Shafted

Mosiki

A friend of mine found themseleves in the following situation, recourses available in a legal capacity?


Applied for a role with a company, underwent two interviews and three reference checks and the company made a verbal offer and confirmed it via e-mail. They agreed a provisional start date, contract would be in the post, and the company urged my friend to give notice at their current employment, which she duly did. Company phones to offer a permanent position at a lower salary or fixed term position (1yr) at higher salary that was originally agreed, friend confirmed the higher salary for the second time, again told contract in post.

Few days later, HR phones and states they need to do a salary check with her current employer, HR states it will not affect their offer. Friend gives permission. Hr e-mails to say friend misrepresented her salary (new role 10k higher than current salary) and needs to meet to talk about it as its serious, and asked her to meet them in the coffee shop near the comapny office!! She intimates dishonesty on my friends part. At no time did they ever ask what her salary was previously in any form.

HR woman says she will think about it over weekend, then mails to say no job anymore because she wasnt sure about friends honesty, yet they answered everything truthfully. Friend now cannot retract her notice from current job, has no job to go to and will not get social welafare because she voluntarily give notice, they have a kid and mortgage, etc.

How messed up are thesse people in HR?

hinault

Sounds very dodgy.

Why would a prospective employer ring up a current employer to check a candidates salary?

Most jobs have a going rate and that rate is known through salary surveys etc.

Once the offer was made by the prospective employer and the offer is accepted, then the deal is done I would have thought.
Did your friend accept the offer in writing?

I suggest that your friend goes and speaks to a solicitor (first consultation is always free) and presents all of the facts honestly and openly to the solicitor.

Incidentally, is the company American?

Mosiki

Multiple offices. HQ in IFSC, Dublin.

No acceptance in writing, contract was never posted (after two promises it was) but verbal offer and e-mail received.

The salary check and coffee shop meet was executed by one particular person from HR, previous meetings were with multiple persons. Friend not sure if other HR personnel are aware of this.

hinault

Mosiki wrote: »

Multiple offices. HQ in IFSC, Dublin.

No acceptance in writing, contract was never posted (after two promises it was) but verbal offer and e-mail received.

The salary check and coffee shop meet was executed by one particular person from HR, previous meetings were with multiple persons. Friend not sure if other HR personnel are aware of this.

Contract was never received.
But there is an email confirming the acceptance of the offer? Have I got that correct?

Look your friend isn't going to be given a position with the company now.
However what has happened is sharp practice in my opinion.
The verbal offer and email confirm that the offer was made and the fact that she provided notice to her employer (presumably in writing) might just be enough to convince a solicitor that she accepted the offer made by the IFSC company.

Bad enough that the job has fallen through.
Your friend is now totally compromised with her existing employer.

I think she should talk to a solicitor and bring whatever paperwork she can to the solicitor to see if there is any way she can retrieve something from this mess.

leeroybrown

I'm really not sure how far she will get with this. She never had a formal written contract of employment and the salary issue will likely be one spoken word versus another. Your friend's best bet may be to make contact with someone higher up in HR or management the 'new' company and see if they will sort this out for her on the basis that she acted in good faith. She should probably also seek advice from an employment law specialist before making further contact but as I said above I'm not sure how much they will be able to do. Once she lawyer's up they'll close ranks and treat her as a problem.

For the record - NEVER EVER given notice prior to formal written confirmation of job. If you search back on this forum you'll find so many people who were shafted over the years.

ongarboy

leeroybrown wrote: »

For the record - NEVER EVER given notice prior to formal written confirmation of job. If you search back on this forum you'll find so many people who were shafted over the years.

+1 but also to make sure you have signed the contract accepting the job.

I find it odd that past salary came into the equation as a reason for change of mind. Whether your friend was economical with the truth or not of what she earned in the past job is neither here nor there. Even if she brought up salary, she, as an interview candidate was advising what she expected to earn in the new role. It was up to the company to decide whether she represented good value against the figure she quoted. She should have been offered the job only on validation of all reference and other checks (medical etc). The company was at fault here if they offered her the post prior to this, however unless they offered this in writing, and she accepted in writing (ie signed contracts), I do not think you friend has a legal leg to stand on. No harm to get her to check with a solicitor though as she has too much at stake to lose what with her kid and mortgage.

But, as the other poster above says, bringing legal threats into it will win her no favours with the company either (even if she is in the right) as they will deem her as trouble from day 1 so kind of a lose lose situation which is very unfortunate.

Jim2007

ongarboy wrote: »

But, as the other poster above says, bringing legal threats into it will win her no favours with the company either (even if she is in the right) as they will deem her as trouble from day 1 so kind of a lose lose situation which is very unfortunate.

At this point in time it is irrelevant what the company thinks of the person, it is a question of how much compensation they can squeeze out of them!

If I had a verbal contract and a confirming email, I would be looking for a year's salary in compensation plus out placement services to help me find a new job...

I'd start by calling up the HR person and asking them for the name of the company's legal representatives and of course her own solicitor as well as I'm about to take proceedings against her and the company... and see what the reaction is... if after a few day I heard nothing, I call up the others from the interview and do the same..... and if there was still no movement I'd just go ahead and instruct a solicitor. But I'm expecting there would be movement!

Jim.

Mosiki

They had a verbal contract and the HR lady even wrote "welcome aboard" on one e-mail, which is confirmation in my eyes even though she did a u turn for some uncanny reason only known to herself.

The HR lady was phoned and asked to explain her decision, she talked herself around in circles and couldnt explain anything properly without catching herself out.

Legal advice being sought.

Mrs OBumble

This whole story sounds kinda dodgy to me - are you 100% certain that your friend is telling you the full story.

Re welfare eligibility: if the old company will absolutely not let her retract the resignation, then she will be able to get round the having left voluntarily issue by explaining to welfare exactly what happened. If they decline the claim the first time, appeal so it gets looked at properly.

Oh .. and the OP started by asking about legal recorses: I must remind you that we cannot and do not give legal advice here.