If you are a civil servant, we're you given a contract to sign?

[Neolara]

I'm a civil servant, working in the department for education. I've been there for 6 months but intend to resign tomorrow. (The job bears no resemblance whatsoever to the role described in the job description.) I've never been sent a contact, never signed a contract and nothing in any of the paperwork I was shown in my application refers to a notice period. I've asked some lawyer friends (including and employment lawyer) who say that as I haven't signed any contract, my notice period would then only be the statutory 1 week. I'd assumed me not getting a contract was because of an HR cock up, but then I started to wonder if maybe civil servants don't get contracts to sign.

If you have not been given a contract, nor completed any probation period, you could request they release you quickly eg 1 week.

Not true re civil servants not having a contract. There's a quirkiness, in that because they are servants of the Crown, they could be immediately dismissed in theory, but in reality they have exactly the same employment rights as other UK employees.

Yes I think so

I digitally signed mine through Civil Service Jobs

Usually the document that people are given to sign is a 'statement of main terms and conditions of employment' (or similar wording), and although it's good practice for HR to receive and store a signed copy to show the employee received and understood it, technically it doesn't matter since by continuing to work there you have accepted the contract. As a PP said these days it is usually sent digitally on email or through CS Jobs or whatever recruitment software the department uses, rather than being physically handed over or posted as hard copy. None of this is special to CS BTW, just regular employment law.

But if you are sure you were never sent anything, or even (in reality) if you were and missed it or never returned it, you can leave after 1 week or even 1 day. They may not be very happy you didn't give them more notice, and might even mention it in a reference but there's very little legally they or any other employer can do to enforce a longer contractual notice period, regardless of if the employee has accepted it or not.... technically they could sue for breach of contract but would have to demonstrate financial loss to get any compensation from you, and I'm sure they would not bother in any case.

You’ll be bound by the notice period in the employee handbook, it’s probably on the intranet, usually 1 month unless you’re on probation in which case it might be different — ours says 2 weeks for apprentices, people on probation and ending fixed term contracts.

I’ve never had a contract for any of my CS jobs, but I did had a letter giving particulars of employment for one of them.

I signed mine over ten years ago. Have changed departments a dozen times since then but understand that’s still valid.

A quick update. It was definitely a cock up. I told my boss I hadn't been sent a contact so assumed notice period was statutory (ie one week), although was happy to find a leaving date that worked for both of us. He checked with HR who said I would definitely have been sent a contact and it would be attached to my job offer in the Civil service jobs site. I double and triple checked. It wasn't. Then out of the blue, I get emailed my contract three weeks after I'd handed my notice in.