An exec asked my manager to sack me! My manager said, "no" it would be illegal.?

Question

I was promised a post that was never given to me by this exec. During a visit in London, I decided to work for one week as a temp. The exec, who i worked for, offered me a permanent job as a manager. Excited, I returned home and decided to trust the offer. I commuted everyday by rail for 4 hrs, for 1 month as a temp. After it became too expensive, i took out a loan to finance a flat closer to my job, 3 months later, they gave me a 3 mo. fixed term contract but not the job they offered. They lied to me. Frustrated, I wrote an email to this exec that I was disappointed. She was livid from my email and demanded my line manager to sack me. He said he couldn't. Then she demanded they move me to another floor so the exec would not have to see me anymore. I was moved -But, believe it or not --its worse. My colleagues laugh and gossip. I want to quit. Does anyone know anything about employment law? What should I do? I have decided to submit an official grievance.

Answer 1

If the original offer and your acceptance wasn't documented, it makes it a difficult contract to prove (although it was an contract as you explain it.)



I think you may have compromised your position by accepting the 3 month contract though: it could be seen either as replacing the original contract with a new one with different conditions, or changing the terms of the original contract. If you accepted those new terms, it indicates an unqualified acceptance of those terms and an entry into a legal relationship.



By all means speak to a union representative or the company's HR people for clarifcation of the contract terms and perhaps mediation. The next step would be to the Advisory, Concilation and Arbitration Service to see if they can mediate.



Finally, you have the option to go before The Emploment Tribunal service for full legal redress, although you should speak to a solicitor before taking that on.

Answer 2

Gap analysis: what happened at work btwn offer #1 plum Mgmt postion and offer #2 Yob Job? As they say in the detective stories, Something Happened.



More questions:



1. What's the timeline? Did you formally begin work in the Plum Mgmt Job? Under what terms exactly?



2. I can't ascertain from your facts whether you ACCEPTED the Yob Job OFFER and if so, what were the TERMS. Accepting a NEW OFFER under the law of CONTRACT generally nullifies the previous OFFER.



Without this information it's impossible even to guess at your chances --- for what, exactly? Is the workplace now effectively poisoned or do you still want the job? Strongly suggest you speak to an employment atty closer to home to resolve the matter. Do so quickly, too, as limitation periods have begun.

Answer 3

When the exec offered you the job verbally, this is a contract between you and the company. The difficulty would be proving it was said.



As long as your email was only expressing disappoinment at the lack of a full time contract, this isn't grounds for sacking you and your manager is right in that it would be illegal to do so.



Bottom line is your comapny has broken a verbal contract. If you are a member of a union, speak to them as they will be able to offer you legal advice. Otherwise, a grievance is probably the best step as any legal proceedings are likely to be lengthy and expensive.