Letter saying you have resigned

arty688

Hello,

My son was working for a national supermarket in his holidays from Uni but today we recieved a letter saying he had resigned by mutual consent . He has been stuggling to get shifts and got none after his holiday in August but had no contact with the employer until we recieved this letter.
Assuming my son is telling me the whole story , which I think he is . Can they do that without warning or consulation ?

I could understand it maybe if they said your services are no longer required but that is not mutual consent.
The store manager is not in today but he will be trying to s[eak to them tomorrow so just trying to understand if they have done something wrong.

I think he was on a seasonal contract if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any help

Marcon

arty688 said:

Hello,

My son was working for a national supermarket in his holidays from Uni but today we recieved a letter saying he had resigned by mutual consent . He has been stuggling to get shifts and got none after his holiday in August but had no contact with the employer until we recieved this letter.
Assuming my son is telling me the whole story , which I think he is . Can they do that without warning or consulation ?

I could understand it maybe if they said your services are no longer required but that is not mutual consent.
The store manager is not in today but he will be trying to s[eak to them tomorrow so just trying to understand if they have done something wrong.

I think he was on a seasonal contract if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any help

If he's been working for them (continuously) for under two years, they yes, they can do what they've done. Sounds as if your son could have received the 'wrong' letter, though - the supermarket will have a range of standard letters and probably someone simply failed to check the wording. Alternatively, there may be a clause in his contract saying that if he doesn't work a shift for a period of x days/weeks, it will be deemed resignation by mutual consent.

Either way, it's unsettling for your son, but I'm afraid it really is a case of putting it down to experience - and parting on the best terms possibly in case he ever wants to work there again. Probably not how he feels right now, but burning bridges is never a good idea when the future is so uncertain.

DullGreyGuy

If he is on a seasonal contract then presumably he has less than two years service and as such they can simply let him go, with notice, whenever they want but that wouldnt be "resignation by mutual consent" so it could be a wrong letter picked or such.

Has he had a performance review or such recently was something possibly said in the heat of the moment that he didn't want this job any more or such that could be construed as a resignation? 

Has he been AWOL? A former employer used to mark those who simply stopped turning up to work as "assumed resignation" so could be similar.

sammyjammy

So he went on holiday in August and then hasn't been into work or contacted them since he came back?  Not surprised he's received a letter, was he not contracted for so many hours a week or was it zero hours?
 how did it work before he went on holiday?

arty688

sammyjammy said:

So he went on holiday in August and then hasn't been into work or contacted them since he came back?  Not surprised he's received a letter, was he not contracted for so many hours a week or was it zero hours?
 how did it work before he went on holiday?

The way it worked was they called him up if there was a shift available, he was told earlier on in the year not to call in they would let him now. I think the section leaders keep changing and overall it just a poorly run store. I did tell him to be more proactive but hes a little young and shy.
I'm not surprised they have let him go as they were not giving there zero/seasonal workers many shifts but it amazes me how a large company can act like a corner shop. The the letter itself wasn't on headed paper and the envelope was hand writen with a stamp on. Which of course doesn't really matter but it is amature.

Grumpy_chap

If he was working for the local supermarket during his Uni break and is now going back to Uni, presumably he has had to resign anyway if he won't be available until the next Uni break at Christmas?

If he was on a zero hours contract and said "I am not available now until December" and the store manager replied "well, I have to take that as your resignation then" that would seem to be a reasonable position.  Presumably your son can reapply for seasonal work again in December?

There has to be a limit to how long a supermarket can hold seasonal zero-hour contract workers "on the books" when the individual is not available.  I was recently on a zero-hours contract and did no work in March and got a letter at the end of March (4 weeks) that I was treated as having resigned.  It made sense as it allowed the P45 to be issued ahead of the tax year-end.  I can always go back if I choose.

It is quite possible the "resigned" letter is all standard procedure and there is no need to read anything into it.

arty688

I think he was on a seasonal student contract and had been working in his holidays for 18 months though.

Also if there had been a dialogue with the store manager that would be fair enough but to get a letter a week after you have been terminated being the first thing you know about it is very poor and a disgraceful  way to treat people.

I don't have an issue with him losing his job as he could probably do with getting one with more hours anyway , it just the way its been handled.

Marcon

arty688 said:

I think he was on a seasonal student contract and had been working in his holidays for 18 months though.

Also if there had been a dialogue with the store manager that would be fair enough but to get a letter a week after you have been terminated being the first thing you know about it is very poor and a disgraceful  way to treat people.

I don't have an issue with him losing his job as he could probably do with getting one with more hours anyway , it just the way its been handled.

I wonder how bothered your son is? He's the one this has happened to...and he may not find it quite as earth shattering as his parent (and yes, I'd feel the way you do too - but I suspect this is partly a generational thing).

General_Grant

arty688 said:

Hello,

My son was working for a national supermarket in his holidays from Uni but today we recieved a letter saying he had resigned by mutual consent . He has been stuggling to get shifts and got none after his holiday in August but had no contact with the employer until we recieved this letter.
Assuming my son is telling me the whole story , which I think he is . Can they do that without warning or consulation ?

I could understand it maybe if they said your services are no longer required but that is not mutual consent.
The store manager is not in today but he will be trying to s[eak to them tomorrow so just trying to understand if they have done something wrong.

I think he was on a seasonal contract if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any help

arty688 said:

sammyjammy said:

So he went on holiday in August and then hasn't been into work or contacted them since he came back?  Not surprised he's received a letter, was he not contracted for so many hours a week or was it zero hours?
 how did it work before he went on holiday?

The way it worked was they called him up if there was a shift available, he was told earlier on in the year not to call in they would let him now. I think the section leaders keep changing and overall it just a poorly run store. I did tell him to be more proactive but hes a little young and shy.
I'm not surprised they have let him go as they were not giving there zero/seasonal workers many shifts but it amazes me how a large company can act like a corner shop. The the letter itself wasn't on headed paper and the envelope was hand writen with a stamp on. Which of course doesn't really matter but it is amature.

How was he "struggling" if he didn't contact the employer?

Was the letter also handwritten?

arty688

Hello,

"struggling" he was told not to call and they would call him.

It was worth chasing up after a few phone calls it turned out to be a mis-communication as the instruction not to call was incorrect and just the policy of a shift manager that has now moved on. So he will be working there over Xmas and hopefully learned a lesson that you have to be proactive and chase things and not just wait sometimes.

Thanks for your input.