how much notice would i need to give?

[sweetmonkey]

hi i started my job in august 2005 but things are changing drastically here and i want to try and leave before they sack me which is what they have done to my colleague for no reason.

i have no contract and wondered how much notice i would need to give, as i have heard from some people that if you get paid monthly you need to give a months notice and others have said if you dont have a contract just give what you can

thanks

[EllieK]

yep!
if they get cross, just point out that ACAS (the employment tribunal service) look very infavourably on employers who give no written terms and conditions, so if they have an issue wth your notice given maybe they would like to take it through to tribnal?!!!
they'll run a mile

[sweetmonkey]

thank you for that. so basically i can give a week without getting into trouble?

[Freckle]

You do have a contract, just not in writing. Where there is no written contract, the usual thing to do is to look at practice, i.e. how your job has been conducted/treated over the period of your employment.

There is a school of thought which says that, if you are paid monthly, then you should give a month's notice. However, your employer is obliged by law to give you a written statement of your terms and conditions within two months of your starting the job. They clearly have not done this. So, if you only give one week's notice, they would be hard-pressed to insist it should be different. If they withhold any money because they think you have given insufficient notice, you will need to raise a grievance (which you can do even if you have left their employ, stating that they have deducted wages without authorisation and have failed to comply with their statutory duty to provide you with a written statement and then you can pursue a claim through an employment tribunal. These tribunals frown very heavily on employers who fail to comply with their statutory obligations (such as failing to provide the written statement).

[sweetmonkey]

ah thank you so much. that would be a great help if it is only a week

[EllieK]

i was in this situation myself, as you have no contract you are only obliged to give one week notice
HTH