Firm refusing to honour job offer

LondonProperty

Hello all,

A bit of a complicated employment situation. I have been employed by a multinational firm for 10+ years, have started in the UK, moved to Canada, France, then USA. All in different jobs but effectively same firm although they use different local legal entities in each market so I am always employed by the local legal entity.

At the beginning of the pandemic the entire company has moved to work from home and a couple of months into that I told my employer I wanted to move back home to England and asked to continuing working from home from here. This has been approved.

I made the move and have been in England for several months already. Prior to leaving the US I had already started looking for internal roles based out of the UK and had secured a verbal offer before I even relocated. This was advertised as a secondment opportunity to cover for a maternity leave, which I verbally accepted. 

My new leader followed with a written confirmation a few days later, which I accepted in writing and we agreed a date for my transition into the new job. Here it is important to note that at this point the offer made was binding but pending confirmation of new salary details as I needed to effectively sign a new contract with the new local entity in England. I had been through this process several times with the firm before, including a couple of times that included overseas relocations, and had no issues whatsoever and so far all had been very straightforward and kosher.

In Sep 2020 we announce to the new team that I joined but as agreed, I am doing this on top of continuing my US job as we deal with the paperwork. 

From there things went downhill. Despite multiple attempts of chasing HR and my new boss to finalized the new contract I was only given specific details of pay and the arrangement 3 days before I was due on holidays in late December. At that point I had been doing both jobs for several months and only then I was told that in reality this would not be a secondment at all but a 6 months fixed term contract and that by accepting it I was also being made to acknowledge that no job will be left for me to return to once the term ends. 

This of course came as a shock as this was not what I had agreed to. The firm is saying that since I moved permanently to England they didn't think this was going to be a biggie for me. 

I wrote back to the new boss and advised that this was not as per agreement and that we would need to revise terms otherwise I would go back to US. He never replied until Dec 30th saying that a final offer would be a fixed term contract with a commitment that it can be extended until I find a permanent job with the firm in England. I have confirmation in writing that this will be added to the contract and, while I think this is unusual, I write back saying that I accept. This was in early January. 

It is now almost the end of January and the actual contract was sent to me only today. Lo and behold the extension clause has not been included and the boss/HR are saying it is not possible to be done. Bear in mind that while all of this is happening I have continued to be employed by the firm in the US as I am effectively doing that job too still to this day.

So what do I do from here? As I see it my options are:

1. Go back to the US and continue doing that job

2. Accept the risk of this fixed term contract but keep looking internally for other local jobs and risk having no job in another 6 months

Option 1 while secure is not something I really want to do. Option 2 I believe is unfair as by no fault of my own I am left with a different agreement than what my new boss has told me in writing. 

What could be next steps? I really love the job and want to stay with the firm but I believe I am being treated unfairly.

What are my rights here? Does the fact that I have worked for the firm continuously for 10+ years, albeit in several countries, create any precedence over the FTC? What is the legal standing when effectively I have been working in the UK with the firm's consent but still employed by the US entity? Is there any win win scenario here? It feels to me that there is a common ground: I want a job and they have a job opening. How can I negotiate something that works for both the firm and myself? 

Thank you

- A disheartened worker

Undervalued

You really need to get specialist advice on this.

However, in the most general of terms, you have little employment protection in the first two years of starting a job with a new company. Because of that generally if they change their mind about employing you all they would owe you is any contractual notice that has been agreed that extends beyond the start date. This is because they could dismiss you for no reason at all just by giving you notice during the first two years.

There are ways round this when head hunted or when moving between related companies.

They could agree to count service elsewhere and make your new job a continuation.

Or protection can be built in by agreeing a minimum period of employment and / or a long period of notice.

Another way is a non repayable "golden hello" or a pre agreed termination payment regardless of fault.

The problem is that it seems none of this was put in place?

So the only hope might be if it can somehow be argued that you still work for the same company. As I say, specialist advice is needed if you want to pursue it.

Marcon

LondonProperty said:

Hello all,

A bit of a complicated employment situation. I have been employed by a multinational firm for 10+ years, have started in the UK, moved to Canada, France, then USA. All in different jobs but effectively same firm although they use different local legal entities in each market so I am always employed by the local legal entity.

At the beginning of the pandemic the entire company has moved to work from home and a couple of months into that I told my employer I wanted to move back home to England and asked to continuing working from home from here. This has been approved.

I made the move and have been in England for several months already. Prior to leaving the US I had already started looking for internal roles based out of the UK and had secured a verbal offer before I even relocated. This was advertised as a secondment opportunity to cover for a maternity leave, which I verbally accepted. 

My new leader followed with a written confirmation a few days later, which I accepted in writing and we agreed a date for my transition into the new job. Here it is important to note that at this point the offer made was binding but pending confirmation of new salary details as I needed to effectively sign a new contract with the new local entity in England. I had been through this process several times with the firm before, including a couple of times that included overseas relocations, and had no issues whatsoever and so far all had been very straightforward and kosher.

In Sep 2020 we announce to the new team that I joined but as agreed, I am doing this on top of continuing my US job as we deal with the paperwork. 

From there things went downhill. Despite multiple attempts of chasing HR and my new boss to finalized the new contract I was only given specific details of pay and the arrangement 3 days before I was due on holidays in late December. At that point I had been doing both jobs for several months and only then I was told that in reality this would not be a secondment at all but a 6 months fixed term contract and that by accepting it I was also being made to acknowledge that no job will be left for me to return to once the term ends. 

This of course came as a shock as this was not what I had agreed to. The firm is saying that since I moved permanently to England they didn't think this was going to be a biggie for me. 

I wrote back to the new boss and advised that this was not as per agreement and that we would need to revise terms otherwise I would go back to US. He never replied until Dec 30th saying that a final offer would be a fixed term contract with a commitment that it can be extended until I find a permanent job with the firm in England. I have confirmation in writing that this will be added to the contract and, while I think this is unusual, I write back saying that I accept. This was in early January. 

It is now almost the end of January and the actual contract was sent to me only today. Lo and behold the extension clause has not been included and the boss/HR are saying it is not possible to be done. Bear in mind that while all of this is happening I have continued to be employed by the firm in the US as I am effectively doing that job too still to this day.

So what do I do from here? As I see it my options are:

1. Go back to the US and continue doing that job

2. Accept the risk of this fixed term contract but keep looking internally for other local jobs and risk having no job in another 6 months

Option 1 while secure is not something I really want to do. Option 2 I believe is unfair as by no fault of my own I am left with a different agreement than what my new boss has told me in writing. 

What could be next steps? I really love the job and want to stay with the firm but I believe I am being treated unfairly.

What are my rights here? Does the fact that I have worked for the firm continuously for 10+ years, albeit in several countries, create any precedence over the FTC? What is the legal standing when effectively I have been working in the UK with the firm's consent but still employed by the US entity? Is there any win win scenario here? It feels to me that there is a common ground: I want a job and they have a job opening. How can I negotiate something that works for both the firm and myself? 

If you are currently employed by a US company on US terms, their employment laws are very different from those which would apply in the UK and much less helpful to disgruntled employees. Believing that you are being treated unfairly isn't a legal concept which would help you in either country, unfortunately.

You know the firm and if you've worked for them for a decade, you should have a good idea, on a purely objective basis, of how valuable you are. What you've said suggests that they really aren't going to go to any great lengths to keep you, so the only way to turn this into any sort of win win scenario is for you to come up with constructive suggestions that the company will readily see as valuable to them.

Given the current chaos resulting from COVID, is there any mileage in doing as you suggest and going back to the US for another year or two, and then looking again at returning to the UK? At least that would keep you gainfully employed while the world sorts itself out.

Otherwise you are likely to be stuck with option 2 - and the risk of having no job in 6 months' time is very real.

Thrugelmir

If the position in the UK was a secondment for maternity cover. Then reasonable that the role was only fixed term for an external appointment. No reason to believe that head count in the UK would be increased and a full time position found for you. 

The fact that you are applying for UK based roles suggests to the US operation that your intention is to leave their employ. Relationships are two way. They'll be planning for your departure. 

theoretica

You initially thought you had a secondment role for maternity cover in the UK - not accepting this offered contract and sticking to your US role seems pretty close to what you initially thought you had, just maybe bringing your UK work to a stop a few months earlier than anticipated.  It seems to me the person you most need to talk to is your US boss, not your UK boss as whether this is a secondment or you need to resign your US job seems more to reflect on the US side of things and how much they want you back than on the UK.

AskAsk

as they haven't issued you with a contract in the UK that contains what you want, you need to go back to the US and only return when you can secure the contract you want.  i can't see this being any more complicated than that.

the ball is in your court as they say.

LondonProperty

Thank you everyone so much for your guidance, this is very helpful.  

I am very very grateful for everything the firm has already done for me, allowing me to first perform my US duties from here and also for continued support on trying to find a new role that is local. Usually secondments in our firm cause a chain effect meaning that they temporarily employ people in the chain until either someone is not replaced for that period of time or an external contractor is brought in. In my case, because I am still doing both jobs they have not lost anything as this was in common accord and both my US boss and my UK boss are happy. However the situation has to come to an end at some point, that is what we are trying to rearrange now.

As @Marcon said I think I have a good idea of how much they value me. I have been a consistent high performer over all these years and they also had no obligation to allow me to perform my job from another country, they could just have told me to resign like they did with many others. I think you are right that it is in me to provide some ideas on how to move this forward.

I also know I have a very high chance of finding a new job there, I've done that many times before in similar circumstances. What has been bothering me this time is that the whole process has been so broken, with changing of rules mid way, by no fault of my own.

Thank you all for your guidance. If I may ask, are there any firms that specialises in employment law for expats or in situations like this? How would I go about finding a reputable one?

Thanks again

Thrugelmir

LondonProperty said:

 What has been bothering me this time is that the whole process has been so broken, with changing of rules mid way, by no fault of my own.

If I may ask, are there any firms that specialises in employment law for expats or in situations like this? How would I go about finding a reputable one?

No one is indispensable. Covid has accelerated change. Something that no one could have foreseen. Nor has the future any immediate certainty. 

Unlike the UK, US employment protection is wafer thin. Employers can terminate at will and without reason. 

LondonProperty

Unlike the UK, US employment protection is wafer thin. Employers can terminate at will and without reason. 

Not in this case. I am not employed at will, I have a contract with an extended notice period on both sides. But I hear you, no one is indispensable that is true!

AskAsk

the situation with covid 19 is pretty bad in the UK with stringent lockdowns so employers will not want to issue new contracts as employment law is tougher in the UK than they are in the US.  it is therefore understandable why they have renegaded on their intention to issue you with a UK contract.

if you want to seek legal advice, i think it would be more appropriate to speak to a US solicitor as your existing contract is US based and so they would be the first port of call to give you advice rather than a UK based solicitor.

LondonProperty

Thanks everyone for your help. Just an update that today I was able to escalate the issue with someone more senior and we were able to agree continuity for the contract. Good outcome!