 28th Feb. So I wonder are they able to claim anything for me? Or do I just need to claim benefit until such time as I can start my new job? There must be so many of us who fall through the standard net of these new schemes and rules.