Help! Job offer withdrawn - after I’d already resigned!!

[JuliTooley]

Hello,

I’m absolutely devastated right now. I accepted an amazing job offer a little over two weeks ago via email, after a round of interviews and some writing tasks.

I handed in my notice at my current job expecting my final day to be a week today, with a start date the following Monday.

I was a bit concerned as the company suddenly stopped replying to a couple of questions I asked but I assumed there was an innocent explanation.

However, I’ve now been told my offer has been withdrawn with no explanation. Is this legal? I know my references were fine, admittedly one only gives factual references as company policy (big cooperate company) but the others were good personal ones from people I’d consider friends.

I’m kicking myself right now but I don’t have an actual contract, just email exchanges confirming things such as start date and salary.

Also, this isn’t a dodgy company that has withdrawn my offer, one of the people who interviewed me is a well known journalist who has a senior role at the company.

I’m financially screwed, not to mention this is an utterly humiliating situation to explain to friends, family and colleagues.

Any advice?

Ps sorry if this rant makes no sense, I am so upset.

I've just remembered it happened to me too. A job I really wanted, and the boss clearly liked me. I was offered the job but then the training sessions never materialised. After numerous emails and phone calls, I gave up. It never occurred to me to demand compensation.

Sorry to hear this, appalling behaviour by the company. Hope you get a good resolution.

@wellthatsunusual

After 25 years in the world of work and many jobs along the way, I have never had a contract before the day I started the new job. I've never even heard of having a contract in advance. Just a written job offer and a start date.

OP, I hope your current employer is willing to keep you on. What a stressful situation.

And after 40 years and many jobs, I've quite often had the contract first (but not always).

It doesn't actually make much difference in practical terms.

@Labobo

I've just remembered it happened to me too. A job I really wanted, and the boss clearly liked me. I was offered the job but then the training sessions never materialised. After numerous emails and phone calls, I gave up. It never occurred to me to demand compensation.

What happened about the job you left?

How did you get on, OP?

Hi @JuliTooley what a godawful experience! Keeping fingers crossed for you that you resolve it one way or another. Definitely talk to your current/previous manager - the situation can feel awkward for you but trust me it is not as unusual scenario as you may think.

Don't beat yourself up too much (easier said than done)! Most ambitious people get into situations like this sooner or later, at least once in their career. You can't be successful without taking a few risks, and some of these risks sadly don't work out.

I left a stable, secure, well-paid job seven years ago for what I felt was a dream job and a perfect fit. It was a permanent job. Three months later they sacked me (as well as some other staff) by simply removing access to all their systems (it was a remote job, and in the US). No explanation, no discussion, just like that, right before Christmas. I was totally shaken by it and I'm still having a mini panic attack occasionally when my work login credentials don't work due to a typo or some such... But whilst I was traumatised by the experience at the time, I joined their competitor shortly afterwards - same job, but much more friendly and professional atmosphere, and right now that terrible experience is a blip in my career that I hardly pay attention to.

[quote JuliTooley]@LApprentiSorcier possibly but it would be very embarrassing. They’ve started the hiring process for my role already.[/quote]
Even if it is embarrasing, and I understand that it is surely it is better than no job?

[quote JuliTooley]@IEat I work at a small company with no HR department to speak of but I get what you mean.

I will have to discuss with my line manager, who I am sure will be happy to keep me. My CEO, not so much. I made a mistake when I first joined, and she literally has never forgiven me.

They've started the process of hiring my replacement which is awkward.[/quote]
Please stop talking about being embarrassed or this is awkward etc

You have a very short window of time in which to potentially resolve this situation satisfactorily. Now is not the time for hesitating or feeling embarrassed.

You need to see getting your old job back as your absolutely priority and you’d be willing to run down the street naked to get it back.

That just have been a very substantial mistake for
A) the CEO to know about it
B) for the CEO to still be holding a grudge against a junior member of staff

Chewingle that's very helpful , just what the OP needs

It’s a pity the OP hasn’t come back to let us know whether she was successful at getting her old job back.
I guess this situation happens more often than I realised.
In my working life I’ve rarely had a contract before starting a position, but I’ve always waited to receive a formal job offer before resigning. A formal job offer is different to the contract, and also different to the initial email or phone call offering the job.
However a formal job offer is usually conditional - subject to references, background checks, and health questionnaire.
Start and leave dates are usually not set in stone until the formal job offer is made, I would normally tell my current employer I have been offered another position, and have a conversation about likely date of leaving before confirming acceptance of the offer this stops reference requests being a total surprise.

However painful it might be - I would need to try and find out why the offer was withdrawn to ensure the problem didn’t come up again in the future. Issues around inaccuracies on the application, problems with the health questionnaire, social media problems or references may have been discovered.
From the OPs posts about her current CEO not forgiving an error she made in the past - I can’t help wondering whether there has been a behind the scenes conversation with the new CEO, in most professions there are often business and social networks between senior staff.

At the minute you're looking to keep your current job, not get it back as you've not actually left yet. You should put in writing formally that you wish to rescind your resignation.

I had a job offer withdrawn years ago - they took exception to something I said when they were offering the post - but I got back to them and convinced them how much I wanted it, etc. I thought it was my ideal job. It was the worst thing I ever did - them initially withdrawing it was an indication of how unprofessional and ruthless they were - the job turned out to be a nightmare and I ended up off sick with stress and resigning with no job to go to. Just saying, as you may look back on this one day and think you had a lucky escape.

@wewereliars

Chewingle that's very helpful , just what the OP needs

If the point was forced, the new co' could have let OP start the role then simply said it's not working out so here's your 2-weeks' notice pay, or whatever. That's the same whenever you change jobs.

The problem, as i see it, is that if you resign and then for whatever reason the job that was offered is withdrawn you don't get any unemployment benefits (or whatever they're called) for ages since you have deliberately made yourself unemployed. Or is there an allowance made for this kind of thing? (can't imagine that, tbh)

That on its own would be enough for me to fight this. (I'd fight it anyway but then that's just how i am)

Anyway, still hoping it was OK in the end for the OP

It is happening quite a lot at the
Moment. Hr won't be surprised. Its a sign of the times don't take it too personally.

Even if they won't let you retract you could buy yourself some more time. Offer to work up to the date the new person starts and even overlap for a week to onboard them and then take your annual leave after that. All in the spirit of being flexible and trying to help them out. Or mutually beneficial at least. Might buy you one or two more months pay whilst you look for something else.

But fingers crossed for a retraction. Appreciate its humble pie and horrible. But its more common then you think.

Will your company let you retract your notice and stay. Whilst not ideal and I don't know your reasons for leaving, we had this happen to a few people last year and we took them back because they were valued employees.

It’s a pity the OP hasn’t come back to let us know whether she was successful at getting her old job back
That's a good sign This thread was only revived in the early hours of this morning, and hopefully, she's not replied because she's still got her old job, and is at work...
(In the OP, she says she would have finished on 17th Feb)

I know its awkward and embarrassing but I would speak to your current employer. Recruitment is a real hassle and they might be happy to keep you.

I'm with wewereliars, just what was the point of posting that chewingle?

Please have a word with your present boss and retract your resignation. It will be embarrassing but that's not as bad as not having a job at all. They may well be keen to keep you. They won't have to train someone new and all the rest of the hassle. Embarrassment is temporary, unemployment could last a good deal longer. Good luck OP.

Hope you were successful in keeping your current role OP, and get some recourse from the company who rescinded the job offer.

I had similar happen but the job offer was rescinded on the Friday when I was due to start on the Monday. The company was No1 in its sector as well. Contract had also been signed. I’d moved for the job. I was just told not to come in! It turned out recruitment had been frozen as a merger had been agreed resulting in job losses. I was much younger (and stupider) then so didn’t take it any further and luckily I got a better job a few months later.

I also was in a position where I tried to rescind my resignation as I found out I was pregnant just before my notice ran out! We’d been trying for another baby for 2 years at that point and I’d given up. As we had issues with our childcare and DC1 was less than a year off starting school, I decided to quit work for a year as I didn’t want to put her in a new childcare setting so late on. Unfortunately one of my bosses vetoed it as she already had a problem with me leaving work on time to pick DC up. She was new to the company herself and wanted to hire someone without DC. That was pretty shit as the maternity benefits were very generous and I’d have had a year off fully paid!

I remember this happening to a work colleague in the middle of her leaving so.
She ended up with no job as her role had been filled and she had been training up her replacement all week.
I think it happens more times than people think and there doesn’t seem to be any recourse

That's really awful. I hope you could get your old job back.

But "binding" doesn't mean that much - in money terms 1 month's paid notice at best.

I meant it's as binding as receiving a contract of employment. So technically, even if OP had received a contract, it would be the same situation. *For those that kept asking why OP hadn't waited until receiving a contract before they resigned - an offer letter is the equivalent.

Its all very well saying wait until you got your contract through before resigning, but British law doesn't even have a requirement for employers to provide employees with a contract of employment. All that is required is a Written Statement of the main terms and conditions - which doesn't have to be signed by the employee and isn't a contract. It would be quite easy for parliament to do something about this, but theres no political intent to do so.

Even if the OP had signed a contract, all she would have been entitled to would have been to be paid for the notice period in her contract or one week, whichever is the longer.

I am wondering if in Scots law the OP would have been entitled to something more, as Scots law recognises the promise ie a unilateral voluntary obligation, but anyway, even then, the OP would have to take it to an Employment Tribunal and that doesn't solve her immediate problem.

How totally shit. You do wonder how some people can live with themselves.