Signed contract of employment but then didnt start work

faringdon

Hi, Am i liable for any kind of financial fine because i signed a contract to go and work for an electronics company but then did not go and work for them?

 On 10th July 2025 I signed a contract to start work at an electronics company (call it "Acme_A") in UK. The start date was 1st August 2025. But then on 30th July 2025 they sent me an email saying they didn't have enough references for me and could I send another reference. So it sounded to me as if there was uncertainty whether or not I had the job or not.

Anyway , I had another job offer to start work (at a different company , call it "ACME_B") on 4th August so I decided to take that job instead. So anyway I told the first company "ACME_A" , by email on 30th July 2025, that unfortunately I could not start work with them.
Then their receptionist rang me up and was very angry with me for my expression of intent not to come and work for them. She kept on angrily saying over and over, "you have signed a contract to come and work here!"

 Am i liable for any kind of fine because i signed a contract to go and work for an electronics company but then did not go and work for them?

lincroft1710

In theory they could sue you for breach of contract, but all they could legitimately claim for would be the cost to find someone to fill the role you reneged on.


In practice this would be extremely unlikely, so I wouldn't worry. 

MyRealNameToo

faringdon said:

Hi, Am i liable for any kind of financial fine because i signed a contract to go and work for an electronics company but then did not go and work for them?

 On 10th July 2025 I signed a contract to start work at an electronics company (call it "Acme_A") in UK. The start date was 1st August 2025. But then on 30th July 2025 they sent me an email saying they didn't have enough references for me and could I send another reference. So it sounded to me as if there was uncertainty whether or not I had the job or not.

Anyway , I had another job offer to start work (at a different company , call it "ACME_B") on 4th August so I decided to take that job instead. So anyway I told the first company "ACME_A" , by email on 30th July 2025, that unfortunately I could not start work with them.
Then their receptionist rang me up and was very angry with me for my expression of intent not to come and work for them. She kept on angrily saying over and over, "you have signed a contract to come and work here!"

 Am i liable for any kind of fine because i signed a contract to go and work for an electronics company but then did not go and work for them?

What was the notice period in the signed contract? 

In principle failing to work the agreed notice period is a breach of contract and so they would be entitled to sue for any losses sustained as a consequence of the breach. If you've a 1 week notice period then realistically there probably were no losses as newbies are always more of drain than a value add in the first week or more. Obviously if you had a 3 month notice period then it's much more likely there would be losses sustained. 

In practice is very rare for companies to go that far, but not unheard of, and is much more common in more senior roles etc. Generally HR just mark you as persona non gatitas and you dont bother waisting your time ever applying for jobs with them again. 

sgthammer

No contract is binding until both parties agree to it. You signed up, they either agreed subject to satisfactory references which didn't materialise - voiding the deal - or changed the goalposts on their end after you'd signed - voiding the deal. The fact another company was happy to employ you suggests the latter. 

So no, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on trying to sue. Maybe the receptionist was just looking forward to seeing you every day, but she sounds quite highly strung and you might be better off out of that too.

faringdon

Thanks, what if they had bought a  new laptop for me to work on, and a new Altium PCB layout licence for me to work with......(~£2K for the altium,  and ~£1K for the laptop)

lincroft1710

faringdon said:

Thanks, what if they had bought a  new laptop for me to work on, and a new Altium PCB layout licence for me to work with......(~£2K for the altium,  and ~£1K for the laptop)

Did they buy these? "What if...?" implies this might not have happened.

Tabieth

Well you didn’t work your notice period so that could be reflected on any future references. And, if the industry is a small world and companies talk to each other, you could develop a bad reputation. In the post above you mention equipment provided for you. I assume you’ve returned it all? 

General_Grant

Tabieth said:

Well you didn’t work your notice period so that could be reflected on any future references. And, if the industry is a small world and companies talk to each other, you could develop a bad reputation. In the post above you mention equipment provided for you. I assume you’ve returned it all? 

As the OP didn't do a single minute of work for company A then they wouldn't count as an employer and not appear as an organisation to provide a reference.

I found it very strange that a receptionist would make a phone call talking about signed contracts.

Undervalued

sgthammer said:

No contract is binding until both parties agree to it. You signed up, they either agreed subject to satisfactory references which didn't materialise - voiding the deal - or changed the goalposts on their end after you'd signed - voiding the deal. The fact another company was happy to employ you suggests the latter. 

So no, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on trying to sue. Maybe the receptionist was just looking forward to seeing you every day, but she sounds quite highly strung and you might be better off out of that too.

Offer and acceptance!

The company offered a job on certain terms. The OP accepted so a contract was formed.

Yes the company would "have a leg to stand on", assuming they could demonstrate that they had actually suffered a quantifiable loss despite having taken reasonable steps to mitigate.

In practice it is very unlikely that they will pursue this but it can and does sometimes happen. 

EnPointe

faringdon said:

Thanks, what if they had bought a  new laptop for me to work on, and a new Altium PCB layout licence for me to work with......(~£2K for the altium,  and ~£1K for the laptop)

 and  were these issued to you ?  did you fail to return company  property ?  if  it was never issued  or the your returned it  then it goes back into the pool of IT assets  of the business 

QrizB

EnPointe said:

faringdon said:

Thanks, what if they had bought a  new laptop for me to work on, and a new Altium PCB layout licence for me to work with......(~£2K for the altium,  and ~£1K for the laptop)

 and  were these issued to you ?  did you fail to return company  property ?  if  it was never issued  or the your returned it  then it goes back into the pool of IT assets  of the business 

... and can be given to whoever they recruit to replace the OP.