iv worked in a pharmacy for 6 years and through word of mouth (not directly fromt he owner of company) have been offered my pre reg position there next year and through word of mouth i accepted. i have never signed anything or discused directly with the owners. however i have been offered a position with much better career prospects and training and also a pay rise. will i be in trouble if i hand my notice in?
2006-11-25 21:29:23 · 11 answers · asked by rocky 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Small Business
Sounds like you are in the clear. But try to make the move without burning bridges and make sure you express your appreciation to your current employeer.
2006-11-25 21:33:43 · answer #1 · answered by tiqcy99 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The courts could decide you have an oral contract and because you have worked there for 6 years this may be considered at performance of the agreement you had with the employer.
So I would suggest you give 1 months notice to your current employer and go to the new job then. Then you have been reasonable and given the general requiered notcie in most contracts of employment.
If you choose to not give notice then its possible for your current employer to take you court but you should consider in practice, how likely this would be and whether he may will. I suggest you call community legal service direct that can offer you free legal advice on this matter.
For the future, dont even take on employment without a signed contract, it means you have less statutory rights against your employer if he does something wrong towards you. It puts you in a weal position!
Further, consider your wages when you do decide to quit, is it possible he wont pay you all he owes you? If so, quit when its a good time for you, and dont worry about notice.
Further, what about holiday pay entitlements, has this been operating properly?
2006-11-26 04:10:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds as if you haven't gotten anything official yet - you haven't discussed anything with the owners directly despite having "accepted."
The best thing to do is to arrange to sit down with the owners and directly discuss this issue. Explain the situation to them and see what their perspective is.
There is such a thing as a verbal contract, but I think that has to be made with the person directly - you've only done everything through other people, so I don't THINK you'd be in legal trouble - but seek legal advice if you're really worried.
My suggestion is that you take the job with the better prospects as it can be quite hard to get the training and chance to progress! But you also have to look at loyalty... Future employers may look favourably on someone who doesn't flit from job to job every six months. Perhaps you can come to some arrangement with your current employers that will give you the same benefits as this new offer if you don't want to leave?
2006-11-25 21:36:23 · answer #3 · answered by naresha_ninya 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is such a thing as a verbal contract, but in this case you mention 'through word of mouth'. Therefore, no direct agreement has been made, similar to hearsay in a court of law. I'm not sure a verbal contract is binding anyway in employment situations. Apart from that, an employment contract does not stop you from giving in your notice. If you haven't started yet with the company, then there is nothing they can do; most companies have a 3 month trial period whereby they can get rid of you for no reason, and vice versa.
2006-11-25 21:56:00 · answer #4 · answered by Peter the Great! 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as you hand in your resignation with fair time for them to fnd a replacement for you, I wouldn't think you should be in trouble. It's always fair to ask yourself how long time you would think they should give you if they were the ones deciding to let you go. There isn't much they can do , I'm sure they wouldn't want someone to work for them who wants to be somewhere else.
It's better for them to know now rather than next year after giving you training for a new position so they should be greatful that you told them in advance. They might even give you another offer to try to match the one you were offered from the other prospect.
We all get tired of staying at the same job too long, especially if we don't feel appreciated. I can't see anything wrong with giving your notice now. Good luck to you.
2006-11-25 21:38:12 · answer #5 · answered by IC 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
verbal contract is binding but not prove able, also your agreement might not have been worded properly for it to be a contract, unless your employer specifically looked up how to make it binding it almost certainly isn't and it wouldn't be worth the legal battle if it was (unless ur a director or something)
2006-11-25 22:04:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
word of mouth is not worth the paper it is written on......you do not have a contract, you are free to take the job that is a proper offer in writing.
2006-11-25 21:32:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
just check ur policy as to how much time u need for ur resignation, some companies are okay with 2 weeks, no u are not breaching any contract...
2006-11-25 21:39:20 · answer #8 · answered by ♦cat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have no legal obligation. Your employment is at-will currently and you have not entered into any future contract. Even if you were, your employer really has no damages to sue for.
2006-11-25 21:33:53 · answer #9 · answered by AJH 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am a bit confused - I don't think you mean 'word of mouth', I think you mean verbal agreement - and they are standing if either party actually wants to object.
2006-11-25 21:43:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋