Breach of contract?

[coolwater]

Hi guys, what are your thoughts?

I was offered a job, which I accepted and then it was withdrawn without notice or compensation. This would normally be a breach of contact. However, they claim a 'company restructure' is the reason it was withdrawn which seems to be a grey area. How can I determine whether they have breached the contract and it is worth pursuing legal action in this case or not?

Thanks

[ULA]

You say that you were offered a job, how was this offered to you and did you sign a contract of employment?

[coolwater]

I was offered it verbally by my recruiter first. I accepted verbally. Then I was offered it via the company portal. I had to choose whether to accept or reject the offer- I accepted it and received an email confirming I'd accepted it. I went into the office to prove my right to work, get my passport scanned etc. I then got the contract to download via the portal. I was meant to sign the contract but wasn't able to before they withdrew the offer. I have a copy of the contract and an email from them proving I'd accepted the offer.

[ULA]

If you accepted verbally and via a portal and then have been provided a copy of the contract, you may potentially be able to argue that you should be given your entitlement to notice as per the contract (based on probationary period) which should be paid as you have not been asked not to start but that is all.

If they do not agree to pay then I doubt it is worth pursuing as it would be a county court claim for which you would need to pay a fee and the backlog in the system means it could take months before you may have any outcome.

[coolwater]

Thing is there is no probationary period stated, only a 3 month notice period, which presumably means that's what I'd be entitled to. That's a fair bit, so maybe it would be worth pursuing? Thanks for your help

[ULA]

Potentially there is no guarantee you will be able to recover anything.

[atticus]

2 questions.

1. Was the offer subject to any conditions such as satisfactory references or satisfying them you have the right to work?

2. What did you do after accepting the offer?

[coolwater]

2 questions.

1. Was the offer subject to any conditions such as satisfactory references or satisfying them you have the right to work?

2. What did you do after accepting the offer?

There were no conditions stated, so I'm not sure. They hadn't asked me for any references by that point. I had already proven my right to work by getting my passport scanned.
After the offer I asked a few more questions of my recruiter re the benefits and was waiting for a reply before signing the contract. Then they pulled the plug.

[atticus]

What would you have considered the position to be had the answers to your questions not been satisfactory?

I ask as I am concerned that you may not have accepted the offer in law, i.e. that an enforceable contract may not have come into being.

[coolwater]

Well I was still expecting to go ahead with the role, as I had accepted it. I was just querying some contradictory things that had been communicated to me about the benefits (ie bonus), so wanted to clear that up. I would've gone ahead either way, just a mental thing of asking first I suppose.

Why would it not constitute acceptance in law if I accepted it and have proof of that via an email?

[atticus]

Winding back a step, did you do nothing else after accepting the offer? Were you in employment at the time? If so, did you give notice? What is your present employment status?

[coolwater]

I was in employment and I did give notice, yes. I may be able to have that overturned- it is not decided yet, however, it will have damaged my reputation for sure. Does that matter though? I prob wouldn't pursue anything relating to effects on other employment, unless that was straightforward, just the notice period. Also I'm not sure I'd want to drag anyone such as my manager into it given the already strained relationship. I've just noticed there is a probationary period so it would be only 1 week, not 3 months.