#Employment : left work without giving notice, not paid

[pmj91]

Hi all,

My friend walked out of his job the other day. He wrote a letter and gave it to them, then left straight away without giving any notice more than allowing the store to phone someone to come straight in and cover him.

Payday has come as he hasn't been paid for the last 2 weeks before he left. Surely, even though he broke his contract terms and left instantly, they still have to pay him?

[elpulpo]

Well, after one months continuous service, the statutory minimum notice period an employee is required to give is one week.

He may have been provided with a written statement of the terms & conditions of his employment, which stipulated that more notice be given.

It might also be the case that the written statement gave the employer permission to withold/make deductions from his wages in the event that he did not give the correct notice, in an attempt to cover for any losses they incurred by his having left without giving proper notice. Failing any such agreement though, it would be unlawful for the employer to withold wages. They could still however sue your friend for any loss incurred by his failing to give the statutory notice. Very unlikely they would so in practice.

 

The first thing to do therefore is ascertain his length of service and whether there was any written agreement between him and his employer.