Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

[LBManiac]

Hi Folks, just signed up here after coming across the site during my searches for info on my situation.

( Short Version: As a result of the Company B approaching me, offering me a job and withdrawing it just before I was due to start I have ended up losing a very good job at 'Company A' )

I was in steady employment with 'Company A' and was approached by 'Company B' saying that they were recruiting and would be interested in speaking to me. I subsequently went for an interview on a Friday and was offered the job on Monday, first by phone and confirmed by email (also confirming they were delighted I had accepted the offer). I was happy to take the job as it was a larger firm that had recently expanded and much closer to home.
There were no conditions set out in the job offer and they advised they would send out a contract of employment but I did not receive this.

I handed my notice into 'Company A' on the Friday after I had received the offer letter.

I then received an email on Tuesday(less than a week before my start date) from 'Company B' stating the business situation had changed and they were withdrawing the offer. They said they would send out hard copy letter with one weeks pay.

I then had to ask to withdraw my resignation which unfortunately did not happen due to the business changing owners so I find myself unemployed now.

As a result of the Company B approaching me, offering me a job and withdrawing it just before I was due to start I have ended up losing a very good job at 'Company A' which was pretty much the same salary that I was moving to.

I was hoping for advice on this - 1 weeks pay is not a lot and I do not know how long I will be out of employment for. It has also had a severe impact on my mental health - but this is from long underlying issues also.
Had they not approached me I would still be in steady employment. The notice period was not agreed upon and they stated they just sent me the statutory minimum which is unreasonable. It does not take into account I have left a job as a result of their actions.

Thanks in advance

[Sangie595]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

Hi Folks, just signed up here after coming across the site during my searches for info on my situation.

( Short Version: As a result of the Company B approaching me, offering me a job and withdrawing it just before I was due to start I have ended up losing a very good job at 'Company A' )

I was in steady employment with 'Company A' and was approached by 'Company B' saying that they were recruiting and would be interested in speaking to me. I subsequently went for an interview on a Friday and was offered the job on Monday, first by phone and confirmed by email (also confirming they were delighted I had accepted the offer). I was happy to take the job as it was a larger firm that had recently expanded and much closer to home.
There were no conditions set out in the job offer and they advised they would send out a contract of employment but I did not receive this.

I handed my notice into 'Company A' on the Friday after I had received the offer letter.

I then received an email on Tuesday(less than a week before my start date) from 'Company B' stating the business situation had changed and they were withdrawing the offer. They said they would send out hard copy letter with one weeks pay.

I then had to ask to withdraw my resignation which unfortunately did not happen due to the business changing owners so I find myself unemployed now.

As a result of the Company B approaching me, offering me a job and withdrawing it just before I was due to start I have ended up losing a very good job at 'Company A' which was pretty much the same salary that I was moving to.

I was hoping for advice on this - 1 weeks pay is not a lot and I do not know how long I will be out of employment for. It has also had a severe impact on my mental health - but this is from long underlying issues also.
Had they not approached me I would still be in steady employment. The notice period was not agreed upon and they stated they just sent me the statutory minimum which is unreasonable. It does not take into account I have left a job as a result of their actions.

Thanks in advance

No, one weeks pay is not a lot. But it is more than you are entitled to in law. Your contract might say more, but in the first month of employment there is no notice period and both the employer and the employee are entitled to terminate without notice. This is effectively what they have done, but in advance of your starting. It is legal for them to do so.

I am afraid that handing in your notice to an existing job is potentially always fraught- you could have been dismissed at any time from the new job, so you have not suffered a quantifiable loss which you have not been appropriately compensated for - in legal terms anyway. They could have let you start and then sacked you. They could have sacked you with notice at any point up to two years. Notice is the appropriate compensation. It is the only compensation specified in law.

Your mental health had no relevance to any of this unless it qualifies as a disability and you can demonstrate that the job offer was withdrawn because of your mental health disability.

I'm sorry. This seems to be happening a lot these days. And frankly, from employers that you wouldn't expect to do this sort of thing. But in the end, if they don't have the money or the business need for a position any longer, it goes, whether it is before someone takes up the post or not.

[LBManiac]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

I was having a look through the forum to see if there were any similar posts and seen your reply to a similar case.

I am not interested in claiming for health issues, that is something I have had to live with for a long time has just worsened the whole scenario.

I am getting conflicting information as on both gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/job-offers-your-rights) and citizens advice they state that they owe compensation. In the first instance I would be asking for the notice period of one month as this had not been agreed upon but is what I would expect for my salary and in the second instance they are liable for my loss of income for a period of time reasonable to find a job, which I would suggest to be 2 months.

If the job offer was unconditional, which is unusual, you may be able to claim compensation in the employment tribunal or the county court (Court of Session in Scotland) for breach of contract. This is a breach of contract because you were offered the job with no conditions, you accepted the offer and then the offer was withdrawn. Although the job has not started, it has been decided that once a job has been offered and the offer has been accepted, there is a contract of employment. If the employer then withdraws the job offer, this will be dismissal and a breach of contract. If you have given up another job because you were offered the new job, you can also claim compensation based on what you were earning in your previous job and on how long it would have taken you to find another job had you left that job to find another one.

Futhermore I came across a transcript from an employment tribunal last year in which they awarded damages of 1 months wages in the absence of an employment contract. (McCann vs Snozone)

McCann v Snozone Ltd ET/3402068/2015job offers | breach of contract | pay in lieu of notice
An employment tribunal has awarded a claimant damages for breach of contract where he verbally accepted a job offer made by the employment agency acting for the employer, and the employer subsequently withdrew the offer.

I was very surprised that this employer would do something like this, they are a large reputable firm.

[Sangie595]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

I was having a look through the forum to see if there were any similar posts and seen your reply to a similar case.

I am not interested in claiming for health issues, that is something I have had to live with for a long time has just worsened the whole scenario.

I am getting conflicting information as on both gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/job-offers-your-rights) and citizens advice they state that they owe compensation. In the first instance I would be asking for the notice period of one month as this had not been agreed upon but is what I would expect for my salary and in the second instance they are liable for my loss of income for a period of time reasonable to find a job, which I would suggest to be 2 months.



Futhermore I came across a transcript from an employment tribunal last year in which they awarded damages of 1 months wages in the absence of an employment contract. (McCann vs Snozone)




I was very surprised that this employer would do something like this, they are a large reputable firm.

What you think is a reasonable notice period is not the same thing as what the law says. The law says that in the first month the notice period is nil, unless that is varied by a contract of employment in writing.

Employment tribunals do not make law. This ruling therefore has no force, and any other tribunal can make it's own decision.

There is no law that says that they must compensate you for any period of time until you get another job.

I can only tell you what the law says about these things, This is what the law says. If you think that you can get three months pay out of them without spending at least as much trying to get it, then good luck. But it won't change the law. In law you can only be compensated for your actual loss, and that is measured by what would happen had you started the job and then they changed their minds. In the absence of a contract saying otherwise that would be nil notice pay in the first month and one week after that.

[LBManiac]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

Ok I appreciate the advice - I'm going to be a bit of a dog with a bone as I'm sure many people are who fall victim to this sort of thing. I am in a position where if I do not pursue this I will drive myself mad. Would be of benefit to throw some ideas out there and hear feedback.

I think I will submit a claim to the industrial tribunal and hopefully they agree to a reasonable compensation. Although it may not be written it law, it gives me hope that the Employment Judge looked at the facts in that case and imposed a "reasonable" amount of notice rather than the bare minimum.

I have suffered a loss of a job as a result of them reneging on the job offer. Whether or not it holds any strength in something like this I am unsure, but I have to at least try.

[LegalCat]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

[MENTION=98545]LBManiac[/MENTION] - are you able to provide me with the full transcript, or a link to the judgment in the case of McCann v Snozone. It is really important for me to see the full judgment. I can't see where it in on the web. Thanks

[R0b]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

@LBManiac - are you able to provide me with the full transcript, or a link to the judgment in the case of McCann v Snozone. It is really important for me to see the full judgment. I can't see where it in on the web. Thanks

https://expirebox.com/download/d29af...d0993c498.html

[LBManiac]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

R0b beat me to it, I see the link expired so if you need it still let me know.

I have since met with solicitor and lodged tribunal form so will see what the end result is.

[Amethyst]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

R0b beat me to it, I see the link expired so if you need it still let me know.

I have since met with solicitor and lodged tribunal form so will see what the end result is.

[MENTION=98545]LBManiac[/MENTION], what's happened now with this ?

[LBManiac]

Re: Withdrawal of unconditional job offer - breach of contract/loss of earnings?

Currently at conciliation stage prior to tribunal for Breach of contract and discrimination.