Reduced Notice Period Query

[JarrowSandy]

Hello everyone, just after a bit of advice please.

I started a job with 3 months notice period on my side and a set of Employment Particulars that stated standard notice periods of 1 month for employee and 1 week for the employer. Unless the contract stated otherwise, then these particulars took precedence. As my contract did state 3 months, then I accepted this as my Notice Period should I choose to leave.

Fast forward and I negotiated a a payrise due to being the lowest paid but equal in performance and workload to my peers. My new contract was identical except for the date of the contract, salary and the Notice Period clause being completely removed. I checked this with my Union and they have stated that as the clause has been removed, then the Employment Particulars exist so my notice period is 1 month.

I've since applied for another job, interviewed and been accepted a conditional offer based on satisfactory references. I informed my line manager straight away out of courtesy and respect at which they were agreeable, admitting that things had been tough in the role and that there was no issue. I offered to work in a professional manner and informed them of the incoming reference request, to which there were no issues.

Fast forward 2 days later and I receive a message from the MD about my 'bad faith' and how I owe 3 months. When I relayed the above information I was told that the revised contract didn't include the notice period as there was no change, but every other clause that didn't change remained. I was also told that if they were to lay me off then they would give me 3 months notice, even though the contract only holds them to 1 week.

I've tried to contact my Union again to no avail, and whilst awaiting feedback, my MD has said that if I serve notice of 1 month instead of 3 then they will scupper my reference by stating breach of contract for not fulfilling my notice period.

I am a bit shocked as I have offered to leave in a professional manner, I've never had this issue before and have copies of glowing references, and I feel a bit stuck. If I do 3 months notice I will lose the new job as it's a 6 month temp, if I leave early I get a bad reference that will potentially lose me the new job and follow me into future applications.

Any help with this is appreciated 🙂

Why would you leave for a temp 6 month job?

It's closer to home, a foot in the door and the current job has become unbearable due to changing of goal posts, the role and high staff turnover. I've battled some personal issues for the past 6 months so now is the correct time to make a move, even if it is a risk.

Fair enough!
Telling you they’ll give you a bad reference says it all really.
Have you spoke to HR? (Or is that union? We never call it union up here)
How long have you been with them for?

They are just a small company so no HR, it's literally the MD who has the final say on business matters. My union is GMB (I'm UK based). I've been there 18 months.

@PinkCookie11

Fair enough! Telling you they’ll give you a bad reference says it all really. Have you spoke to HR? (Or is that union? We never call it union up here) How long have you been with them for?

HR and Trade Unions are completely different things.

Sods law, but for completeness for others with similar issues, I've been told that the new contract supercedes the old, which is what I thought but was told didn't.

Thanks for your replies.

Did the new contract with higher salary completely replace the original contract? I would have thought it would be an addendum rather than a replacement, in which case it would only modify the terms mentioned. Without seeing it, not possible to say what your notice period is, but it is possible the original one stands.

Legally they can’t give you a bad reference only a factual one, i.e. at worst that you didn’t work the “agreed” notice period. I’d send a short email to the new job explaining the position and saying they can contact your line manager by telephone to discuss your performance further.

@TheUndoingProject

Legally they can’t give you a bad reference only a factual one, i.e. at worst that you didn’t work the “agreed” notice period. I’d send a short email to the new job explaining the position and saying they can contact your line manager by telephone to discuss your performance further.

Yet again the myth that an employer cannot give a bad reference is repeated. It simply is not true. An employer can give a bad reference provided they believe that what they say is true and they have reasonable grounds for their belief.

So you agreed a three month contractual notice period.

You then negotiated a pay rise. But when your documentation to reflect the pay rise arrives and was completely silent on the subject of notice period, you assumed they had unilaterally changed that particular term of your contract for no reason at all without even discussing it with you? And that they assumed remaining completely silent on the matter would mean you understood the change and agreed to it?

I have some sympathy with your boss about bad faith to be honest. It seems clear enough to me that they said absolutely nothing on the subject of notice period because there had been absolutely no discussion of it changing and no reason for anyone to think it had changed.

If they were dismissing you at this point and you hadn’t specifically agreed to a reduction in notice period you would 100% be arguing for three months. And you’d win that argument.

They can’t force you to work the extra two months, but they can give a factual reference and it isn’t likely to be particularly glowing.

@prh47bridge yes, that’s what I said...

OP’s employer can’t just give her a “bad” reference to punish her, it has to be factually accurate. I imagine the OP would find it useful having it in writing that her employer intended to deliberately scupper her reference, should to come to a dispute.

It’s not particularly adult of the MD to phrase it as “scuppering”, but a reference saying OP refused to work her contractual notice would be perfectly factual.