Handing notice in before conditions of offer are met

Ella_fella

So I received a job offer last night but noted with interest that it was conditional on qualifications and right to work status being validated and acceptable references received.

I'm currently on a month's notice but from the start of the interview process the agency recruiter asked whether it would be possible to expedite this notice period to say 2 weeks, which is possible as I have outstanding so far this year circa 4 weeks of accrued leave/TOIL.

So the question that I asked the recruiter this morning but really didn't gain any further help with is there's the very real possibility that if I start in two weeks time that one of the conditions of the job offer aren't met i.e. the references. So do I go back to the company making the job offer and say I won't hand my notice in until you've made the job offer unconditional? And that means the 2 weeks start date they are requesting is then considerably extended.

I don't expect anything odd to come back via my references however I'm a very cautious person and don't like the idea of handing in my notice then the recruiter coming back and saying the offer has been rescinded due to x, y or z.

Have never come across this before, my last job offer about 5 years ago was unconditional so not sure at all how to progress this now.

caprikid1

I guess it will also have a probation period too, depends on how relevant to the role the qualification's are.

I would be tempted to point the probation period gives and the 1st year lack of employment rights provides the company enough termination options but then does it really give you any more security with it unconditional ?

Depends on whether you want to work for the company / trust them.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6675747/handing-notice-in-before-conditions-of-offer-are-met

Its normally conditional on references and right to work… its a very heavy lift for recruiters to do referencing on candidates before job offers are received given you could be referencing 3-10 times the number of people.

There are some here who say never resign until you have not only an unconditional offer but also a signed contract. Others like me will resign beforehand but I would instead want to know what happens if the references havent been received by the start date, do I start but under risk or is my start date deferred?

Really depends on how much you want the job and how much they want you… if you love the job but they had other potential people they'd hire you may want to be less risk adverse. If you could take it or leave it then maybe you prefer security.

If you've not had a job offer in 5 years then presumably they are only referencing your current employer and so you should be confident in known your relationship with them? Most firms only confirm employment dates and titles these days anyway so as long as you were honest/accurate it's not like they are going to put in the reference about your BO issue or such.

Ella_fella

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064706#Comment_82064706

I have gone back to the employer directly this morning and raised the very real possibility that my references won't have been received by the time I start working with them, and asked how this potential scenario would fit in with my onboarding process with them

Woodstok2000

You could certainly ask them to expedite the references and not hand your notice in until they're confirmed, but assuming one reference is your current employer it will make your intention to leave pretty obvious when they get a reference request. Its right to be cautious, but remember UK employment references are factual and must be accurate so you should hopefully have nothing to worry about.

Be careful assuming you can use leave/TOIL to shorten your notice period. At my work, once you hand in your notice you have no right to take holiday during that period and you certainly couldn't take (paid) time off and then work for another company during that period. A shorter notice would need to be negotiated with a manager.

caprikid1

Most employer references are valueless these days , if they even turn up

Savvy_Sue

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064718#Comment_82064718

This, about starting work in 2 weeks. Your employer might escort you from the building the minute you hand in your notice. Or they might say no, we want you in work every minute of every working day throughout your notice period. Or anything in between. It's a negotiation, not a right.

I'd be slightly wary of a new employer who expects me to be able to break my current contract of employment. If you'd said no, I can't start for a month, what would they do?

TELLIT01

Having accrued TOIL and/or leave, doesn't mean your current employer will allow you to take any or all of it instead of working your full notice period. The decision is for the employer to make.

ohreallƳ

Do nothing until you have an unconditional offer and all conditions are satisfied.

marcia_

no way I would hand my notice in until I definitely had a new job to go to. You can't assume you will get clearance.

Tabieth

I’ve always waited for the written, unconditional job offer before handing in my notice (and my notice period was 3-months for the last few job changes). I’ve never had any reason to think my references won’t pass or I’ll fail a background check. But I have seen situations where a verbal offer was withdrawn because of budgetary reasons. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.