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Original poster

Handed Notice In and All Hell Broke Loose...

691 replies

MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 09:05

I handed my notice in at work yesterday, it did not go the way I was expecting and I need to know where I stand legally.

For context, it's a fairly senior position, a big jump up the ladder for me and it took them 6 months to find someone to hire into my role before they got me. I've only been in the role 6 months. Over those 6 months, it's become abundantly clear that I'm not the right person for this particular role. They need someone with strategic skills and I'm a technician. I'm bloody good at my job and an industry expert, but they don't need that skill, they need someone who can do the big picture stuff with clients and that's not me. I've stopped enjoying the job and I do feel that it was mis-sold to me at the interview stage, but I'm not bitter about that. I tried it, it didn't work out.

I gave these reasons when I handed in my notice but my line manager was apoplectic with rage. She called me a liar and accused me of using her/ the company as a leg up and that this had been my intention all along (I'm going to an equally senior role in a much bigger specialist agency). This is completely untrue. The job I'm going to is a technical role and much more in line with my skill set but at the same level as now iyswim.

She walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her and told me to leave the office immediately. So I did and have had no contact since.

WTF do I do now? I haven't gone in to the office today but I've been responding to client emails as usual this morning as there's stuff I need to get done.

I've since realised I was never asked to return my signed contract when I was hired and found it in my collection of papers this morning. I have signed it, but they don't have a copy.

I REALLY don't want to go back to the office after yesterday, but I have a 6 month notice period so not having to serve this would be great. I'm not sure where I stand legally. I'm prepared to hitch up my big girl pants and go back in but I'm not sure if they're going to want that so my questions are:

Legally, do they have to pay me for my 6 month notice period even though they've asked me to leave the office (they haven't asked me to leave my position yet).

As they don't have evidence of my signed contract, do I have to serve out my 6 months?

I want to hand over things properly and make sure they've got a plan for my leaving, but should I even care about this after yesterday? I don't want to leave my team in the lurch Sad

Also, the new company is not a competitor of any kind with my current one.

Help?

OP posts:
PuppyMonkey · 05/07/2018 16:41

OP - then, shhh, work from home for the NEW company to keep yourself busy. Wink

SubtitlesOn · 05/07/2018 16:42

If the customers found out you were leaving would that make any difference to them or company?

BurningTheToast · 05/07/2018 16:42

If they want to pay you your full salary for six months and only use you as a consultant then look on the positive side. You haven't said much about your personal life but I'm sure you said you don't have kids. If you don't have anything else tying you here then why not spend those six months travelling? I know a few people who work from wherever they want to in the world. All you need is a wi-fi connection.

It might not be an opportunity you'll have again so don't see it as a negative if you are tied to them for a little longer. Certainly see if you can make it work in a more interesting way than filling your time with Judge Rinder and chores!

Original poster
MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 16:43

turnaround that's a good shout, if I can get some time with CEO instead of the formal meeting bollocks I had today I might be able to have a better conversation. He's a reasonable guy and we've had a good working relationship thus far despite the overly gushy, 'golden child' approach he has to my appointment.

OP posts:
Original poster
MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 16:45

SubtitlesOn almost definitely, yes.

One client in particular will leave for definite and without my replacement, my company will no longer be in a position to service their needs at all. They are responsible for around 40% of our monthly billing across the company so it would be a hell of a hit.

OP posts:
LonelyGir1 · 05/07/2018 16:45

CharlieParley Thank you. I was at a start up too. It was a hard life lesson Sad

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 05/07/2018 16:45

I think it would be fair enough to go back to them and say that you are not prepared to work full-time from home, I have a feeling that them insisting on it would be considered a substantial change to your contract which you don't have to accept. You could also say that you are not prepared to take up any working practice that would result in sub-standard service to your clients, so you may need to attend meetings where they are planning things that will be up to you to deliver. You're not reliant on them for a reference so if you just refuse to work in a way that you feel is wrong all they can really do is sack you.

Original poster
MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 16:48

Just to clarify also, this client would not follow me. My new company is much larger and the client is too small in terms of monthly billing to fit their criteria. There is no concern I'd be poaching clients.

OP posts:
OhHolyJesus · 05/07/2018 16:53

They are so stuffed without you! No wonder they are trying to keep you on somehow.

Does it say anything in your contract about a notice period being worked from home?

I think a 1-2-1 with the CEO would be a good idea, after your other coffee meeting tomorrow.

I had gardening leave for a month before starting a new job, no where near as long and it only benefited me mentally (I was getting married and spent lots of time seeing friends) but if you had some time out could you travel or take up some training or hobbies to keep busy? It could be a great opportunity.

thricethebrindledcat · 05/07/2018 16:53

Sorry if I've missed something, OP, but are you certain you are under a financial or legal obligation to work out any notice with this company?

Your probation term is so recent that you may be able to assert that you did not wish to renew your contract in line with your (to you) unsatisfactory probation period.

If they threaten you with legal action you can allege bad faith shown by them in this process and the impossibility of your continuing employment with the company.

They sound like you have made the right decision and it should not be up to you to prop up their market sector expectations single-handedly.

BitOutOfPractice · 05/07/2018 16:53

But this period of WFH will be very very different from your previous unemployment because a. You're not unemployed b. It's finite c. You're wfh not unemployed

Again, I think you need to relax a bit. It's six months tops.

CoraPirbright · 05/07/2018 16:54

One client in particular will leave for definite and without my replacement, my company will no longer be in a position to service their needs at all. They are responsible for around 40% of our monthly billing across the company so it would be a hell of a hit.

Blimey Confused no wonder they are so desperate to keep you. Silly of them to have 40% of their eggs in one basket.

DistanceCall · 05/07/2018 16:54

If your current company have half a neuron between them all, they would let you go if you waive your PILON. Let's hope.

Original poster
MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 16:57

Also worth mentioning I brought the client on, they were my win from a pitch process back in March.

OP posts:
SleepWarrior · 05/07/2018 16:58

Oh dear. Is their business going to fold without someone in your role then?

ChikiTIKI · 05/07/2018 17:00

If they're going to make your life so awful I would consider one month notice since I think that's the statutory notice period, as you didn't sign a contract.

Not the morally right thing to do but it sounds like you might end up on sick leave anyway if you had to work from home for months on end.

What if they hardly send you any work? You might feel trapped in your house waiting for an email or phone call... It could be like being under house arrest.

Be careful how you talk to anyone at your new company about this... You don't want to come across as a potentially problematic employee. No harm in saying what happened but I wouldn't get emotive about it.

Hope it works out for you. Good luck.

Elphame · 05/07/2018 17:00

The grown up way to approach it therefore in light of that, would be for us to settle on an agreement whereby I sacrifice the 6 months notice pay I'd receive normally in exchange for them agreeing to terminate my employment early. It saves them money and me time, everyones a winner.

This is how I got out of a long notice period. I wanted out asap and there was no benefit to my employer to try to hang on to me as I would not be able to make the commitment to clients that they were entitled to expect. To sign them up with them assuming that I would be there to see the projects to completion and then bail out after my own 6 months notice period was up would have been very unprofessional.

ItWillAllBeOkayInTheEnd · 05/07/2018 17:03

Are you sure the extended notice period is legally enforceable? I've been told many times that it isn't. Worth a call back to ACAS?

SoftBallSophie · 05/07/2018 17:07

I think you need to go back to them and say you cannot continue to carry out your role working from home. And reject this offer.

Either you work your 6 months notice period in the office with 1 day a week at home (as you do now)

Or they shorten your notice period.

Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar · 05/07/2018 17:09

Why wouldn't a contract be legally enforceable, ItWillBeOk?

Bibesia · 05/07/2018 17:16

If I were you I would suck up working from home for a period which may well be only three months - and in fact can you reduce it at all by taking annual leave? So far as your wish to talk to people and bounce things off them is concerned, set up communications with your new employers so that you can hit the ground running as soon as you start that job. Also use the opportunity to make your current employers set you up with a computer/desk etc at home. If you insist on going into the office I suspect your opportunities for useful discussions will be severely curtailed anyway as your MD will treat you like a pariah, and likewise will make life hell for anyone who co-operates with you.

I was sent on gardening leave once and it was fantastic. Old employer wouldn't let me do any client work, and the plan was that I would be setting up a new department from scratch at the new one, so I used the time to do things like drafting templates and standard letters, liaising with new employers about a marketing campaign, discussing office logistics, writing articles for publication after I started with the new employer, etc. Although I wasn't supposed to contact former clients, there was nothing to stop them contacting me and, as they had no wish to stay with my old employers, I simply made arrangements for them to become aware of where I was going. It was a seriously stupid move on the part of the former employers, but that was fairly typical of them which was why I decided to leave in the first place.

3luckystars · 05/07/2018 17:19

They like you and think you are great and are willing to pay to keep you.

Is there anything else you could do there that would be more suited to your skills? Could they make a new job for you?

Or spilt the role so that they could take on someone else to do the sales bit, but you do the technical side?

I don't know, take the weekend and sleep on it.

Original poster
MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 17:30

business wouldn’t fold no, I brought the client in from a pitch and it was well in excess of my target income for the whole year. It was a bonus to them but nearly doubled their monthly billing numbers in one swoop because my device is lucrative!

OP posts:
Original poster
MyNameDefinatelyIsntJanet · 05/07/2018 17:30

Device = service

OP posts:
shouldwestayorshouldwego · 05/07/2018 17:31

Would it work if they found you a shared office space elsewhere? I know some people who work from home who actually rent themselves a desk for an introverted slob like me it defeats the whole point of working at home . I know it isn't the same as working in the office with people on a shared project but might fulfil the social aspects. 2 days working from home, one day in the office - manager can work from home, and two days in a shared office space with other freelancers/consultants/ WFH people.