Paging HR types

So, a friend has been working at a place almost 3 years and a few months
ago decided to resign. It was all quite amicable and despite having no
contract she agreed to work 6 months notice to help the company get
someone else in.

Jump forwards to now and it seems that the big bosses weren't happy about
what her boss had agreed to. They fired her boss and won't honour the
original agreement. They want her to continue working, and agree to a new
6 month notice period.

Presumably she can just tell them to FRO and walk? Clearly they're not
going to be any use for a glowing reference anyway.

 

Just need a little bit more info:

1) what is the notice period in her contract, and
2) does she have the 6 months in writing from the original boss?

If 2) is in writing then that's it done and dusted. If 2) isn't in
writing she only needs to agree to 1).

If they get silly, she just says "I'm leaving on this date" and just
not turn up again. They will shout, scream, threaten all sorts of
legal things but in reality there's feck all you can do if someone
just walks and you haven't paid them for any other days (i.e. paid in
advance).

cheers

SS

 

this ^

I think that if there's no contract then she only has to give notice of
one pay-period, i.e. paid monthly, one month's notice.

Quite.

 

Sorry missed the "no contract" bit - yes notice period defaults to pay
period, unless they have in writing that she'll work 6 months (well
what's left of it).


cheers

SS

 

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Resigningorretiring/DG_175837

If you have worked for your employer for one month or more, the legal
minimum amount of notice you must give is one week.

Normally your employment contract will set out a longer notice period.
If it does, you should give this length of notice to your employer.

If your employment contract does not set out a notice period you
should give a reasonable period of notice to your employer. This is
included in your employment contract as what is known as an ‘implied
term’. What is 'reasonable' will depend on your seniority and how long
you have worked there.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Switters
<> typed

Mrs WUN says:

This.

Statutory maximum notice period (in the absence of a contract clause) is
one week.

 

Given that employment law is quite unambiguous and that the company is in
breech of it by employing people with no contract and the DWP are usually
more than happy to take them to court over it she should see them ASAP and
simply not turn up from now on. After talking it over with her union rep,
of course.

 

For us "reasonable" is payment period In fact we don't bother with
anything longer in the contract as once some one wants out, better to
get them, out!

cheers

SS

 

Indeed I was so mortified I had issued an apology above, and
sacrificed my 2nd born (1st born is OK).

cheers

SS

 

Thanks all. Apparently they're now threatening to withhold pay. FFS.

 

From the sound of it she must do something important for them and not easily
replaced?
Ergo.....

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Switters

Assuming this is salary for what she's already done that would be an
unlawful deduction. They would be in *BIG* legal do-do if they tried it.

If it's (for example) a discretionary bonus they may be able to.

She should call ACAS on Monday morning for legal advice.

 

They seem to be digging a hole for themselves with no idea when to
stop.

 

Seems a little odd to me that they were able to fire her boss for doing what
he could to keep her in place only to "offer" her a similar deal. Anyway,
all she legally has to do is work a week's notice unless contracted to do
otherwise.

After 1 weeks notice, she can indeed **** off to somewhere decent.

 

Christ on a crutch Steve, get with the 21st century.

Unions are so last millennium. Why do you think IT workers [1] keep on
getting shafted in the arse ?

Paul.

[1] i.e. me

 

A firm did that with the boy-chic years ago.[1] He took them to tribunal and
after them lying through their teeth he got his payment and 4 grand for his
trouble. The look on the cunts face who employed him when he was fined for
not paying the bailiffs was worth more than the compo.

[1] 15 years ago

 

Get her to check her house insurance. Some of them cover employment
disputes.

 

In your case? I would have thought the answer was self evident.

 

Working for cunts in a recession ?

Yeah, you may have a point

Paul.

 

It's hard to get people to take the idea seriously.

I was playing the employee rep game recently at work when we went
through a slight re-org and when around 50% of the staff were looking at
being shafted in one particular way, to the tune of quite a bit of money
per year, I suggested to the other reps that they might want to
investigate joining a union and organising some kind of collective
bargaining.

You'd think I'd suggested they nominate Fridays as company-wide cross-
dressing day. Not because they were opposed to the idea, but because
they found the idea of being in a union, while in an ostensibly white-
collar job, completely foreign. Still, the guys I was representing
weren't affected so **** 'em.

It's a shame really - when I mentioned union membership to the HR
manager she practically pleaded with me to shut up and stop using the U
word. You can guess what effect that had...