What rights do I have to terminate employment without giving the notice period?

Question

I informed work that I would need time off for surgery, and my line manager said that 2 weeks off was unreasonable time to take to recover, Every time I mentioned that the surgeon had advised at least 2 weeks, she said i was pushing my luck. I was signed off sick for 3 weeks due to the surgery and work have made me feel awkward about taking time off. I have been covered by a sick note although when I called work to advise them of this, my line manager was pressurising me not to use the sick note to its limit. After the sick not ran out I was still in pain and signed off for a further 3 weeks. I e-mailed work as I didnt want to go through the conversation of returning to work early again. Today the company director came out to see me and told me that I have not reasonably contacted work to inform them of the situation. I now want to leave due to constructive dismissal but with immediate effect so that I dont have to go back. Am I in my rights to do this? I am in the UK

I have worked there less than a year

Thanks for all the answers. Just to let everyone know I have e-mailed work and terminated my contract as I felt too uncomfortable to go back. My health is more important and I am not in financial difficulties so I concluded that there is no reason that I should feel that they are overpowering me!

Answer 1

Yes you can leave and take them to an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal.

If the facts are as you describe and you can back them up with the sick notes and a copy of the email I should think you've got a good case


*You've now edited the post to say you worked there less than a year. In this case you cannot claim constructive dismissal, and have no real rights...If you were close to completing 2 years service it would be worth sticking with it until your two years are up....otherwise just get out of there.

Answer 2

if you have medical advice telling you that you needed 3 weeks recovery, and or medical evidence to say you must take n weeks off,and have shown that to you employer, and your employer has not accepted that then Id say they are being unreasonable.
I think you may have ground for suing them for constructive dissmissal. however Im not a legal expert... talk to citizens advice, or consider talking to a solicitor.. many solicitors will do an intitial consultation for free and tell you where you stand, bu tbne very carefull about intstructing a solicitor to act on your behalf... they will rack up fees whether they win or loose. the amount of time you have worked there may be significant.

if what you say is true, then it sounds like your employers are tossers, and it isnt sensible to stay there.

striclty speaking you have to give notice (and it is upto that employer if they enforce the term or if they elect to waive the notice period. After all there is abinding contract between you and the employer, however you shouldeb able to break that contract if you have sufficent good grounds (justification) to do so... again if your story holds true and you cna proove it Id say you have good grounds.

if you leave without giving notice then you may not get any other pay or monies owed.. Im sure if they prefer they could find a way of reclaiming any monies owed, if they are that hacked off with you.

so its up to you do you feel staying working for an employer which doesn't value and apprecaite you is woth it

are you owed enough for it to be a problem if you leave and they dont pay what you are owed

are you concerned if they put a bad reference for future employers

there is a thord way.. go to a local newspaper and try to get them interested, or you may threaten (in the nicest way... dont threaten.. just mention thast you have got the local press interested, or that I wonder what the media will think of their attitude at victimising people with legitiamte medical grounds. it may help to chuck in that its odd they know better than your doctor). its amazing what the liklihood of a bit of public embarrasement does for a companies actions.

what ever you do do, try to be reasonable, dont loose your temper or be seen to be out of control. the more reasonable you are the less risk there is of you beening seen to be the guilty party.

Answer 3

Get another doctor's note, and take it to someone higher up than your line manager. If this is still an issue, you can seek the advice of an attorney, because I feel that would be unlawful dismissal. In a situation like yours, I would start looking for other employment, and quit as soon as you found another job. As professionally tactless as this may sound, after the way you've described them treating you, I wouldn't give them the courtesy of a notice. Unless things are different in the UK, there are no laws that say you have to give a notice...it's just a professional courtesy.

Answer 4

No unfortunately because you have worked for less than a year you do not have to many rights, a lot of this depends on your terms and contract IE, because you emailed rather than phoned and spoke to your line manager that has probably broken your terms and conditions of your contract, but your line manager should not have pressurised you to not use your sick note limit as this is against the law, if you are signed off sick you are not insured to work ( as far as I am aware ), the right thing for you to have done would have been to contact them via phone, but saying that they should have sent you at least if not more than one letter out asking you to contact them because they had not heard from you, I would go to the citizens advice to find out where you stand or try to resolve the situation with your employer, good luck to you as you sound like you have had a crap time with this company.

Answer 5

your well within your writes make sure you post your sick notes to the dhss then your coverd.go to citizens advice they Will fill all the relevant forms for constructive dismissal.you need to be employed over 6 months.2 things on constructive dismissal illegal docking of money without you knowledge and abuse.i weny with both and won i just said the foreman treated me like a dog and they docked £80 for a training course without asking i also said i lost 2 days wages because i was forced to walk out before i did something i regret.i got it all they gave in.it didn't take long once you get a arbitration officer.i was allowed to sign on while it was going through and claim job-seekers.and got a better job after it.you wont get ewt if you dont try go for it don't let them bully you cowards that's all they are it shows when you get them in that tribunal

Answer 6

Hi there;

I am not a citizen of the UK so I went and found some information about the various course of actions open to you and what your rights are under UK labor laws.
They are too long to address here, so I have placed the links below for you.
Suffice to say your boss is a poo head for allowing a loyal, trust worthy employee to slip away from him. No doubt another company will benefit from this mistake on his part by hiring you.
No job, no matter how much it is needed, is worth losing or compromising your health over. You do have rights under your laws even so, no one has the right to harass you (physically, mentally, or emotionally) into doing any action which makes you feel less than human or has the potential to cause you pain regardless how it may manifest itself.
Good luck to you friend.

Answer 7

You are entitled to be healthy & happy! If you have the required documentation, then it can be proven that you're employer was being unreasonable with you're recovery period. Best of luck...Another possibility is that you're employer is not paying you're tax and does not want the attention of social security?

Answer 8

No i think you would be shooting yourself in the foot. You need to advise the company that you are filing for constructive dismissal and ensure you have a witness to all future meetings with your employer. Ask that all meetings be minuted for records. Keep a diary of the problems you are having with them. Make sure you go through the escalation process in your handbook i.e. if one supervisor is giving you grief go to his supervisor or manager until you get satsfaction or get to the top. You haave a duty to keep them informed. You can not legally return to work until your doctor signs you back as fit to work for insurance purposes. If you are still struggling with the situation contact citizens advice burea.

Answer 9

If you leave without working the agreed termination notice, you will lose any holidays due to you, they can be awkward, and delay any payment due to you!
So be smart, do you have any holidays left?
Go back to work, and book them in, NOW.
Then resign during your hols, using that time to honour the termination!
Oh, and join a union!

Answer 10

If you wish to sue for constructive dismissal, then you need to prove your employer has breached the contract.

There are lots of things you need to do first. If you email me I can send you a factsheet to help you understand your position.

[e-mail]

At the very least phone the Community Legal Services Helpline
on 08456 081122