Never signed my contract

gmt

Hi all,

I am a full time fixed term employee with a rather big (formerly) Irish company. I never signed my contract. Is this contract still binding between my employer and me or am I as free as a bird (within reason). The specific reason for my query is my (unsigned) contract states one month notice whereas the law only requires me to give one week.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Wishbone Ash

gmt wrote:

the law only requires me to give one week.

The law requires your employer to give you notice but you are only required by law to give one week AFAIK (although your employer may request more).

gerrycollins

Have your employers not asked you to sign it?


What is the "fixed term"?

If its fixed term then no notice is needed by either party unless the ceasation(?) is before one month to the end of the "fixed term" as one month is on the contract(if the contract was signed)

Has anyone management or HR sat with you to go over the contract and have you verbally agreeded to it because there have been a few cases recently(on the side of the employee currently) where a verbal statement or agreement is as binding as your signature.

By law you and your employer are requested to give min notice of one week for up to two years employment and more notice with more years served to each other. This is minimun notice but a contract overrides this in any instance unless locally agreeded.

Sangre

The contract would probably be held as binding (if the employer pushed the matter), probably implied by both parties conduct (abiding to the contract).

The Hill Billy

Sangre is bang on there. A contract doesn't need to be signed to take effect.

OP - Why not do the decent thing & give the notice required? If your employer was to act towards you contrary to the terms of the contract I'm sure that you'd do your damnedest to hold them to it.

seamus

Hill Billy wrote:

Sangre is bang on there. A contract doesn't need to be signed to take effect.

Indeed. Your employer is obliged to issue you a contract within two months of starting work, laying out certain entitlements under particular headings. You don't have to have signed this contract for it to be binding.

Other non-obligatory items in the contract (such as bonuses) may not be enforcable if you haven't signed the contract.

Your notice period is one of the items which must be laid out in your contract of employment. Whether you've signed the contract or not is irrelevant, you're still bound by it.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/contracts-of-employment/contract_of_employment/?searchterm=Contract%20of%20employment

Technically, if they have issued this without you signing it, it is known as the "Terms of employment", and not a "Contract of employment", as the word "contract" implies that both parties have formally agreed to it, whereas "terms" implies that the criteria are laid out by one or both people without formal agreement.

GreenHell

If push came to shove, if you accept the contract as in take it home and forget to sign it my legal buddy tells me that, that can be seen as accepting the terms of the contract.

gmt

Thanks for all the replies.

I am not saying that I won't honour what is in the contract but if they continue to treat me like a rat then I want to know my options

They mailed (posted) it to me and never asked me to hand it in. That was over four months ago.

gmt

I forgot to mention, the company didn't sign the contracts they sent me either. Does that make any difference?

Our man in Havana

There would be implied acceptance.