Temp contract - notice period and annual leave

[LakieLady]

I'm hoping there will be someone who can tell me what my partner's rights are here!

DP has worked for his employer since Jan 2019, on a 12-month contract. That initial contract included a notice period of one month.

That contract has been extended, twice by 3 months and then for a year, so he could stay until 30/6/21. However, he has never been given a new contract to sign, he's only been told verbally on each occasion.

He's decided to leave and resigned today, by email. He didn't give a leaving date. They've told him that he has to work his month's notice. As there's no physical contract, can they hold him to this? He doesn't intend to flounce off today or anything, he's not that pissed off!

If his employment ends on 19/9/21, he will have accrued 12 days annual leave and 2 days flexitime. He hasn't used any of this year's entitlement since the start of the leave year on 1/4/20. Their email states that his final pay will include a payment in lieu of leave accrued but not taken. He wants to take this leave and flexi before he goes. Can they refuse, given that he hasn't had any leave this year?

The normal practice where he works (large public sector employer) is for people to take all their accrued leave at the end of their notice period. I'm wondering how that squares with the minimum 20 days paid leave plus public holidays.

Many thanks, MNers.

If he doesn't work his notice, they won't be knocking on is door and dragging him out of bed if that's what you mean. But he should work his notice period, as it is in his original employment contract. unless there's a very good reason not to?

Have they responded with how to take the annual leave or be paid for it? In our company we usually pay people for accrued but Untaken leave. Occasionally we ask people to take it as part of their notice period.

Sorry just re-read your bit about annual leave.

Has he asked to take annual leave instead of being paid for it? The payroll team won't be mind readers....

The initial contract still applies. It has been extended and by continuing to work there he has consented to the extension so yes its one month's notice.

Re the annual leave he can try to negotiate with them to be able to take it during the notice period. But they are perfectly entitled to refuse.

They are planning to pay him for these days though so he will not lose out financially.

@GreenTiles22, he's a payroll team leader, so that's not an issue!

He wants to take the leave. He hasn't had a break since the last financial year, they've had several people leave and go on long-term sick leave and he's being expected to do 3 people's work, plus train new staff who have no payroll experience and set up an entirely new system he hasn't even been trained in yet (because there hasn't been time). Every leave request he's made this year has been turned down, because of lack of staff.

In nearly 40 years I've never known him so stressed and I really think he'll be ill if he doesn't get some time off soon.

Sorry, forgot to thank you for your help! How rude of me.

Re the leave, he's asked to take it and his manager hasn't directly said no, but has implied refusal by saying that leave accrued but not taken will be paid in his September pay. He anticipated refusal because they'll need him there to finalise the payroll on what will be his last day. The other team leader is on long term sick leave and both teams are running with 50% of staff because of vacancies/sick leave.

Imo it's outrageous to expect someone to work six months without a break, especially when they're under so much pressure. Because we're both WFH, I can hear how often his phone rings, it's bloody constant, and how he's trying to explain complex stuff to new staff when they can't even see each other's screens. He's the only experienced payroller there, so all the problem solving ends up with him, so he can't get on with his own work.

He really is in a bad way, and he's normally very chilled and calm.

In the absence of a new contract the terms of the existing one will apply - I assume the other terms and conditions have remained unchanged such as hours, workplace etc - it's reasonable to assume no change to any of them, not to assume some of the terms don't apply but others do.

Having said that there's not a lot they can do if he refuses to work his notice. Technically they could sue him for breach of contract but there's unlikely to be much point unless they suffer significant financial loss as a result of him not working notice.

They don't have to allow him to take holiday during his notice period if they don't want to, same as would usually be the case, although obviously he's entitled to be paid in lieu of any untaken holiday when he leaves.

"The normal practice where he works (large public sector employer) is for people to take all their accrued leave at the end of their notice period. I'm wondering how that squares with the minimum 20 days paid leave plus public holidays."

I don't understand what you mean by this bit?

He needs to book the leave - if he needs to be in on the last day, book the leave for another time! But it would be better for him to book it formally (they probably do have the right to refuse it) rather than make assumptions on this point.

Yes, the notice period still applies.

Thanks again, everyone.

They have now agreed to him taking the leave and flexitime he's accrued during his notice period, and his last day of work will be next Friday!

That sounds like a good result, he'll be on countdown now!