New Job - Contract termination via text

[sunshine4]

Hi All,

Apologies, if this post is a little long, but I'm really hoping someone can help/offer some advice regarding a situation my OH has found himself in recently. After 4 years in his current employment he was approached by another company with a job offer as an applications engineer. He initially met with the Sales Director (SD) and a couple of other employees of the business in a very informal meeting at a hotel bar (there was no formal interview), at which time my OH stated that he was looking for a job which didn't require him to travel, as we have a young family and current commitments mean he can't be on the road on a regular basis. At this time he was told travel would be minimal.

He then exchanged a number of messages/emails/calls with the SD over the next few days/weeks, to negotiate and discuss some queries he had, particularly around the level of travel, where he was reassured that any travel would be very limited and he was offered the job. My OH accepted the job offer, however due to the offer including a car allowance he was still skeptical/concerned about the amount of travel he would be expected to do, so he arranged a further call with the SD to clarify and during that conversation it was confirmed that he would be required to travel one week in every four, with the other three weeks covered by the other three team members who were also being bought on board to do the same role. Unfortunately all of this was done verbally and he didn't request it in writing.

Fast forward to him starting at the new job and within two days he started having appointments put in his calendar for various client site visits - one of which was for four days in Northern Ireland at the start of July. Concerned that firstly, he was being sent to client site with no training of the software and secondly at the number of site visits that were being put in his calendar, he mentioned it to his colleague who informed him that when the SD said he would be travelling one week in every four he actually meant he would be required to stay away from home one week in every four, but he would be required to travel within the UK every week. My OH raised concerns at this and tried to message the SD to ask if he could call him (although at that stage didn't say what it was about). His message and the subsequent one he sent the next morning were ignored, however, he got into the office the next day to be he had a call with the MD at 9.30am.

On that call the MD stated that he had been told my OH had made some comments regarding the travel aspect of the job and he wasn't particularly happy about it. When my OH tried to explain that he had made it clear in his "interview" and subsequent conversations with the SD that he couldn't commit to regular travel, the MD simply told him "well, that's the job, if I tell you to go on site tomorrow you just go - so I suggest you take the weekend to think about whether it's the job for you" and ended the call.

In the meeting with the MD on Monday he explained again that he'd only accepted the job on the basis of limited travel as confirmed by the SD on more than one occasion and they seemed to clear the air. The MD agreed that there had clearly been some confusion somewhere along the line, but wouldn't commit to saying the SD had given the wrong information. It has since come to light that my OH's friend was also interviewed by the same person and was told exactly the same with regards to travel being minimal. (I should probably also mention that the SD just happens to be the son of the MD). The MD told my OH to let him have a good think about everything overnight to work out how they could rearrange things to make it work for him and told him in the meantime to give his P45 in to HR. He said they would catch up the next day.

The following day the MD was in meetings all day and nothing was said to my OH. Fast forward to the evening and my OH receives the following text from the MD "following a meeting with HR and the CEO we have decided to terminate your contract with **. The main reason was the inability to perform the duties as stated in the contract. I will be back in the office next week and you are welcome to meet with me and discuss anything that comes to mind. You are not required to come into the office from now. Feel free to call anytime. Ps I'm in a meeting now however available from tomorrow morning. Regards ". My OH was of course shocked and in a state of disbelief at this point, however he sent a message back saying he would call the following day as he needed to know where he stood with regards to pay for the time he had worked etc. The MD simply replied saying "I'll pay you for the month".

Since then he has heard nothing further from either the MD directly or the company/HR team, there has been no phone call, no formal letter and nothing in writing to confirm the details of the text messages he received. He still has his company laptop at home, as he was required to bring it home with him and obviously then never went back and there has as yet been no request to send this back either.

Where does my OH stand legally in this situation? Will it depend what is stated in his contract in terms of travel? (I haven't seen the contract but have asked him to confirm the wording). Is it legal to terminate someone's contract in such a manner and without notice? Have they covered themselves from any action being taken against them by saying they'll pay him for the month? Should he request everything in writing, including confirmation that he will be paid for the full month?

Any help/advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and respond.

[Amethyst]

Does he have a contract that states his employment terms, notice period, pay, holidays etc ?

When did his employment with this company start and was he on any probation period ?

Ula

[sunshine4]

Does he have a contract that states his employment terms, notice period, pay, holidays etc ?

When did his employment with this company start and was he on any probation period ?

Ula

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes he does have a contract which states all of the above (the copy he has is an emailed version and not his signed original version).

His employment commenced on 28th May 2018. He received the text message terminating his contract on 5th June.

His probation period as stated within the contract was 6 months, with a week's notice period during that time.

[ULA]

I would say the manner of the termination i.e. via text is not very professional or courteous. Unfortunately since your OH has less than two years service, unless the reason for the dismissal falls into one of the exception criteria there is probably little he can do.

As he is still in his probationary period then as per the contract he is only entitled to a week's notice so if the company have offered to pay him for the month then he really needs to get that confirmed in writing.

I would therefore suggest that your OH writes to the MD asking for written confirmation of exactly what the company will be paying him in regard to his notice and confirm what the company wish to do about the return of the laptop.

I appreciate this must be an awful shock but there is not much else that he can do.

[Amethyst]

As Ula says... bugger

I wonder if there is any action could be taken in relation to the job being misrepresented to him in the first place, is the contract silent on the issue of travel ? Seems there were multiple discussions on travel and the main reason he left his previous job and joined this company was to reduce travel requirements... would that be a cause of action at all Ula do you think?

[ULA]

To answer @Amethyst's question before an employment relationship starts, there are generally discussions between the parties about the nature of the job and the employer's business and the employee's skills and experience. If, as part of these discussions, a party makes a statement of fact to the other party which they rely on in deciding whether to enter into the contract, that is a representation.

A representation requires:
a statement of fact
made by one party to the other
which induces them to enter the contract

For example, an employee might provide a CV including details of a degree result. It is a representation if the employer decides to employ partly because of that information or a representation made by an employer might become part of the terms of the contract. For example, if they represents salary details to the employee during pre-contractual discussions, it may become a contractual term once the contract starts.

For there to be misrepresentation it means that a representation is untrue and these fall into 3 categories:

fraudulent (where one party deliberately misrepresents the facts, such as where an employee deliberately lies about their qualifications on their CV)

negligent (where the party is careless as to whether the information is true, such as where an employer tells an employee that he will receive a company car because he failed to check whether an employee of his grade would receive one). Once you have shown that you entered into a contract on the basis of a misrepresentation it is for the person who made the statements to show that he made the statement honestly and reasonably, and not for the other party to show that it was made negligently

innocent (where the party turns out to be wrong but not through any fault of their own)

There are different implications and remedies for the different types of misrepresentation. For innocent misrepresentation, the only remedy is rescission and there is no right to damages (unless the representation has also become a term of the contract, and you can bring an action in contract). Rescission means restoring parties to the position they were in before the contract was entered into - however this is not practical as the restoration for your OH would be his old job that he left for this one and that is not something the current company can offer. For fraudulent and negligent mis-representation you may be able to rescind (see my previous point) the contract and can also claim damages.

This is effectively something governed by the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and not employment law. Although it could be argued that there was a representation as detailed by the requirements if nothing was written in the contract in regard to travelling then it would probably “boil down” to the SD’s word against OH’s word.

[sunshine4]

Thank you both for your replies and input, I really appreciate it.

I definitely feel the job was misrepresented to him, as he clarified on multiple occasions with the SD regarding the amount of travel required. His previous job was fully office based and he made it clear during all conversations with the SD that he was looking for a similar role, where travel would be kept to a minimum - he would never have taken the job had they told him the level of travel actually involved in the role.

The SD had also interviewed one of his old work colleagues for the same job and confirmed the same information to him regarding travel requirements, so clearly he either did this knowingly to try and get them onboard, or he hadn't understood the requirements properly himself and then didn't want to admit it to his father when my OH raised queries. However, as my OH unfortunately didn't request the specific details of the travel requirements in writing, it sounds like he doesn't really stand much chance of taking any further action against them, so I'll pass on your advice that he request written confirmation regarding the payment they have offered and tell him to continue with his job search.

Really makes me sick to know a company can behave in such a poor and unprofessional manner and there are no repercussions for doing so.

Lesson learnt though - I'm sure in future he'll make sure he has everything in writing beforehand!

Thanks again both :-)

[Amethyst]

It's a rubbish situation, and completely unfair, and not his fault ( other than the getting things in writing bit but tbh even if he had it in writing it sounds like the MD is a law unto himself and his son's a liability - imagine how they behave with customers too which he'd have had to deal with … ) He needs to look at it as an 'every cloud' thing and try to stay positive.... staying employed with that company sounds like it would only lead to stress and unhappiness.

I hope he finds something new, with decent employers… as he was head hunted for this job it sounds like he shouldn't be out of work for too long xxx

[ULA]

Completely agree with t about the type of company and although it's tough, think your OH may have had a "lucky escape".

Best of luck to him with his job hunting I'm sure it will not take him long to secure a new position.

[sunshine4]

Thanks both - I do agree in terms of him having a lucky escape, just a shame he had to learn the hard way.

On the upside he had his first interview since this happened yesterday and was offered a more senior role than the one he went for - not sure it's the role he wants, but at least it's a positive start!

Last couple of queries - the MD has said via text that he would confirm in writing that they are going to pay him for the full month, however as yet he still hasn't received anything from them. If the company suddenly decide against paying him (and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest at this point), would he be able to take action against them to get this money, or would the offer via text simply be seen as a goodwill offer and therefore be something they can rescind if they wanted to? Likewise, would it even make any difference having it in writing, or would it still be unenforceable if they decided not to pay? I assume they are required by law to pay him at least one week's salary in any case?

He still has the company laptop, which he has agreed to return upon receipt of the written confirmation that they are going to pay him. Is he within his rights to hold off returning the laptop until he receives the written confirmation, or is he legally bound to return the laptop immediately?

[ULA]

Having everything is writing is always best, however as you say it is not going to guarantee it will be paid. At the very least OH is owed for the days he worked and the contractual one weeks notice, unlikely he would have accrued anything in terms of holiday pay maybe half a day if he was on 25 days holiday.

OH could hold onto the laptop for a short period to see if he gets the letter but just a note of caution you do not want the company to accuse him of theft.