Withdrawing from a conditional job offer - NHS

1122abc

I've read around this topic on Google but I'm still not clear if I can legally withdraw from a conditional job offer.

The job was offered verbally to me and I agreed.
The job was confirmed by email and I replied 'I am happy to proceed'.
A conditional offer letter has been sent to me and it has the conditions as well as my signature required at the bottom which says that I accept the job on the T&C given above.

I have not signed the offer letter or the contract.

Can I legally withdraw from this job offer?

General_Grant

1122abc said:

I've read around this topic on Google but I'm still not clear if I can legally withdraw from a conditional job offer.

The job was offered verbally to me and I agreed.
The job was confirmed by email and I replied 'I am happy to proceed'.
A conditional offer letter has been sent to me and it has the conditions as well as my signature required at the bottom which says that I accept the job on the T&C given above.

I have not signed the offer letter or the contract.

Can I legally withdraw from this job offer?

Of course you can.

What notice would you be required to give under the contract?
Does the "contract"/offer have an employment start date?

1122abc

General_Grant said:

1122abc said:

I've read around this topic on Google but I'm still not clear if I can legally withdraw from a conditional job offer.

The job was offered verbally to me and I agreed.
The job was confirmed by email and I replied 'I am happy to proceed'.
A conditional offer letter has been sent to me and it has the conditions as well as my signature required at the bottom which says that I accept the job on the T&C given above.

I have not signed the offer letter or the contract.

Can I legally withdraw from this job offer?

Of course you can.

What notice would you be required to give under the contract?
Does the "contract"/offer have an employment start date?

Thanks for your reply.

The employment start date is August 3rd with a notice period of 3 months.

I have an interview for another job on Friday and if I get the job, I was hoping to take up this new job instead and withdraw from the current offer.

Is that legal?

oh_really

Yes, you have the choice to accept or reject their offer.

1122abc

oh_really said:

Yes, you have the choice to accept or reject their offer.

But as I have mentioned above, I have already verbally confirmed 'yes' to the job offer and then written 'I am happy to proceed' in an e-mail. Is this agreement (verbal and written, but not in a contract) legally binding?

Marcon

1122abc said:

oh_really said:

Yes, you have the choice to accept or reject their offer.

But as I have mentioned above, I have already verbally confirmed 'yes' to the job offer and then written 'I am happy to proceed' in an e-mail. Is this agreement (verbal and written, but not in a contract) legally binding?

You're over-thinking this. No employer is going to want to take on an employee who has decided they don't want to be there after all - and if you've received a conditional offer letter, until you've signed it, there is no binding contract anyway.

1122abc

Marcon said:

1122abc said:

oh_really said:

Yes, you have the choice to accept or reject their offer.

But as I have mentioned above, I have already verbally confirmed 'yes' to the job offer and then written 'I am happy to proceed' in an e-mail. Is this agreement (verbal and written, but not in a contract) legally binding?

You're over-thinking this. No employer is going to want to take on an employee who has decided they don't want to be there after all - and if you've received a conditional offer letter, until you've signed it, there is no binding contract anyway.

Thank you. I just worry about causing offence to the employers as I am aware of someone who refused a conditional offer at the last minute and his name was spread between several different employers within the same area - he was given quite a bad reputation.

General_Grant

1122abc said:

General_Grant said:

1122abc said:

I've read around this topic on Google but I'm still not clear if I can legally withdraw from a conditional job offer.

The job was offered verbally to me and I agreed.
The job was confirmed by email and I replied 'I am happy to proceed'.
A conditional offer letter has been sent to me and it has the conditions as well as my signature required at the bottom which says that I accept the job on the T&C given above.

I have not signed the offer letter or the contract.

Can I legally withdraw from this job offer?

Of course you can.

What notice would you be required to give under the contract?
Does the "contract"/offer have an employment start date?

Thanks for your reply.

The employment start date is August 3rd with a notice period of 3 months.

I have an interview for another job on Friday and if I get the job, I was hoping to take up this new job instead and withdraw from the current offer.

Is that legal?

Are you currently unemployed?
Given that you are likely to be seeking a job at the level where 3 months notice from Day 1 is probably not unusual, an interview on Friday of this week is very unlikely to lead to an unconditional offer to start on Monday, 3 August,

Just start your new job on 3 August and, if you are offered the second job and they want you to start before 1 November, you could probably negotiate an earlier leaving date.  Very often notice periods are different in the initial period of employment so do check that 3 months is required - especially if you have a "probationary period" mentioned.

1122abc

General_Grant said:

1122abc said:

General_Grant said:

1122abc said:

I've read around this topic on Google but I'm still not clear if I can legally withdraw from a conditional job offer.

The job was offered verbally to me and I agreed.
The job was confirmed by email and I replied 'I am happy to proceed'.
A conditional offer letter has been sent to me and it has the conditions as well as my signature required at the bottom which says that I accept the job on the T&C given above.

I have not signed the offer letter or the contract.

Can I legally withdraw from this job offer?

Of course you can.

What notice would you be required to give under the contract?
Does the "contract"/offer have an employment start date?

Thanks for your reply.

The employment start date is August 3rd with a notice period of 3 months.

I have an interview for another job on Friday and if I get the job, I was hoping to take up this new job instead and withdraw from the current offer.

Is that legal?

Are you currently unemployed?
Given that you are likely to be seeking a job at the level where 3 months notice from Day 1 is probably not unusual, an interview on Friday of this week is very unlikely to lead to an unconditional offer to start on Monday, 3 August,

Just start your new job on 3 August and, if you are offered the second job and they want you to start before 1 November, you could probably negotiate an earlier leaving date.  Very often notice periods are different in the initial period of employment so do check that 3 months is required - especially if you have a "probationary period" mentioned.

I am actually working at the same place that has given me the offer (it's a GP practice) but with a different employer. I am working under a 12 month contract in this practice (ending on August 1st), it is an outsourced job, however the practice are offering me continued employment directly from them to start on August 3rd. I would prefer not to work there after a recent incident.

Luckily the job interview on Friday will let me know at the end of the day if I have been successful.

There is a 6 month probation period - thank you for mentioning this, I will have to check if it affects the notice period.

Thrugelmir

1122abc said:

Marcon said:

1122abc said:

oh_really said:

Yes, you have the choice to accept or reject their offer.

But as I have mentioned above, I have already verbally confirmed 'yes' to the job offer and then written 'I am happy to proceed' in an e-mail. Is this agreement (verbal and written, but not in a contract) legally binding?

You're over-thinking this. No employer is going to want to take on an employee who has decided they don't want to be there after all - and if you've received a conditional offer letter, until you've signed it, there is no binding contract anyway.

Thank you. I just worry about causing offence to the employers as I am aware of someone who refused a conditional offer at the last minute and his name was spread between several different employers within the same area - he was given quite a bad reputation.

Nothing to stop you walking. If you mess people around then a reputation will follow you though. It's a small world in the NHS. If you weren't committed then you shouldn't have said yes. Appears that you wish to have your cake and eat it. Treating this role as a temporary stepping stone. 

1122abc

Thrugelmir said:

1122abc said:

Marcon said:

1122abc said:

oh_really said:

Yes, you have the choice to accept or reject their offer.

But as I have mentioned above, I have already verbally confirmed 'yes' to the job offer and then written 'I am happy to proceed' in an e-mail. Is this agreement (verbal and written, but not in a contract) legally binding?

You're over-thinking this. No employer is going to want to take on an employee who has decided they don't want to be there after all - and if you've received a conditional offer letter, until you've signed it, there is no binding contract anyway.

Thank you. I just worry about causing offence to the employers as I am aware of someone who refused a conditional offer at the last minute and his name was spread between several different employers within the same area - he was given quite a bad reputation.

Nothing to stop you walking. If you mess people around then a reputation will follow you though. It's a small world. If you weren't committed then you shouldn't have said yes. Appears that you wish to have your cake and eat it. Treating this role as a temporary stepping stone. 

I definitely did. I'm relatively young and very naive, so I make mistakes but I recognise this. I was not confident enough to look for another job so I decided that it was easier to stay where I was. I realise that the working conditions are breaking me down too much and I would like to leave.