Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

[opr]

Hello,

The story, in short:
I am a C++ software developer. I have successfully interviewed with a startup recently.
I have received an offer via e-mail on the 20th of March from the agency acting on behalf of the company.
I have also received the contract on the 22nd of March, directly from the company, which included the salary, start date, etc.
I have hand in my resignation to my current employer, my last workday here is the 21st of April.
I have signed and sent the contract back to the company on the 29th of March. The start date we have agreed in is the 24th of April.

Today, I have received a call from the Agency saying the company has decided to withdraw the offer, saying "The budget that was available is no longer available". I have contacted the firm (Ancoa) via e-mail, and have received the same answer.

I have declined other two very nice offers because of theirs, and I don't know if those are still an option or not. Also, I have cancelled 5 last round interviews, which I believe would have ended up being an offer. I am confident I will be able to find another job quickly, however not this fast, especially since the declined offers and calncelled last round interviews have significantly decreased my options.
The last day of work is 21st of April. Today is the 10th of April. Taking the Easter holiday period into consideration, best case scenario, I have 7 workdays to find a new offer, or end up unemployed, thus not getting any salary for a while, probably for around a few weeks.

Best case scenario: One of the declined offers are still on the table. If that's the case, I won't lose any money, but I will lose some respect, and having a proper career at one of these is going to be a lot harder. And that's the best case...

The questions are:
- Is this even legal?
- Can they just say sorry, sh1t happened and withdraw, without paying anything? I mean, as far as I understand, this is a breach of contract.
- Do you think contacting the company and asking them to pay at least some solatium makes any sense/has any chance of success?

Please help me in what can I expect, where to go and what to do in this situation.
Thanks!

[Kati]

Re: Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

tagging [MENTION=51026]Ula[/MENTION] ... would you know??

[ULA]

Re: Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

Hi [MENTION=100254]opr[/MENTION]. I am sorry to hear about your situation. In answer to your questions since you have signed and returned the contract then a binding contract exists between your new employer and you even though you have not yet joined. If they do not proceed with the hire, then your new employer will be in breach of contract.

If you did want to speak to the company about a claim then your entitlement is to the net salary and cash value of any benefits that you would have received during the notice period stated in the contract you signed. If you were having to work a probationary period, which is typical in most cases, then this is the period you would be entitled to, however this would be mitigated if you did take up the declined job offer and could start before the end of the notice period.

[opr]

Re: Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

Hi [MENTION=51026]Ula[/MENTION],

Thank you very much for your reply!
In the contract, it says the following:
- 3 month probation period, with one week notice.
- After the probation period, there is a one month notice.

I don't think there is any benefit while the probation period is on.

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother if they would have done it sooner, or at least not in the Easter period, thus giving me almost no chance to avoid being unemployed for a while.

What they did annoys me, however I don't want more from them than to cover what I lose because of them, so if I somehow manage to find anything in this 7 days, (and I can start on 24th of April), I don't want to get anything from them. They probably did what they did because they are in some sort of trouble, and I don't want to make that worse if I don't have to.

Do you think there is a way to achieve this? I mean, to get exactly as much as I lose because of them, not more, not less.

[ULA]

Re: Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

Contractually you would be entitled, during your probationary period, to one weeks notice so therefore this is what you can ask them to provide you with for their breach of contract. If you want to get exactly as much as you lose up the week's notice then you can let them know that you are trying to secure an alternative position which may mitigate this if you can start with a new employer between 24 April and 28 April. In this event you would require compensation only for the days not worked in that week.

If they agree to this then I advise get it in writing so that everyone is clear.

Hope that makes sense.

[opr]

Re: Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

Hope that makes sense.

Absolutely, thanks for the help, your time and patience, it is much appreciated!

[paulfoel]

Re: Written job offer withdrawn - is there anything I can do?

OP - as an IT contractor you wouldn't believe how many times this has happened to me. Bit different with contract because usually the notice is shorted and theres no contractual guarantee of work. If I was you, I'd be putting in claim for the weeks notice as someone above suggests. For a laugh at least.

Really does my head in because it messes with peoples lives and employers dont give a monkeys about it.

Worse one was 3-4 months ago. I was in contract but it was miles from home (2 months left on contract with no notice period allowed). Due to family illness I really wanted something closer. Something came up and I had a phone interview and they offered me on the phone. I explained I would have to speak to current client and sort out a date but they said no worries we can wait a month. So I fought tooth and nail to get current client to agree to 3 weeks all the time checking with agency to ensure it was all ok. So end date sorted phoned agency who phoned client - "sorry we've got someone else now". Didn't even bother telling me they'd changed their mind.

I was absolutely fuming with both the employer and the agency. I should have known - the young guy who interviewed me sounded like he thought he knew it all and seemed quite impressed with himself that he was powerful enough to offer someone a role on the phone.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a happy end. Senior manager took it badly that I tried to leave and didn't renew next time - I'd been there over two years. So this guy lost me a new contract and my current contract. I did find him on linkedin and politely told him what he'd done but he blanked me.