unsigned contract/signed off/resignation- HELP

[Supermum29]

Please help....

I accepted an internal promotion in August. Now in a manager role, but paperwork never came through... my manager stated that they were chasing and chasing.

Fast forward a couple of months and I'm currently signed off with stress at work, after working 50 hours weeks and travelling a lot for training, not ideal as a single parent. A company that has been trying to get me working for them for the last two years have offered me a position with them that is incredibly flexible and while less pay I'm inclined to take it for the sake of my mental health. However I haven't signed a contract so no idea if I will default to my previous one with one months notice or whether they can enforce the terms I haven't yet signed of three months notice because I am in the role, on a new rate of pay and was told verbally that my notice period is three months?

To top that off the business is under review and it is looking highly likely the team I'm on/managing will be disbanded due to recruitment issues and there is a very high risk of redundancy within the business anyway.

My manager is keen to catch up with me tomorrow which I don't really feel comfortable with as its just making my current anxiety worse. My team are continuing to contact me while I'm signed off to advise they have handed their notice in etc despite my numerous requests for them not to contact me on my personal phone!

I'm rambling... so my question is, can they enforce me to work my notice period of three months or will I default to previously signed terms of one month? Can I hand my notice in while I am signed off? I feel awful doing this and like I should go back but I'm not 100% ready to. I also to a degree feel a bit guilty because of the people leaving the team if I then leave it's even more likely that my team will face the chop as with half a team and no manager it isn't viable and then I'll feel bad for those that are left facing losing their jobs.

I should add my new contract has been emailed to me while I have been off

As far as I am aware, starting the job is accepting the contract of employment. You have presumably been paid and you have been doing the job. You don’t have the contract terms in writing, which of course is not ideal, but you have accepted the contract of employment.

You don’t necessarily have to stick to the notice period. What would they do if you just left? Probably nothing. It’s a bit of a gamble but I would take the other job and resign with one months notice!

I'd say in the absence of a signed consent to the new contractual notice period the old one stands.

If you resign with a months notice, now, very little they can do to enforce more.

If the company have waited two years to hire you, another three won’t kill them surely?

I wouldn’t look favourably on employing someone who doesn’t work your notice. If you need to stay of sick then fine. Take the time to sort your mental health out and then you’ll be ready to start the new job in the new year.

Don’t answer work calls on your private phone block them if necessary.

Have the written particulars of employment (what you are calling your contract) been sent to you within 2 months of you starting the job? If so, the company have acted within the law. As I said, you accepted the contract by starting the job. Do look at the ACAS web site if you don’t believe me. Therefore, if you have received the particulars but have not raised any queries, you will be deemed to have accepted them and indeed you are now on sick leave which would be covered by such a contract.

As I indicated you could just go. You would be assuming the company won’t sue you for breach on contract. You could see your boss and explain that it’s better for everyone if you go. Will your boss be required to write a reference?

If you were told the new role involved a longer notice period and accepted it on that basis, and have since been issued a contract confirming that which you (presumably) have not challenged, then that is now your contractual notice period.

Having said that, as you’ve not been in the job long and are signed off with stress, it’s entirely probable they’d be happy to release you early.

Meet up with your line manager, what have you got to lose seriously? Tell her to stop people contacting you and put out the feelers for voluntary redundancy- they may glad to get rid of you and pay you off.