Hi ,I worked on probation for 3 months , last week I resigned without notice and left the same day. My employer who does not have my contract has requested that I pay him back for the notice period. Can they do that, where do I stand since they do not have a contract signed by me?
Hello,I will do my best to help you with this.Did you actually sign a contract at the outset? What did it say about notice? If not, what verbal terms were agreed re notice?
2 copies of the contract was given to me I signed one but forgot to give it back and they never asked for it , notice was mentioned on contract but I was on probation and only did 3 months of then 6 months probation. Basically the do not have my contract it's here with me . No verbal terms were agreed either . They just asked me at the interview about the job and how they wanted me to do it.you see we get paid from the 24 th of each month and I left on the 24 of this month after being paid. Now they asking me to pay back the last week of the month as they beleive they paid me till the end of the month. It's not true I worked my month from 24 th June till 24 th July why should I give them back a weeks wage ?
No, you should not give back a week's wage. However, you should not have simply left without giving notice, you have probably breached the notice requirement in the contract by doing so. The fact they do not have a copy of the contract does not stop the contract from being valid. They will know its terms because it will be the same as all their others, no doubt. You should write to them explaining you left on 24th and had been paid upto that date. Set out your calculations etc and apologise for leaving without notice but say why you did it and ask for their understanding. They could, in theory, sue you for not giving notice but the damages would be minimal and it is not worth their while. However, it is worth you being polite and apologetic in order to try to smooth things over. Please rate me OK SERVICE or above so and I will happily answer your follow up questions. Best wishesJohn
Ok , but the reason I left is because they treated me badly surely I should not apologise after their behaviour. How likely is it that they would sue? Considering the amount they want back is about 350 gbp ?
OK, do not apologise but keep your letter polite. As I say, it is very unlikely they would sue and, of course, they would have a fight on their hands. If you were treated badly, you might use the bullying/harassment argument in your defence anyway. John