advice regarding probationary period and employment contract

[matt1982]

hi everyone

this is my first post, i found the site whilst googling trying to find information.

the situation i need advice on is this; 2 months ago my girlfriend started a new job, working for a new company consisting of 2 guys. since that time things have gone downhill, and although her title is "office manager" she is being treated like a dogsbody, made to run errands in her own car etc. they have even asked her to go ad buy copious amounts of alchohol so they can have a party, then be "designated driver" and drive them home when they are aneabriated.

compunding this is the attitude of the men, they are rather agressive and shout and swear at her (she is not alone in this, they seem to do it to everyone, but its still not nice and i dont think people should do it to their staff)

she has also had to fight to get her wages, reminding them to run payroll four or five times and getting comments such as "we dont have to do it at a specific time, we will run it when we want to". obviously for a person who has direct debits coming out at set times this is not acceptable.

she is thinking of leaving, and so i read through her employment contract. it states the employee/company must give 1 months written notice. however, it mentions that the employee has a 3 month probationary period, but doesnt define that whatsoever. it really is the worst contract i have ever seen (one part stating "if you are a knob you may drive a lamborghini or ferrari" - word for word im serious). my question is this; as the contract states there is a 3 month probation period, but does not state any amount of notice within the probation, does the statutory 1 weeks notice apply until the probation period is over?

and if the 1 months notice DOES still apply, what could the ramifications be if she declined to serve the 1 months notice?

please understand she is not trying to con them, but she is very stressed out about this (i.e. coming home crying about the way they have treated her etc) and therefore just wants to leave as soon as she can, and go to temping work.

i would very much appreciate any help on this issue. thank you for taking the time to read this rabling diatribe!

[tiglet]

Whether she gives one weeks notice or one months, i have the feeling she will have a fight on her hand for her wages. if i was her, i would wait until I next got paid and once I had that money, would give my 1 week's notice. That way, it's only 1 week to fight for, not 4. If the contract is as badly written as you say it is, I very much doubt they would sue for breach of contract.

Does she have any holiday owing? if so, she could book that as the week she plans to have as her notice week, if you see what I mean, and start temping then.

[paulgmb]

Hi Matt,

There is not normally a notice period in a probationary period unless it says so and then it would normally state what it is on both parties.
I would suggest out of courtesy she gives 1 weeks notice and see what happens. They might let her go straight away. If they argue she should just give them a day, what are they going to do about it?

What awful people. I think she is better off out of it.

Regards,

Paul.

[tiglet]

I agree with paul - however, having been in a similar situation before myself, i would say make sure she has her wages first

[matt1982]

firstly thank you for your replies, i appreciate it.

she gets paid in about a week (if they decide to pay her), and as you suggested i advised her to wait until after that before taking any action to ensure she gets paid for the work she has done at least.

as the contract does say there is a 3 month probationary period, but does not define notice within it, i think i will suggest to her that she offer 1 weeks notice. i doubt she will get paid for it, but at least its trying to be reasonable (more so that just vanishing). with the way they behave i dont think they have any real grounds to do anything about it if she refuses to serve a months notice. hopefully they will just tell her not to bother returning and she can move on.

many thanks for the advice.

[paulgmb]

They will have to pay her for any work she has done even if she has to resort to legal methods to recover it. Try and get her to keep proff of the days/hours she has worked.

Having given this some futher thought, if there is no notice stipulated within the probationary period she can go when she wants. Similarly if they didn't like her they could tell her to go straight away and I've known several employers do this!

[Zamzara]

Originally Posted by paulgmb

Similarly if they didn't like her they could tell her to go straight away and I've known several employers do this!

But after one month's service they must give a statutory minimum of one week's notice.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Porbationary periods mean nothing in UK Employment Law, an employee is employed from day one regardless of what an employer calls the first few weeks or months of work.

If the contract states a months notice either side then that is what must be implemented.

However, it appears there are other issues regarding the employment where she feels she wants to leave because of them and cannot face working the month's notice for fear of stress.

I would suggest she visits her doctor who will hopefully sign her off work due to her employer's behaviour upsetting her and she should also instigate a grievance.

Within the grievance, if she does wish to resign, then she should state that she has no option but to resign but will not work her month's notice as she is sick.

The employer's may agree to pay the one month notice immediately to get her off their books whilst realising how foolish they will look if this goes further if the contract is as bad as you say it is.

Good luck.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Originally Posted by Zamzara

But after one month's service they must give a statutory minimum of one week's notice.

Correct.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Originally Posted by paulgmb

Hi Matt,

There is not normally a notice period in a probationary period unless it says so and then it would normally state what it is on both parties.

Paul.

Not true.

She is entitled to a weeks notice by law. In any case, the contract states a month so it is a month.

Probationary periods are not recognised in UK Employment Law.

...

[BeauBrummie]

Probation periods are normally used to asses if someone has the capability to complete the tasks required within the employment, and similarly if they themselves like the job. They have the same rights as a normal longer serving employee, with the exception of "unfair dismissal" where unless there is harrasment or discrimination involved the employee is not allowed to cite a greivance for being "let go"

The minimum requirement is one weeks notice either side in this period and it would be prudent for the employer pay it regardless of "quality of employee" or any issues therein.

So if the "contract" states that 1 months notice is required I think it could be challenged in an ET on the grounds that it is excessive. This contract however has been in operation for 2 months and the employee would have had time to review the terms before agreeing and therefore should honour it.

BB