New job

duffuscastle

help , I signed a contractIn Feb  to start a new job with start date stated as “to suit“ . Waited for disclosure checks to be done which by time arrived country was in lockdown. How do I stand with regards to the job . Can they withdraw the job , do they have to give me notice and pay me . It’s very unlikely that the company will need me by the time they open again due to restrictions being placed on childcare providers 

Jeremy535897

It will depend on what the contract you signed says.

sharpe106

I would guess as the to suit part would pretty much qualify for them keeping you on hold to suit them, unless it had an end date on it. 

epm-84

duffuscastle said:

do they have to give me notice and pay me .

Your contract should say if there's any notice period but I think normally until you've done a few days work no notice is required, meaning if you decided it was the wrong job for you, then you could just say at the end of your first day that you don't want to come back in tomorrow and your employer could do the same if they thought they made a mistake and hired the wrong person.

Jeremy535897

The statutory one week notice period only applies if you have been continuously employed for one month, but the contract OP signed is the place to look.

Grumpy_chap

Normally, with a new job, it can be withdrawn before the start date (or you could just not turn up, it works both ways) with no compensation due.  The OP needs to check the contract to see if it says anything different.

I don't understand why the OP says there probably won't be a job to go to because of restrictions on childcare providers.  The restrictions because of coronavirus are all temporary and, I imagine by September at the latest, when everything re-opens there will be just as many children needing just as much childcare.  In fact, if there are permanent restrictions on group sizes that are tighter than past rules, then the number of staff required may increase overall.

The OP should do whatever they need to do to secure alternative employment, but also talk sensibly with the employer that they have the job offer from and be as flexible as possible about start date so as not to "blow it".  Better to have an offer to fall back on, even if it does not materialise for a few months, than no offer.  If, in the mean-time, the OP finds something else, happy days.

Financially, until then, the OP is probably stuck with UC and / or JSA.