If you are not due to start a job until a month's time and you have sent back the contract, can you withdraw?

Question

If I am due to start a new job next month and I have already signed the contract and sent it back, am I obliged to go ahead with the job or could I withdraw before the job starts? The contract states that it is effective from 1st March, so based on these, could I withdraw from the job now?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It may not look too professional of you, but you can still back out. They have not paid you any money and you are not legally binded to them- all you did by signing the contract was agree to become one of their employees. You can always withdraw. I would send them a letter explaining why you are withdrawing...send it ASAP because the sooner you withdraw the better. Give it a couple of days to get to them and then call them personally explaining yourself. This is your life and you have to take a job that best suites you- you should never be forced into doing a job. Remember, you didn't sign the contract in blood!

Answer 2

You have to read the contract, which should provide a means for notifying the other party of termination. The contract took effect when you signed it, although as a practical matter, it was completed when you sent it back.

If it is a contract for "personal services" instead of construction work or clerical work, etc., depending on the law of your jurisdiction, it may not be enforceable.