-3

I realise this is similar to existing questions, but it's got a slight twist to it (more around the legalities of the contract vs. accepting via email)...

I've received a job offer for Company A, but have a final interview at Company B this Friday. Company B's recruiter is aware of my situation (i.e. I received the contract for Company A yesterday) and as such, Company B have rushed through my final round for Friday.

TBH, Company B sounds like a much better fit and more interesting than Company A (plus considerably more money).

My question is - I have not signed any contracts with Company A yet, and am trying to delay this for a few days; if I were to accept the job via email (i.e. confirming in an email that "Yes, I confirm I accept this offer. I will sign and post the contract to you ASAP") and then wish to renege on it (i.e. because I have a contract from Company B), am I legally bound to Company A even though no contract has been signed....?

I'm in the UK if that helps.

Thank you!

FarleyUK
  • 1
  • 1
  • 4
    Making a specific promise with every intention of breaking it is, regardless of law, dishonest behavior. You would risk losing the trust of anyone who finds out about it, including managers at Company B. – Patricia Shanahan Dec 07 '16 at 15:02
  • 1
    Also see this question - http://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/45056/ethical-to-accept-job-offer-i-may-not-start/ –  Dec 07 '16 at 16:08

1 Answers1

6

Your written acceptance of the contract in the email response is enough to bind you to it - under UK law (for questions on that you need to ask on the Law StackExchange site) the contract only has to be accepted for it come into force.

Accepting a contract

As soon as someone accepts a job offer they have a contract with their employer. An employment contract doesn’t have to be written down.

https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/overview

You accept it the moment you send that email.

If you arent sure about whether you will be honouring it, don't accept it - its as simple as that. Give the company as much grace as you would want yourself, they wouldnt commit to hiring you if they were considering a second potential candidate, so you should do the same for them.

  • Thanks! To clarify - I have yet to send an email confirming acceptance. Worst (or best?) case, I will inform them the start of next week, and I see I have a one week notice period during my first month, so will work that out.

    Although it might be unethical, I'm obviously going to be looking for the best offer and role for myself - and both companies recruiters are aware of other options I have.

     – FarleyUK Dec 07 '16 at 15:18
  • 1
    @FarleyUK why not just ask them for some time to consider, that way everyone is on the same page - they've already picked you, they will probably give you a week to make a decision, especially if you keep them informed along the way. You don't have to rush into a decision - if they pressure you to, then that gives you an indication of the company that you didn't previously have, and may affect your ultimate decision... –  Dec 07 '16 at 15:20
  • Thanks @Moo - I've informed Company A I want some time to check through the Contract, and they are OK with that. – FarleyUK Dec 07 '16 at 15:22
  • @JoeStrazzere it means that you are contractually obliged to honour whatever you agreed to - this can be the verbal agreement of work (you work for us for £X.XX an hour for 38 hours a week), a written contract (such as in this case, where you are given a contract which sets out your terms of employment) or a statutory contract (if you are never given a written contract, a verbal contracts terms might be hard to prove, then the government sets out reasonable terms for employment, including min wage and notice periods etc). The UK is not an "at will" employment country. Contracts rule here. –  Dec 07 '16 at 15:55
  • @JoeStrazzere if you breach that contract, by either walking out without notice etc, then you can be sued for breach of contract. In the OPs case, if he immediately resigns or simply says "nope, not going to start", then chances are nothing legal will happen (breach of contract isnt worth pursuing for low value employees, its more for senior employees, directors etc) but there will be a lot of bad will, which can follow a person around (people who know about the situation may move companies, their experiences follow them, and unless you go far from home then you might have pissed in the well) –  Dec 07 '16 at 15:57
  • @JoeStrazzere they have to start work and work their notice period - the notice period starts from the first day of their employment, not before. –  Dec 07 '16 at 15:59
  • @JoeStrazzere not in the UK, because your employment does not legally start until your start date, so your notice period does not start until that point either. Unless otherwise agreed, no benefits to either side start until the first day of employment, but the acceptance of the contract obliges you to start the employment. You cannot work out your notice period in the UK before you actually start work. –  Dec 07 '16 at 16:02
  • 1
    @JoeStrazzere the gist of this question has been asked before - http://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/45056/ethical-to-accept-job-offer-i-may-not-start/ –  Dec 07 '16 at 16:07
  • @JoeStrazzere if that is so, brace yourself for a migration to the Law SE... –  Dec 07 '16 at 16:23