In this article
When an employee resigns, they are usually required (under their contracts) to give notice. Notice is the expressed period of time that employees agree to continue working before leaving the business.
From time to time, my employer clients will instruct me to advise where a member of staff has resigned and only given a week’s notice, or instead simply left on the spot. A failure by that employee to give the required notice will usually be a breach of contract.
Clients often ask what to do if they are not given proper notice by employees and there are usually several areas to advise on.
Garden leave clauses.
First, I will ask to look at the employment contract and see if there is a garden leave clause. The client may make attempts to enforce the garden leave and seek an injunction. This would prevent the outgoing employee working elsewhere, such as with competitors. This tends to be the primary reason for having a garden clause in the employment contract.
Where there is no expressed garden leave clause, my client could still seek an injunction to prevent the leaving employee from working elsewhere. The employer will have to pay the employee but there would be no obligation for the employee to undertake any work – at least not during the notice period.
Talk to us now. Save costs further down the line.
Save yourself potentially thousands of pounds by seeking advice now. Speak to us today for more information.
Lines open 24/7
020 3007 5500
Breach of contract claims.
An employer could consider bringing a claim for breach of contract in the County Court. However if the loss to the employer is significant, then the claim could be brought before the High Court. Although I always advise on this potential step, it is rarely elected by my employer clients. This is because the burden of proof will be on the employer to prove it suffered a loss as a result of the employee leaving their employment early.
Having said that, I have seen scenarios where a claim for breach of contract has succeeded, such as cases where the employee is a key person to a project and a temporary person will need to be employed to complete any such project.
In cases such as this, the damages would be calculated based on the cost of hiring the temporary worker to complete the given project. The Employment Tribunal is not a suitable setting for such a claim, save as to counterclaim against an employee who is bringing a contract claim in the Tribunal themselves.
What is the statutory minimum?
Employees with over one month but less than two years’ employment are legally entitled to one week’s notice from their employer. For those that go over the two-year continuous employment mark, they will be entitled to one week’s notice for each year of employment they have completed, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
Clients and employees often agree longer notice periods. However, without an employment contract spelling out what the agreement is, the common law will imply reasonable notice.
When dealing with resignations of senior employees and management, it is always worthwhile getting advice early. This is especially important if there is a risk that any particular employee will go to a competitor and start competing directly with your business. Britton and Time Solicitors are always on hand to provide advice and take employment-related enquiries.
Remember...
Reasonable notice cannot be shorter than the statutory minimum.
How can Britton and Time Solicitors help?
We know how stressful employment disputes can be. That’s why our initial consultations with our expert employment law solicitors offer you:
- Unlimited time to go through the details of your case and ask any questions you may have
- An overview of your legal standpoint and your available options
- A precise time and fee estimate for your case
To arrange your initial consultation with one of our solicitors, simply call us on 0203 007 5500.
0 Comments