Told my employer I was leaving, didn't end well!

Told my employer I was leaving, didn't end well!

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Discussion

CraigJ

Original Poster:

601 posts

206 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
allergictocheese said:
Is the OP going to post the notice provisions of his contract?

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

127 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
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So there y'go. In black and white.

Variation of notice requires MUTUAL consent.
Gardening leave is at the employer's discretion.

Jasandjules

70,012 posts

230 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
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As I said before, the Employer has not consented to the variation and has enforced the one month notice period. The OP resigned.

allergictocheese

1,290 posts

114 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
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With that wording it looks as if

Edited by allergictocheese on Friday 3rd April 10:48

Jonsv8

7,251 posts

125 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
So there y'go. In black and white.

Variation of notice requires MUTUAL consent.
Gardening leave is at the employer's discretion.
I'm not surprised, big companies usually know what they're doing. The op was taking legal advice, what did they say? I think it hinges on whether 'I shall be leaving xxxx' is construed as a statement of future intent to resign or a statement of resignation. Generally people don't write to say they're going to write to resign.

Do we all get an invite to the stag do?

Op - I've mentioned it way up front in this thread, and as you're going in to business you need to be careful on any contract that the intent and goodwill you may be offering can be unravelled through clumsy legal wording. I think you said this would cost you 4k, that tough when you've wedding plans. But a mistake on payment terms or obligations in a contract might cost you a lot more. Good luck in whatever it is you're doing, just don't rely on goodwill or good intentions. And never say 'best endeavours' in any contract..


vonhosen

40,289 posts

218 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
allergictocheese said:
Jasandjules said:
As I said before, the Employer has not consented to the variation and has enforced the one month notice period. The OP resigned.
Do understand what the word 'minimum' means?
CraigJ said:
I have been there just over three years.

allergictocheese

1,290 posts

114 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
vonhosen said:
allergictocheese said:
Jasandjules said:
As I said before, the Employer has not consented to the variation and has enforced the one month notice period. The OP resigned.
Do understand what the word 'minimum' means?
CraigJ said:
I have been there just over three years.
Sorry, I pressed submit before altering my reply.

The contract gives a fixed formula for length of notice required. Which returns us to the original email. The OP clearly intended to leave in three months. He is not giving one month's notice. What can the employer rely on to terminate his employment prior to his proposed termination date?

berlintaxi

8,535 posts

174 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
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be interesting to see what the restrictive clause says as the OP is planning to work in the same industry as his current employer, may a whole other kettle of fish.

Jonsv8

7,251 posts

125 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
allergictocheese said:
orry, I pressed submit before altering my reply.

The contract gives a fixed formula for length of notice required. Which returns us to the original email. The OP clearly intended to leave in three months. He is not giving one month's notice. What can the employer rely on to terminate his employment prior to his proposed termination date?
He's giving notice. The full stop between the XXXX and the 'I intend to leave..' is in my opinion what hung him on this as he's offering to vary the notice. The contract does not say any notice period needs to be mutually agreed, only any variation to it. The op didn't say his resignation was conditional on them accepting this end date either.

It's a hard world sometimes.

PurpleMoonlight

22,362 posts

158 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
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Jonsv8 said:
I think it hinges on whether 'I shall be leaving xxxx' is construed as a statement of future intent to resign or a statement of resignation. Generally people don't write to say they're going to write to resign.
I think it is very dangerous for the employer to treat parts of the OP's email in isolation to the context of the whole, and act on that and deem termination employment.




CraigJ

Original Poster:

601 posts

206 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
berlintaxi said:
be interesting to see what the restrictive clause says as the OP is planning to work in the same industry as his current employer, may a whole other kettle of fish.
They are the usual things, Cant approach customers/ cant poach staff for 12 months.

I have been reading into the covenants and one thing stands out. They can not just enforce them for the sake of it to stop me working, they would have to prove I was making a detrimental effect to their business before it would be allowed to court. All searches I did all came back saying the same thing. How true this is I'm sure i will fine out soon enough.

allergictocheese

1,290 posts

114 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
Jonsv8 said:
He's giving notice. The full stop between the XXXX and the 'I intend to leave..' is in my opinion what hung him on this as he's offering to vary the notice. The contract does not say any notice period needs to be mutually agreed, only any variation to it. The op didn't say his resignation was conditional on them accepting this end date either.

It's a hard world sometimes.
Reading one sentence of the email in isolation doesn't get you to where you want. The OP is giving 3 months notice. The correct procedure would be for the company to either accept on that basis or tell the employee to resubmit at the appropriate time. Deciding to terminate his employment unilaterally was not contractually open to them (subject to any employment issues outwith the resignation discussion).

PurpleMoonlight

22,362 posts

158 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
allergictocheese said:
Reading one sentence of the email in isolation doesn't get you to where you want. The OP is giving 3 months notice. The correct procedure would be for the company to either accept on that basis or tell the employee to resubmit at the appropriate time.
Especially when the OP even asked his employer for confirmation of whether he should serve notice now or a month before the leaving date.

He clearly did not intend for the effective date to be a month after the email as his employer would appear to be deeming it as.

Edited by PurpleMoonlight on Friday 3rd April 11:13

4rephill

5,042 posts

179 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
So there y'go. In black and white.

Variation of notice requires MUTUAL consent.
Gardening leave is at the employer's discretion.
+1 yes

Based on that contract, the company do not appear to have done anything wrong.

The fact that it's not what the OP would like to happen is his bad luck.

The thing that would worry Me is that the OP is setting up his own business and yet he doesn't seem able to understand a simple employment contract!

That does not bode well for the future!

allergictocheese

1,290 posts

114 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
4rephill said:
+1 yes

Based on that contract, the company do not appear to have done anything wrong.

The fact that it's not what the OP would like to happen is his bad luck.

The thing that would worry Me is that the OP is setting up his own business and yet he doesn't seem able to understand a simple employment contract!

That does not bode well for the future!
The OP has given three months notice of his termination.

The employer has reacted by giving notice they are terminating his contract in one month.

On what grounds do you believe they can do this? Selectively reading the OP's email doesn't help you (or them).

Saying "we accept your resignation and are not dismissing you" doesn't make it so any more than me stabbing you in the back whilst telling you "I'm here to help" would.

RobinOakapple

2,802 posts

113 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
I've read the thread, and do not understand how anyone could think the employer was in the right. The OP is owed another two months gardening leave or another two months work.

Jonsv8

7,251 posts

125 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
RobinOakapple said:
I've read the thread, and do not understand how anyone could think the employer was in the right. The OP is owed another two months gardening leave or another two months work.
I take it you're not a lawyer

hondansx

4,586 posts

226 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
He's even said he works for a multi billion turnover company. Do you think they get employment law advice from Google?

I always thought in the first two years you can get dismissed for essentially any reason. It was naive to tell them and, if you wanted to be a nice guy, i would have spoken to your line manager rather than email HR.

Funk

26,335 posts

210 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
PurpleMoonlight said:
allergictocheese said:
Reading one sentence of the email in isolation doesn't get you to where you want. The OP is giving 3 months notice. The correct procedure would be for the company to either accept on that basis or tell the employee to resubmit at the appropriate time.
Especially when the OP even asked his employer for confirmation of whether he should serve notice now or a month before the leaving date.

He clearly did not intend for the effective date to be a month after the email as his employer would appear to be deeming it as.

Edited by PurpleMoonlight on Friday 3rd April 11:13
I agree with you both and I think a tribunal would probably see it the same way.

RobinOakapple

2,802 posts

113 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
quotequote all
Jonsv8 said:
RobinOakapple said:
I've read the thread, and do not understand how anyone could think the employer was in the right. The OP is owed another two months gardening leave or another two months work.
I take it you're not a lawyer
Well, you definitely aren't.