Written warning - how can I leave?

[NomDePrune]

I've been in current job 10 months and was I thought performing reasonably well. It's just the director, me and another woman. Anyway in past 4 months workload has massively increased (vaguely seasonal) and I have asked for admin help as this takes up time I could be doing main job role ( business development). I have also asked and been refused pay rise (£8/hr!) and extra hours (We do 30).
Colleague and I were (briefly) good friends but this has cooled off. I'm placid, she is fiery (let's say Continental) and we've had two big arguments at work which I am not proud of.
Last week we were both given written warnings in the presence of an HR consultant along with list of past 'offences' such as taking a slightly longer lunch in January We have 2 weeks to improve capability then will get another WW then dismissal. I know my capability will not be deemed improved. United in the face of this treatment we both want to leave as the director obviously wants us out and I can't see this going any other way. Can I just walk out? How best to do this? Contract requires 1 month notice but is that enforceable? I'd love to leave director in the lurch during busy period without being malicious. Obviously I'm looking for another job and would like to be immediately available. Any ideas?

No they don't, but most will, so if it's missing, it will cause a problem. I would be reluctant to employ someone who had no reference available from their most recent employer (other than very short term work).

You may have a contract which states one month notice but legally you only need to give one week

Statutory notice is one week but if your contract states one month then that is what your notice is. If you fail to work it, as others have stated above, your employer can pass on any financial loss to you that they sustain as a result of your not working your notice such as them taking on a temp for the month, the difference in their pay and yours could be passed on to you.

Thanks to everyone for posting. I've decided to give notice today rather than go through the disciplinary procedure for basically the same outcome. The reference isuue is a worry especially as in my experience employers are sometimes asked if they would re-employ.
Im going to try to be neutral and calm!

Good luck OP - I'd speak to acas as you've had some wildly baffling advice on here. You would hope they don't pursue the warnings given you'll be leaving but the director sounds mad so might terminate your role while you're serving your notice

Don't leave just because the colleague says she will - seriously, trust no one!

Hand your notice in them go to the doctors for a sick note for stree - get it on record

Do you get paid sick leave? Whether you do or not, if you're genuinely too stressed to continue working greentulips has a good point.

Nom - what is the notice the other way ie if they were to dismiss you, what notice do they have to give you? Surely they don't have to pay you for a year so this could automatically be an unfair agreement.

Nom - what is the notice the other way ie if they were to dismiss you, what notice do they have to give you?

Standard and best practice is for notice to be the same on both sides (however some employers [wrongly] state notice to be unbalanced in contracts e.g. one month from the employee and one week from the employer) however if an employee is dismissed due to gross misconduct then no notice applies.

Standard and best practice is for notice to be the same on both sides (however some employers [wrongly] state notice to be unbalanced in contracts e.g. one month from the employee and one week from the employer) however if an employee is dismissed due to gross misconduct then no notice applies

Yes I know that thanks. I was asking what the notice period is in her contract.
Anyway - it seems the OP has had the notice period changed, it did say 1 year/12 months now it doesn't.

Oh ok, sorry Alternative just wanted to add anything that could help 😊

It is one month either side, alternative. One another thread it was one year 
Anyway it was too busy yesterday to do it in person. I have it ready to send but it might not get seen until Monday morning. On the WW it says I will have a review on weds next week, with another WW given if I haven't improved, then 2 weeks later if I have "failed to improve you will be dismissed". So notice I give would be beyond that period.

nom can I ask whereabouts in the country you are? This director sounds oddly familiar to me .......

Froome I am southwest coastal. And lobster is correct, she is mad!

Sounds like a miserable place to work for £8 an hour. Just hand your notice in, or get signed off for stress.

I handed my notice in in May. It was the best decision I made working for a miserable company with ridiculous expectations from their staff. Like the moon on a stick. Weirdly, the role I was doing was going to be renamed and more work involved. Not only that, no commission. Fuck that!

Not the same place then dusty, unless she's moved. I can't believe there are two people like this!

Emailed my notice on Friday, went in this morning and have been "suspended" on full pay. Is that even possible? She will have consulted. I'd prefer to call it garden leave but we will see what she calls it in writing.

My Dh got 'gardening leave' from his job in Oz. Basically just paid til the end of the month.

Bit weird to call it a suspension.

It sounds like you are being paid "in lieu of notice".

If you can, see if they will pay it to you as that, because it will be free of tax.

At least you can start looking for work while you have all the free time

I disagree that it sounds like pay in lieu of notice, sounds much more like garden leave to me.

If the OP's employer did decide to pay her in lieu of notice and release her from her contract immediately, there's nothing I can see in the OP's posts to suggest this would be a tax-free payment. There may well be contractual provision for PILON in which case it would be taxable as normal.

Im intrigued as to why they used the term "suspended". Doesn't seem appropriate at all (actually it sounds like they are trying to make a point. Why wouldn't they just say garden leave.

Sounds like a very unpleasant place to work.

Yes daisy it was! As I wasn't expecting this I didn't think to ask for the reason for suspension. But worried now but will wait to get terms in writing.