No contract of employment

Hi I have now been working for 10 months and I have no employment contract.

Its not turning out to be what I thought it would be so looking about for other opportunities - so my question is without a contract being in place or signed by me what notice period would I need to give if I found another job?

FYI: not sure if this would influence but job is in NI

Comments

  • Hi I have now been working for 10 months and I have no employment contract.

    Its not turning out to be what I thought it would be so looking about for other opportunities - so my question is without a contract being in place or signed by me what notice period would I need to give if I found another job?

    FYI: not sure if this would influence but job is in NI

    Well you do have a contract by working there on agreed terms and getting paid!

    Obviously if it is written down it is easier to prove what has been agreed but, in the absence of an agreement for more notice, an employee only ever has to give one week's notice.
  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 12,671
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    You DO have a contract of employment - it just doesn't appear to have been put in writing.

    But the fact that you turn up for work and your employer pays you indicates that there is a contract in place.

    In the absence of anything written to the contrary, then the statutory notice period for the employee of one week applies

    http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4096
  • p00hsticks wrote: »
    You DO have a contract of employment - it just doesn't appear to have been put in writing.

    But the fact that you turn up for work and your employer pays you indicates that there is a contract in place.

    In the absence of anything written to the contrary, then the statutory notice period for the employee of one week applies

    http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4096



    Yes I understand there is an agreement in place that I am employed otherwise why do they pay me :rotfl: what I was trying to explain that I have no written terms of that employment hence wanting to know the notice period - in my line its not unusual to have 3 or even 6 months notice period so just wanted to confirm what minimum was.
  • Yes I understand there is an agreement in place that I am employed otherwise why do they pay me :rotfl: what I was trying to explain that I have no written terms of that employment hence wanting to know the notice period - in my line its not unusual to have 3 or even 6 months notice period so just wanted to confirm what minimum was.

    As said, unless they can show there was an agreement for more notice (which doesn't have to be in writing) then it is only one week.

    However, keep in mind your "contract" is far wider than a (non existent!) piece of paper. It can include employee handbooks, staff information on the firms intranet, notices on the wall and even what was said in the job advert plus of course any verbal agreements.
  • As said, unless they can show there was an agreement for more notice (which doesn't have to be in writing) then it is only one week.

    However, keep in mind your "contract" is far wider than a (non existent!) piece of paper. It can include employee handbooks, staff information on the firms intranet, notices on the wall and even what was said in the job advert plus of course any verbal agreements.

    Yes but they needs to be agreement to these terms does there not? Other places I've worked I have had to sign the acceptance and contract of employment which prescribed notice periods, holiday allowance. It can't just be a "you should of been made aware of that policy that you are bound by this and that"

    And if it came down to it if they said on your first we verbally told you that your notice period was x weeks/months they would need to prove that I was told and pretty sure they don't go to the lengths of recording each conversation.
  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229
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    Yes but they needs to be agreement to these terms does there not? Other places I've worked I have had to sign the acceptance and contract of employment which prescribed notice periods, holiday allowance. It can't just be a "you should of been made aware of that policy that you are bound by this and that"

    And if it came down to it if they said on your first we verbally told you that your notice period was x weeks/months they would need to prove that I was told and pretty sure they don't go to the lengths of recording each conversation.
    Agreement? Well you turned up for work and got paid.


    Usually the handbook will have a termination section.
  • Undervalued
    Undervalued Posts: 8,839
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    Yes but they needs to be agreement to these terms does there not? Other places I've worked I have had to sign the acceptance and contract of employment which prescribed notice periods, holiday allowance. It can't just be a "you should of been made aware of that policy that you are bound by this and that"

    And if it came down to it if they said on your first we verbally told you that your notice period was x weeks/months they would need to prove that I was told and pretty sure they don't go to the lengths of recording each conversation.

    No, not as such.

    As I explained earlier, by working there and getting paid you have agreed to any terms you have been made aware of. There is no requirement for that agreement to be in writing and / or signed. There are a couple of exceptions to this but not relevant here.

    If there was a dispute and it ended up in court (or employment tribunal) it would be up to the judge to decide, on the balance of probabilities, who he believed.

    In English law very few agreements have to be in writing to be valid. Obviously if they are it is far easier to prove what was agreed but in most instances a verbal agreement is just as binding.
  • steampowered
    steampowered Posts: 6,176
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    Termination provisions are almost always put in employment contracts.

    It would be really unusual to put notice periods in the employee handbook. Most employee handbooks actually say they are non-contractual. If the handbook is contractual the employer could be sued for breach of contract if it doesn't follow it!

    Also note that the statement of written employment particulars which an employer is legally required to give you within two weeks of starting is required to state your notice period (see https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/1).

    If there is no notice period in an employment contract, and you weren't given a written statement of particulars stating a notice period, I think you are pretty safe to rely on the standard 1 week.

    In theory someone could come along and claim there was a verbal agreement to do something different, but without any written proof a judge would be extremely sceptical.
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