At the beginning of this month i had a meeting with my boss's and explained to them that i will be leaving at the end of the month.
I can start my new job any time i want but told them that i would stay on to help train someone to do my job. Today i stopped one of my boss's to ask him about holidays and he spat his dummy out big time. He said that he still hasn't received my months written notice and that i am going nowhere :loopy:
This quickly deteriorated in to an argument (i managed to not swear or hit him) and he said something about my contract being legal and that he would have to think about if i can leave.
I ended up telling him he needs to have a word with himself and that I'm going at the end of the month like it or not.

I scribbled a resignation and made sure he got it.

Now i could do with knowing what he can do about it?

Strictly speaking he can enforce a notice period of whatever length your contract says - but it also depends what your contract says about whether that notice has to be in writing. If it doesn't specify that it has to be written notice then you're ok. Get you contract out and see what it says.

However in reality there is little an employer can do if you don't serve your notice period as your contract states. It is not worth them taking you to court over the matter of a few weeks work, especially as it sounds like you have evidence of verbal notice having been given in plenty of time - so they can't say they were not even aware. They may try and withhold any outstanding holiday pay from your final pay - but legally (if you are on the legal minimum holiday entitlement of 4 weeks) they are not allowed to do this as it contravenes the Working Time Directive. If you are entitled to more than 4 weeks holiday then they can only refuse to pay you the pro-rata amount owed to you above the 4 weeks (pro rata) legal minimum.

The main thing you risk is getting bad references in the future. If your contract does say the notice has to be say a month and in writing, then strictly speaking it would be accurate for them to say on a reference that you left without sufficient notice.

My contract does state a months written notice :( For some reason i had it in my head that it was 2 weeks.

I'm going to have to see what happens tomorrow. I'm going at the end of the month either way.
Would they risk me going on a go slow for the rest of the month? or me taking advantage of my full sick pay entitlement? (not that i would of course)

3 1/2 years being on time, two full days off sick, damn good time keeping, working through breaks when busy, being a registered first aider without any extra pay, and they go and treat me like this! :rolleyes:

Hi Vidster, sorry to hear about your predicament, if he sticks to his guns I'd pull a sicky at teh end of teh month for however long u need to, cite stress and ur doc will give u a note for it. I've never done this, I've never had a day off sick all my working life, although I think your circumstances are special so I think your boss has it coming...

Good luck with it anyway.

Is it worth going to the HR department/HR manager/Personnel Manager or whoever looks after that kind of stuff at your place?

If you had a meeting in which you gave in your notice (albeit verbally) I think it would be worth going over old ground and trying to get someone else involved on your behalf because you DID give one month's notice.

It is not in the company's interest for you to leave on bad terms.

Incidentally, I'm not pulling you up on your spelling :) but when you said you had a meeting with boss's I presume you meant several bosses? In which case, there was more than one witness to you putting in your notice? Can you approach one of the others who was present? Even in writing, if not in person?

Might be worth a try, rather than leaving it in the hands of one person who is obviously playing his own game..

:)

I can't believe this Vidster. Your boss is displaying very poor management skills. What's the point in antagonising a member of staff that could potentially do damage to the company if wound up?

Ask your boss for a copy of the companies grievance procedure tomorrow; that should make the beggar think on. Don't be scared to use it if he carries on being a fool.

K x

If he sticks to his guns, the sickie idea might have to come in to play. That would be a last resort though.

I said boss's because there we're two of them. They are the owners of the company so there is no way of going higher. They also stick together like glue :rant:
I think this is all about me pointing out he had done something wrong a few weeks ago. Yes, he is as petty as that.

When i told them i was leaving he told me to go away and think about it, then get back to them the day after. I told him there was no point because my mind was made up.
He seems to have forgotten me saying there was no point :rolleyes:
I also mentioned in the meeting that i 'thought' i only had to give two weeks notice. He now can't remember me saying that either.
Selective hearing is coming in to play here.

sounds to me Vidster that ur a key strategic asset for them...and ur bosses are bricking it 'cos ur leaving...

There are only 4 of us who can run my machine, 3 of us who are qualified to use the Fork Lift and 2 of us who are First Aiders.

Maybe they should have thought of this when deciding not to give wage rises for the last 18 months. The cost of living bacame too high and my hand was forced.

The boss that is causing the trouble is the one who sits in the office all day. He doesn't have a clue what the situation is outside the office :loopy:

hardly "hands on" management then, no wonder you've had a gutful

although they could enforce the written contract it would be hardly worthwhile as they are obligated by accepting your verbal resignation.
how do you get paid?
'cos once your paid they have no way of keeping you there.
you could always put in writing that your resignation was agreed verbally with them on the 1st or whenever of the month.

We get paid monthly. This month it works out that we get paid on the 23rd and that will include pay up to the 31st.
If they take any pay off me for not giving a full months notice i will walk out on the 23rd with however much they have paid me.

Unless that's going to be illegal :?

Your boss does not seem to appreciate you, throw the sicky fella.. you get a long rest, and you get paid for it.. jobs a good one.

If you are leaving anyway- whats the damage?

Originally posted by ANGELUS
Your boss does not seem to appreciate you, throw the sicky fella.. you get a long rest, and you get paid for it.. jobs a good one.

If you are leaving anyway- whats the damage?
:shocked: Your talking to someone who only takes any time off for a migraine and the last migraine was over 2 years ago!

Maybe i should have taken the *iss like some of the others. I might have been appreciated more :hihi:

Just a thought:
Could some sort of unfair treatment be used on my part? There have been others who left without giving a months notice. Two months ago someone just decided to never come back. They never did anything about that :?

Originally posted by vidster
We get paid monthly. This month it works out that we get paid on the 23rd and that will include pay up to the 31st.
If they take any pay off me for not giving a full months notice i will walk out on the 23rd with however much they have paid me.

Unless that's going to be illegal :?

nope thats the way to do it.
if they owe you holiday pay you could pusue it. dont forget you are paid in arrears so the salary 23 -31 could be classed as holiday pay.

Taking a sickie for your last week or whatever can be tricky. I was in a similar situation once, serving my notice period (I had given it in writing) and the head of department decided she had to take the opportunity to have a go at me before I left (she did this with everyone who dared to leave). So in my last week I had to go to her office and ask her for some advice and she took the opportunity to have a very personal rant at me (had to be personal as work wise she couldn't possibly have any complaints). I was so upset I had to leave the building and I phoned in sick for the rest of the week (what was left of my notice period). I then got a letter saying she wouldn't accept me signing myself off sick for the remainder of the week and that I would not get paid for the days I missed unless I provided a doctor's note. Fortunately I had a very understanding doctor who provided the note - but I got advice from the union and they said she was actually perfectly within her rights to withhold company sick pay (it's only SMP they can't withhold).

You also have to be wary about leaving as soon as you get paid for the full month. Chances are they WILL persue repayment of salary for days you haven't worked.

I would put something formally in writing - state what date you spoke to your bosses and gave you verbal resignation, give as much detail about what was said by all sides during that meeting as possible, and say that as you were not corrected in your belief that you only had to give 2 weeks notice then they effectively misled you in how much notice you have to give. Then state exactly what date your last working day will be (one month after giving your verbal resignation) and also state when you will be starting your new job (ideally the next day!) so that they know you are serious about going on that date.

Originally posted by vidster
We get paid monthly. This month it works out that we get paid on the 23rd and that will include pay up to the 31st.
If they take any pay off me for not giving a full months notice i will walk out on the 23rd with however much they have paid me.

Unless that's going to be illegal :?

It would indeed be illegal for them to withhold pay for work you have done simply because they have not been satisfied with your notice period. They HAVE to pay you for all days worked and any holiday pay outstanding (at least the legal minimum holidays anyway).

I'm hoping the other boss has the b***s to stand up to the one causing the problems and give me a bit of backup. I doubt it though.

I also have a supervisor who knew i was leaving a week before my boss's. He's a 'yes' boy though. He'll never admit that he knew i was leaving :(

i may well be wrong but is it not unlawful for an employer to give a BAD reference?
Maybe employees should give references on the management to candidates for new jobs?:clap:

I forgot to mention. I'll be self employed from the 1st of September. I don't think my new boss will be too bothered about a reference :heyhey:

the option of doing a sickie is more possible perhaps then, althoughI guess it would be preferable to leave on as goods terms as possible rather than a very sour note.

Could you give the Citizens Advice Bureau a call, I would think they could offer advice.

Originally posted by UnkleBob
i may well be wrong but is it not unlawful for an employer to give a BAD reference?
Maybe employees should give references on the management to candidates for new jobs?:clap:

No it's not unlawful to give a bad reference (this would entirely defeat the object of referencing). It is unlawful to provide false information on a reference, but factual information is fine. Some employers are certainly reluctant to provide bad references and therefore choose not to because they are worried about legal action being taken against them if their ref leads to a job offer being retracted. However references are exempt from the Data Protection Act, so the referee has to give express consent that the subject of the reference can see it .

But of course if you're going to be self-employed there's not too much to worry about!

Just to add a little note:

employers SHOULD pay you for days worked and any outstanding holiday pay. However, what do you do if they don't?

My last employer owed me 2 full days pay and between 10 & 15 days holiday pay (not sure exactly because I left before the end of my leave year so it had to be adjusted). They said they would pay it, but never did. Any legal action I could take would more than likely cost me more than I would gain.

If I were in position then I'd do as already mentioned previously, put something in writing summarising the meeting where you gave verbal notice. Keep your head down as much as you can until you leave. Then don't look back. - and good luck :thumbsup:

Thanks for the advice everyone :thumbsup:

It's been a strange day today. Problem boss has stayed in his den all day and other boss has been his usual self.
I don't know if this is good or bad :suspect:

I guess I'll find out come pay day. I'll have a good idea on the Monday before pay day. This is when problem boss brings the wage slips round. If he doesn't come round with them I'll know somethings wrong.

Another thought... Problem boss told me i had to hand my written notice in and he would then tell me if i could leave on this date.
What would be an acceptable time for me to wait for confirmation from him that this date is OK?

Just a thought, but if you are owed holiday, couldn't you add the holiday onto the end of your two weeks notice, so that they get three or more weeks notice altogether.

As to how long to wait, I would say one day for him to open and read the letter and one day for his secretary to type a reply and get it signed - 3 days at most.

I'm pretty much sure i have used all my holidays due to me already.
The resignation wasn't even in an envolope. He asked for it so i went to the supervisors office, wrote it out with him standing there and he took it through to problem boss. I know all parties have now seen it.
I am thinking about asking the other boss what is happening tomorrow, but then again, i might just be better leaving it.

If you have given notice then it isn't up to your boss to tell you if it's ok to leave. You leave whether he likes it or not - there isn't anything he can do about it.

Originally posted by Hels
Just to add a little note:

employers SHOULD pay you for days worked and any outstanding holiday pay. However, what do you do if they don't?

My last employer owed me 2 full days pay and between 10 & 15 days holiday pay (not sure exactly because I left before the end of my leave year so it had to be adjusted). They said they would pay it, but never did. Any legal action I could take would more than likely cost me more than I would gain.

If I were in position then I'd do as already mentioned previously, put something in writing summarising the meeting where you gave verbal notice. Keep your head down as much as you can until you leave. Then don't look back. - and good luck :thumbsup:

Hi all - first post after a while of lurking.
Sorry to hear of your situation vidster - bosses can be very short sighted sometimes.
Hels - I think you can pursue amounts of less than £5000 through the small claims court......if I remember correctly the application costs about £35.

Welcome to the forum BudLover :wave:

I think they have realised what they're losing now. My supervisor came down and said he thinks he can get my wages put up to £7.50 an hour.
"Sorry boss. It's not enough any more" (my reply to him)

If the two boss's had said that to me last week i might have stayed. Sending the monkey down to see me just p***** me off even more.

Ohh yeah, the other main machine operator i work with has just been told he can do extra work (outwork) while his machine is running, bumping his wage up by approx £500 a month.
Something i have never been allowed to do :suspect:

Slightly off topic,I have saved up 1mths holiday and fully intend to hand my notice in when i walk out "on holiday".Is it legal to hand my notice in by e-mail?
Good luck in your new venture Vidster.If you need anyone to have a rant at your new boss,let us know ;)

slightly off topic but doesn't corporate work suck?? You work for a big company, busting your guts out for them for a measley price per hour, get about 30 mins for lunch in which if you're lucky you might catch a few minutes of home and away, and bust your guts again unitl home and then go home to do it all again the next day. Your opinion is unlikely to be valued, you get very little respect, and are probably managed by a 'team leader' who has the leadership qualities of a cabbage patch doll (tim from the Office summed it up when he said a team leader was a job created for someone with all the jobs that no one else wanted to do, sorry if you are a team leader but it seems to be true!). Social highlights are likely to included one free drink at Christmas, and a cold Tesco value buffet at a cheap function room with a quick dance to Wham and Noddy Holder. The rest of the time you are sat at a desk, being monitored, making money for your manager and the shareholders. Wonderful isn't it?

Originally posted by matsalleh
Slightly off topic,I have saved up 1mths holiday and fully intend to hand my notice in when i walk out "on holiday".Is it legal to hand my notice in by e-mail?
Good luck in your new venture Vidster.If you need anyone to have a rant at your new boss,let us know ;)

How much notice do you have to give? Book you holiday and post your notice the day before you go on hols - then you can serve your notice period whilst on hols (depending how long it is of course!). Most companies would say email was unacceptable - but a lot of employees only give verbal notice, so it's better than nothing. But I'd go for a proper written notioce if I were you. If they say anything about you being on hols and serving your notice say you already booked the hols before making the decision to leave and that you have plans and can't possibly go into work.

Originally posted by go4it
slightly off topic but doesn't corporate work suck??

I used to work for a FTSE 100 company and the rewards were great! If we had a good month we'd be drinking champagne on Friday afternoon, there was always a good christmas do, and a brilliant end of year bash (Alton Towers was a highlight!). Try working for a charity. I work for a not-for-profit company now that is also a registered charity. The salaries are in the lower quartile even when compared to other charities in this area. The justification we get for this is that they can't afford to pay much because they are a "small" charity (we employ over 700 people!). And then to add insult to injury you have to pay £1 every Friday to dress down, and then the directors are always coming round asking for more of your money to enter raffles that no one ever seems to win! I went into the job all idealistic about working for a charity and salary not being too important - now I just want to get as much experience out of the job as possible before moving on to pastures new - where they don't insist on paying peanuts and then asking you to give a substantial amount back to them!

I refuse to take part in any 'charity' mugging at work.
Raffles, bonus balls, dress down days with an honour box. Stuff it all. If i want to give money i'll just do it, I don't need someone without any real work to do pestering me for a £1 three times a week.

Originally posted by go4it
slightly off topic but doesn't corporate work suck?? You work for a big company, busting your guts out for them for a measley price per hour, get about 30 mins for lunch in which if you're lucky you might catch a few minutes of home and away, and bust your guts again unitl home and then go home to do it all again the next day. Your opinion is unlikely to be valued, you get very little respect, and are probably managed by a 'team leader' who has the leadership qualities of a cabbage patch doll (tim from the Office summed it up when he said a team leader was a job created for someone with all the jobs that no one else wanted to do, sorry if you are a team leader but it seems to be true!). Social highlights are likely to included one free drink at Christmas, and a cold Tesco value buffet at a cheap function room with a quick dance to Wham and Noddy Holder. The rest of the time you are sat at a desk, being monitored, making money for your manager and the shareholders. Wonderful isn't it?

ouch, sounds like you need a change of job.
I wouldn't say mine is great, afterall i've just spent the week in Felixstowe. But i've got no one directly monitoring my work, we had a team meeting a few weeks ago at Alton towers, which included a day in the park. I get a decent salary and working times tend to be flexible within reason. I take as long a lunch break as I like (workload depending) and i'm never forced to watch rubbish like home and away.
Put in an application for a company phone the other day as they've just upgraded to fancy ones rather than a big old brick. Approved within 4 minutes by my boss in London, should have the phone on Tues. Should save me £20 a month.

If I could only get an assignment close to home it would be nearly perfect (of course, i'd like a promotion, and a payrise, but who wouldn't).

Oh and for the next 5 weeks i'm going to be the team leader... Which doesn't mean that i'm not also expected to my share of the work, but i'll be far more experienced than the two grads, so i'll be there to help them out and coach them in how to do the work. That's what a team leader does in my company, it's like having a more knowledgable older brother or sister on your side. Although obviously they delegate the boring stuff to you sometimes.

Originally posted by banesmabes
How much notice do you have to give? Book you holiday and post your notice the day before you go on hols - then you can serve your notice period whilst on hols (depending how long it is of course!). Most companies would say email was unacceptable - but a lot of employees only give verbal notice, so it's better than nothing. But I'd go for a proper written notioce if I were you. If they say anything about you being on hols and serving your notice say you already booked the hols before making the decision to leave and that you have plans and can't possibly go into work.
I have to give one month notice,so that is covered (if my holiday request is agreed).When we have our annual bull**** sessions (appraisal) I have had 2 in 10 years,they ask where do you see yourself in12 months time.My answer is walking out of here without a backward glance.I just thought notice by e-mail would be cool.The Holiday is booked,so I am going anyway.

Originally posted by Cyclone
I refuse to take part in any 'charity' mugging at work.
Raffles, bonus balls, dress down days with an honour box. Stuff it all. If i want to give money i'll just do it, I don't need someone without any real work to do pestering me for a £1 three times a week.

Most of the people who work for my company have been there for years and see it as the norm to have to give part of their salary back after the deductions have been made. I went along with it at first but after a while I started saying no. What makes me laugh is that most people there feel it's wrong to be always asking for our money (and when I say 'asking' read 'won't leave you alone until you cough up') but still continue to pay every time they are asked. I've certainly ruffled the director who most regularly comes round asking for money (the same director who thinks it's perfectly acceptable for most of our staff to be on minimum wage and get a 10 pence an hour increment for a year's service!) - she's not used to people saying no to her, but she's got the idea now that I don't appreciate it.