If a contract wasn't signed...

[HoofHeartedAgain]

If a contract wasn't signed, does this make the notice period void? Or can it be enforced?

Thank you

They can’t force you to work your notice but obviously you won’t be paid for it if you don’t work it. It’s irrelevant if the contract is signed or not. You’ve accepted it by working there.

Okay, I thought this was the case that's great thank you x

If you showed up for work and took their money as your salary then the contract is valid. It doesn’t need to be physically signed, as long as both parties abide by the agreed terms for a period. You accepted the job, did it, received pay = accepted terms of contract.

No one can force you to work but it is a legal agreement and they can take you to court for losses they might incur (if they have to pay someone overtime/get an expensive temp in via agency etc during your agreed upon notice). And give you a shite reference (which is perfectly legal as long as it’s factual)

How long have you been there?

You have accepted the terms implied by the contract by pitching up, doing the work and taking the money so if it's a month's notice you need to give that....

Contracts don't need to be signed. The piece of paper is "evidence" of the contract, it isn't the contract.

Nobody can force you to work your notice though, but you could be sued for breach of contract (most employers won't bother) but mainly it will just reflect poorly on you.

Thank you, it isn't for me it's a friend who put her full notice in and was happy to work it until something said by the employer regarding the unsigned contract made it all unclear.
Thank you all

If you give your notice in, you are then entitled to work it.

If the employer wishes you to leave prior to that, they need to pay you for it.

If she does everything to the letter of her contract, ie tenders her resignation, states her final working day and serves her notice fully then she should expect to be paid.

If they try to wriggle out of their side of the contractual obligation by not paying her notice even when she's does everything correctly then she has a case against them for breaching their contract. The fact she turned up for work, and they paid her salary for the duration of her employment was evidence that both sides were content with the contract.