Given notice to my employer (In England)?

Question

On Friday morning i took my notice in to my Employer and said i wanted to finish (but would not work my weeks notice) and walked out.

(Background info :-)

I have worked there 5 years but have found the work very stressful due to a fast paced environment making car mirrors at a rate of 4-500 per hour and looking for defects as big as pin-heads.

1. Due to not working a weeks notice can they hold back any money the owe me.

2. I have been one of the best time keepers have picked up the tasks required ok (but speed/quality as not been in my favour)
should i ask for a reference.

3. Going to sign on at job centre (wife and 4 years old to consider)
will i have my job seekers allowance stopped if so how long?

** Final point we discussed the matter in great detail (wife/myself)
about getting out of the company and finding new employment
so i will be trying to get a new job A.S.A.P

My age is 47 years. (have two children 4 & 24)

Mortgage paid off so no worries about payments!

Answer 1

i know how you feel in a dead end job so my thoughts are with you. unfortuantly you wont be able to get job seekers. the company can not hold any money owed to you as you earned it. and they sud give you a ref even thou you walked out. ask it cant do no harm.

Answer 2

Every second you worked they will have to pay you for, but they don't have to pay any severance, or holiday pay accumulated. Companies don't give bad referances now, unless your dismissed for criminal actions, as if you find out they can be in court for slander, so yes you can still ask for a reference, worst they will do is not supply any.

Because you have a dependant, so long as you don't have over I think its £3500 in savings you will get Job seekers, though it could take up to 6 weeks to come through. It is illegal for a family including a child under 16 to be put on the street. Even if you lost your own house you would be housed instantly.

Good luck searching for a new job, hope you find something more to your liking this time.

Answer 3

As i see it:
1) If you signed a contract which contained the stipulated period of notice, they can withold some money but you should get paid up to the point you quit.
2) It's worth knowing what sort of reference they'll give but be prepared for them to bad mouth you to future employers. For future employment be honest and say you left for whatever reasons and that your previous employer may criticise you for this (it really is worth talking to your previous employer to get an idea of how they feel about you and what they're likely to say)- otherwise go for character references from other people for future references.If the refs thing looks bad do some voluntary work and get a ref from that. Ideally you should have been looking for a job whilst there (I made this mistake- stayed too long and got too stressed-they made it awkward reference wise and took every opportunity to hamper future employment despite my good record)
3. Because you walked out of your job you will have a period to wait (6 weeks?) before job seekers kicks in but you can claim income support and housing benefit (if eligible) straight away.

Answer 4

The company is not legally bound to pay you a severance since you walked out on them without finishing your notice period. They must, however, pay you any monies owing to you: last pay and accrued vaction pay.
Would you really want them to give you a reference since you quit? It wouldn't matter if you were the best employee, your final actions would preclude a poor reference. You should have tried to finish the notice period, and then asked for a reference. I can understand your frustration at a stressful job. Good luck with the job search.

Answer 5

Out of just gratefulness to the company for employing you for 5 years I think you should have worked your notice!
I know we all hate our jobs at times - but at the end of the day its probably thanks to that company that your mortgage is paid off etc etc.
I dont know about if they can hold your money back - but Id be more concerned about the fact that you've probably pissed them off now and they wont give you a good reference - 5 years in a company is a long time and im sure any future employers will require a reference - you just look bitter and immature from the way you've walked out - I think you should swallow your pride and return to your company and offer to work your notice - two week should be enough.
I dont mean to sound horrible to you - but as a manager Im tired to my back teeth of people just landing me in it by throwing strops and walking out - leaving ME with all the crap and trying to do their jobs as well as mine!

PS - I dont know why people are saying companies cant give bad references - here in Ireland they can - or worse they dont give ANY reference - which in my opinion is even worse!

Answer 6

Hi, My sympathies to you!

Because you did not work a weeks notice then you won't get back the week in hand you worked for but they will pay you everything else you earned (by law they have to).
As for benefits ...well you won't receive job seekers allowance for 6 weeks because you weren't sacked. You stopped working voluntarily and in their eyes you are entitled to nothing.
On the upside they will help or assist you with other matters like your child and rent etc; but it all takes a looooong time!
Face it, you are going to be very skint for a while.

Answer 7

You don't say how old you are, but if your under 25you could go on the young drivers scheme, learn to drive a lorry+they put you though the test+help find you a job with a reputable company, then you can tour the country, they put the fuel in, supply a truck, then you will have a life touring, and they pay you for doing it.

Answer 8

You should work your week or months notice period but if you don't then they just wont pay you for it. Your past work will not have anything to do with what they pay you now.

It's very rare for an employer to give a bad reference, mediocre but never bad - in my experience. It would of helped if you had worked the notice..

I'm pretty sure you wont get benifit as you are voluntarily out of work.

Good luck

Answer 9

im not sure if you'll get job seekers allowance straight away because you chose to quit rather than getting the sack or being made redundant.
fair play to you mate, you needed to get out of that environment before it killed you. i was in the same kind of situation, but couldnt leave my job because I had nothing else I was qualified to do. I ended up staying there 14 years in the end purely to support my family but i got out of it 5 years ago, went to uni, got a degree and now im doing a job i love doing and im so much happier.
best of luck to you mate.

Answer 10

Obviously walking out will nullify your contractual agreement which means they wont have to pay you r notice. They cannot by law give you a bad reference so the worst they can do is acknowledge that you worked there for said period and say very little else. If it comes to it you could sue them for constructive dismissal which means that they made your life so unbearable that you were forced out but a tough one to crack. Good luck.