Can my work do this? Ah!

[Workdilemmma]

So I have a new job, and gave notice (4 weeks) to my current job at the beginning of May, in writing to my manager over email. I wrote a letter of resignation and attached it and my manager wrote back and it was accepted etc.

I was told I would hear from HR regarding my left over annual leave/last day etc, but as I hadn’t heard from them I messaged today to ask if all was ok.

Well, it turns out that my manager never gave them my resignation or told them I was leaving- and HR have said that they can only accept my resignation from today’s date and if I was to leave before this, it would have to be out of my remaining annual leave balance.

I am due to finish on Friday, take a weeks annual leave and then start my new job. Can they really make me work four weeks if this wasn’t my fault? And will they take my annual leave balance from me if so?

Btw, our annual leave runs June- July and I’ve only take 3 days- so would be owed a bit I think.

Yes, this. It will be dated.

No they can't if your notice was given in writing it doesn't matter who you gave it to as long as they were above you he should have passed it on. Send them a copy of the email you sent to him and tell them you will take it to employment tribunal if need be. That the notice is given as legally required and the date won't be changed. I'd also consult your union if you have one

Manager DID confirm

If they do you’ll need to seek legal advice. Are u in a union?
I would tell them you’ll expect fu pay and if not you will seek legal advice, the payment for which you’ll be adding to your lawsuit

Make sure you send a copy of that 1st email that you sent your manager to your private email.

Your managed has messed this up so HR need to take this up with them.
They absolutely cannot take your leave away from you. You are legally entitled to your annual leave and as such your pro rata entitlements which you will be due for leaving.
I wouldnt back down.

Who does your contract say you have to give your resignation to? If it says your manager then I don't think HR can do anything about it.

No they cannot.

The company received and accepted your resignation - keep a copy of tge email as evidence.

The fact your manager fd up is not your problem. He represents the company as far as your contract of employment goes.

Finish as you planned. Take you week off and if they dont pay up go to a small claims court or tribunal. Typically a letter sorts this out though, so speak to acas and draft a letter.

Good luck x

What does your employee handbook or contract state? Mine stated I had to forward a letter of resignation to my manager and hr. If you have done yours correctly then you can and should argue your case and imply you will take legal action. They are being unreasonable and massively so. I'd also be inclined to mention to your manager that the failure on their part will have big financial implications for you.

The op's post is easy enough to understand. People were moaning on the sats thread about reading comprehension levels, sems they are just as bad here.

Haven’t RTFT but this would be illegal deduction of wages.

You shouldn’t incur any losses for your line manager’s incompetence. Any penalty for covering you should fall to them.

Send HR the email from the manager confirming they has accepted your notice; it’s then up to HR to deal with their incompetencies; Add to tge email as you have proof the manager accepted your notice period you will be finishing on Friday & will be seeking further advice from your union representative if your not in the union contact ACAS; they will give you good sound advice on further rights etc

This is what I was going to suggest.

You’ve given the correct notice and had it accepted. The fact your manager didn’t tell HR is a problem for them to take up with your manager. They have a legal obligation to pay you based on the fact you followed the correct process.

Definitely speak to ACAS and get some further advice though.

You need to check your contract and resignation procedure. If your contract states that you need to inform HR then unfortunately this is on you. If your procedure however states that you need to inform your line manager and you have proof of email sent and response from him, then it's their problem and they need to take it up with the manager. Your resignation date would stand.

Not all jobs bother with references. I'm quite old really, and in senior management, and it's pretty much 50/50 in the roles I've taken on. In fact, only one employer ever even asked to see proof of professional qualification.

Most contracts will say you just have give a minimum notice period in writing and I highly doubt yours will say it has to be to HR. You’re fulfilled your contractual obligations and if you think you’re going to lose out stand up for yourself and don’t accept it, which it sounds like you will.

Comments about reading comprehension are laughable - OP has been told to check what contract & Employee Handbook says & she said she will, then talk to ACAS.

If handbook says notice of resignation must be provided to HR@op'sjob.com then all bets are off.

Furthermore, if it also says that no annual leave may be taken in notice periods (which is not unheard of, to ensure time for effective handovers) and/or annual leave blocks must be approved the same number of weeks in advance, OP could be hosed & leave in lieu of notice suggestion would be contractually legit.

Shit line manager, but possible that HR could refuse leave (for 3 weeks after next Friday) being granted and hold leave in lieu of notice so OP can go next Friday because notice was not served contractually.

All completely conjecture & depends ENTIRELY on what HER contract says.

Read your contracts of employment ladies!

This ^

100%

Shit line manager, but possible that HR could refuse leave (for 3 weeks after next Friday) being granted and hold leave in lieu of notice so OP can go next Friday because notice was not served contractually.

the line manager may be shit but they are an officer of the company and neglected their responsibility to set the wheels in motion to start the leaver process, not least of all they've presumably started to arrange for a replacement.

if HR refuses to honour the notice, the OP should tell the company she is taking it to an employment solicitor. I bet you they will suddenly sort the matter out miraculously quickly.

Yep, @daisychain01 nailed it!

Where is your manager in all of this, sorting it out for you? And if manager is crap, what about the next manager up or head of department? Escalate!!!

Make sure you forward yourself to home email address, the emails you sent manager and that your manager sent you regarding your leaving. Has your manager been discussing leaving with you,have your colleagues been informed?

Also send your home email address downloads or screenshots of company holiday policies AND any company holiday portals or calendars that you’ll lose access to after you leave, to prove how much holiday you have taken and not taken in the current year. Forward yourself emails discussing earlier holiday approval with your manager, and anything to do with sickness you may have taken. It’s important to be able to prove your holiday.

did your manager tell you to inform Hr?

if your employer has been acting as if you were leaving, and if you have notified by email your resignation to your line manager, it is illegal for them to take your holiday pay. Ilegal.

I would write a strongly worded email to Hr and cc your line manager AND cc every senior person you can think of eg head of department, CEO, COO as follows:

Dear HR, I tendered my resignation by email on dd.mm.yy and received email acknowledgment on dd.mm.yy. My notice period is x which means my last day working here is y. My team was informed by manager of my leaving on dd.mm.yy and I have been working hard with my manager and team to complete a transition of my work in readiness for my leaving. I am shocked to receive your email on dd.mm.yy denying knowledge of my resignation and leaving date. I have complied with company policy. The company has been made fully aware I have resigned and has acted accordingly to date. I am owed a balance of holiday not used at my leaving date of x days, and I expect this to be paid out in full in my last salary payment. I was not offered an opportunity to use up this holiday by my manager after I rendered my resignation nor was I advised that the holiday balance would be forfeited. If you carry out your threat to withhold payment for my holiday, I will take legal action to recover the monies owed plus my legal costs. I am unhappy that in my final week at this company you have caused me so much anxiety about this situation and it is unfortunate that have not been able to resolve with my line manager your confusion about the circumstances of my resignation and leaving date. I would appreciate a timely reply to confirm that my holiday balance will in fact be paid out, if you are unable to provide this before I leave the company you will find my contact details below.

kind regards etc

Ps forward to yourself any other emails where employer or colleagues were acting as if you are leaving on Friday. If you have friendly team mates, get them to email you now confirming that you’ve been working together and with line manager to organise your work for after your leaving date. Has your job been readveetised? Get a copy of the advert etc. If you present the evidence that you’ve resigned AND whole company (except Hr) acting accordingly then you can send that to HR when you leave as it will be evidence for an employment law case. Hr will have to cave, I’m sure

Yes it all comes down to the handbook

This is dreadful.

I think the only remaining question for me is is there another way you are meant to resign - i.e. filling in a form or something.

That is the only conceivable thing I can imagine that could mean what they said is legitimate (i.e. that you haven't adequately served your notice) and even then I'm not sure why they'd be allowed to not pay you (except for the time you didn't work). I'm not an employment lawyer though.

What a load of nonsense!

And this is why outsourcing your HR is a very bad idea.