Job Offer Withdrawn!

[DrPhil]

Following on from the recent thread about my job application...

They have now withdrawn the job offer because I have holidays booked. the post is due to start on the 1st of July and I'm on holidays from the 18th June til the 13th July.

I called this morning to confirm their offer of the post, reminded them that I'm on holidays for those dates (which they knew already because I currently work for them) and they just called me back to say that I have to start on the 1st or they're withdrawing their offer.

I can't cancel my holidays, I'm in America for 2 weeks and friends have booked too.

Can they do this? There was no condition stated in the offer apart from satisfactory references and copies of educational certificates.

 

[Mr Noble]

can you not reebook to go to america at a later date, i know i'd rather have the comfort of being in a paid job than a trip to America

 

[kav]

Have you signed anything yet? Was a start date discussed? Sounds like very bad form on their part but I don't know if they'd be strictly considered to be breaking any rules.

 

[BamBamMickey]

If the reqiurements of the position are to start on the 1st, then i think they are well within their rights.
With a new position don't you have to work a certain amount of weeks to be eligible for holidays?

 

[Singh400]

Gutted for ya mate. I personally would postpone the trip to America, and get stuck in on the new job. Yes you was looking forward to this holiday, but this job for you is better in the long term.

 

[Mr Noble]

especially after the rig-ma-roll you went through just to get your application in it would be daft to get in their bad books.

I take it that with it being a new job position you are on a new contract so will have to wait a bit before you can apply for holidays

 

[DrPhil]

can you not reebook to go to america at a later date, i know i'd rather have the comfort of being in a paid job than a trip to America

I do have paid employment, 2 jobs. This post was a promotion to supervisor in the part time job. It gives me about £300 a month extra, but if I cancel the holiday, I lose about £4000 on the cost of the holiday, and my best mate who's joining us from Canada would be far from pleased.

 

[DrPhil]

Update, I called the boss back and asked nicely. He said I should have told them at interview (I never thought because I had already booked the time with them).

I asked what the process would be in general for covering holidays and he said that if I get the other 2 supervisors to cover me then maybe something can be done. I've spoken to the other 2 and they're both happy to cover me, (only about 5 shifts over 2 weeks). So waiting for the boss to call back and hope he's OK with it.

 

[imightbewrong]

Good luck - I don't think I've seen anyone sail as close to the wind though

Hopefully your tenacity should make you look good - battling every inch of the way to get around issues to get the job

Also a few lessons learned hopefully...

 

[gken74]

Phuck me Phil your not having much luck with this are you!

I hope you get something worked out to suit and you get to meet Brock as planned

 

[DrPhil]

And breeeeeeaaaatthhhhh.....

Boss says OK, job is back on. The other 2 are going to email him to confirm that they're going to cover the shifts and I'm officially accepting the job on July 1st, then swapping/selling the shifts to colleagues.

Methinks a wee bottle of booze or a meal would be in order for my new colleagues!

 

[IronGiant]

Dave

 

[Singh400]

Bloody hell mate, lady luck really likes you! Congrats (again)!

 

[CraigofScotland]

My god your dramatic.

 

[DrPhil]

My god your dramatic.

I know!

Just hope this is the of the BS, can't take much more!

 

[PoochJD]

Hi DrPhil,

They have now withdrawn the job offer because I have holidays booked. I called this morning to confirm their offer of the post, reminded them that I'm on holidays for those dates (which they knew already because I currently work for them) and they just called me back to say that I have to start on the 1st or they're withdrawing their offer.

Firstly, I'm glad it's all worked out for you - finally! You've been very, very lucky, but I'm pleased it's all over now.

Secondly, as far as I know, if you've been offered a job by a company, and then accepted that job offer, I don't think they can legally withdraw the offer at that stage, except with exceptional circumstances (company goes under; mass redundancies, or a life-or-death emergency of some kind).

So, this makes me think that if they have done this to you, they've probably pulled a bit of a fast-one over on you. Worse still, if the company already knew you had holidays booked, before you were offered the job, then they may well be even breaking the law on a bigger level! See here for details.

Clearly, I want you to be happy, but this does seem a really dodgy way of coercing you to start early! Not a good start for you or for them, in my view.

Hope it all works out for you though.


Pooch

 

[DrPhil]

As soon as you have been offered a job, and have accepted it, this forms a basic legal contract between you and your new employer, even if you haven't yet received anything in writing. Often job offers are subsequently expressed to be subject to receipt of “satisfactory” references and completed health questionnaire – however, obviously the attachment of retrospective conditions is of no effect.

Specifically, if an offer that has been accepted is then withdrawn, your employer has 'breached' the contract. It may be possible for you to sue your employer as a result, particularly if you have suffered loss because you have left your previous job to take up the new offer.

If a court decides that your contract was breached, it can order your employer to pay you 'damages' or compensation.

That's pretty much what the Union rep said when I called him. However I hadn't started yet, nor had I left another position to take up this one, so he thought I wouldn't have much grounds to claim to have suffered loss. The only loss would be potential future earnings for jobs that I may have got with the help of "supervisory experience".

It was undoubtedly a dirty trick, but all is cleared up now, I hope!

 

[imightbewrong]

Not sure if this counts as a 'new job', but most jobs start with 6 months to a year of 'probationary period', in which time you can be pretty much got rid of for any reason. I expect 'failure to clarify key availability dates' would be one of them.