What happens if you don't work your notice?

Guru

Guru

Guru

Soldato
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Posts
5,275
As title really, whats the worst that can happen if you just walk out of a job?

I'm doing this because I got a much better job and they want me to start like yesterday.

I've managed to get them to wait untill I get paid, but I'm leaving as soon as my wages are in. What are the consequences likely to be?

Cheers,

G
 
1) Prob loose any pay owed to you
2) Refuse you a reference
3) They wont take you back if you ever need to go back
 
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erm, you don't get them as your reference? If you do they might put "leaving them in the lurch" or something in the reference which is the truth.

Have you not got any holidays left? Put them towards it may be.
 
Azagoth said:
They can refuse you a reference, but I don't think that they're allowed to give a bad reference by law!
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Speaks the truth.

You will lose any pay and have your refrance revoked if they have giving one already.

But if you speak to them they will prob let you just leave depending on your reason.
 
Azagoth said:
They can refuse you a reference, but I don't think that they're allowed to give a bad reference by law!
Click to expand...

That's a myth, they can put anything on a reference as long as its true.

If the truth is that an employee

1 - late for work every day - punch card to prove it.
2 - take a lot of sick days
3 - misses deadlines.

There is nothing the ex-employee can do if the employer put the above in the reference.
 
They will just put in the reference "worked here between <date of start> and <date of end>" - they won't give you a bad reference for fear of being sued.

However, the problem is that a lot of companies will do that anyway even if you were a great employee, it's just less hassle for them that way if a reference goes wrong or is misinterpreted. My missus is an HR manager in a large software firm and that is the only kind of reference they will give to ex employees.
 
I won't be owed any money as I didn't work any time in hand. I started on the 4th of the month and got paid at the end of the same month.

I have already used all my holidays that I should have been allowed up to April this year. (They made me use a lot of hospital visits as holiday)

I don't need a reference from them and I will NEVER go back.

G
 
Oh well, you lives and you learns. I was always told that they could refuse to give a reference, which in reality is tantamount to a bad one, but couldn't provide an actual bad one.
 
Azagoth said:
Oh well, you lives and you learns. I was always told that they could refuse to give a reference, which in reality is tantamount to a bad one, but couldn't provide an actual bad one.
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I always thought that too!

tbh I don't really mind getting a bad reference from them, in my defence I can always let potential employers know that I found out they were knowingly storing MRSA and C-Dif contaminated equipment in public hospital areas and I disagreed with it so I walked out.

G
 
My previous employers told me that the only information that a company is allowed to give in a reference now is that you worked there between the dates.
 
Smit said:
My previous employers told me that the only information that a company is allowed to give in a reference now is that you worked there between the dates.
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Most people thinks a bad reference is illegal, in fact that's not true. Employers generally don't give bad references because they fear the ex-employee will sue for defamation because they put "He was a bad employee", one can argue the definition of bad. If the ex-employer put "John Smith took 8 weeks of sick days last year, was late 75% of the time". There is no disputing those fact with log books and time cards. The guy would be silly to even try to sue.
 
The company can't write a bad reference but they can put in it how many days you had off over the last 12 months.
In fact my works reference says something like:

David Poole started work here on Dec 2nd 1980 and was made redundant on Sept 15th 2008.
He had no days off in the last 12 months.
Thats it for 27 years :eek:

The works manager wrote me a cracking one which included that he had been my manager for 15 years and I'd never taken a day off.
It was actually 19 years.
 
Azagoth said:
They can refuse you a reference, but I don't think that they're allowed to give a bad reference by law!
Click to expand...

You can certainly give a bad reference, provided that reference is factual.

If you refuse to work your notice, they can decline to pay you (assuming the companies AWOL process covers it), and will almost certainly flag you as 'do not reemploy', which sucks if you want to return.
 
Also does anyone know what happens to all the money they have taken out of my wages for my pension? (only about 800 quid)

I'd quite like that money back lol, didn't even want to pay it in the first place, just never got round to cancelling it.

Got a pension elsewhere with much more money in it.

G
 
Guru said:
Also does anyone know what happens to all the money they have taken out of my wages for my pension? (only about 800 quid)
I'd quite like that money back lol, didn't even want to pay it in the first place, just never got round to cancelling it.
Got a pension elsewhere with much more money in it.
G
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You will want the details from the pension company but to be honest you might as well freeze it and let it gain interest until you retire.
You should also have the choice to transfer it to your other pension but they will want a fee.
 
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