Can my boss take legal action if I stop showing up for work?

Igort

My job is not the best. I'm working just for the Christmas period, and I'm working Monday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (sometimes we leave early though) in a small warehouse printing and packing t-shirts. I've only been here two weeks, but my boss is incredibly arrogant and condescending and coupled with the long hours I find myself getting very stressed out and tired.

To give a couple of examples of what my boss is like, after one of my colleagues (who is actually a long time friend of mine) asked why he hadn't been paid yet, my boss asked him to leave an hour early that day, and also told him to not bother coming in on the following day because he "wasn't needed".

A few days later on the Saturday (which is "optional overtime") another of my colleagues tried on several occassions to get my bosses attention, but he kept getting ignored. After a while, said colleague packed up and started to leave telling my boss that he had left him a message as to why he had left. My boss said he wasn't going to bother reading his message and a few moments after the colleague had left, my boss phoned him up and fired him. So much for optional overtime, I guess?

So now I want to quit, but I get the feeling if I tell this guy that I don't want to work there anymore he'll make a big scene and verbally abuse me, something I really don't want to put up with. So I'm tempted to just stop showing up and using the time I would be working to look for a job I'm more interested in.

My question is this: if I stop showing up for work, can my boss take legal action against me? I live in the UK, and I'm not sure what our laws are like in regards to this kind of thing. I know it's very cowardly, but I don't do well in physical confrontations so I'd rather not let this guy have the upper hand on me in a heated discussion, which I get the feeling it would inevitably turn into.

wonderpug

Maybe leave him a resignation letter and walk out?

815165

Just phone in after you next get paid and quit. The turnover in these jobs is always very high so they won't care too much, and on the off chance they do get abusive you can just hang up. If you're working a week (or however long) in hand you could easily end up losing out on some pay but it'll probably be more hassle than it is worth to pursue (depending on the amount and your situation).

MegaMan001

I'm guessing there is no supervisor you can go to to discuss this asshole's behavior? If not, simply handing him a resignation letter and stating you wouldn't be returning to work and walking out is your best option. I'd put in the letter your reason as concisely as you can.

"I will no longer be returning to work due to the verbal abuse and mistreatment of subordinates."

MushroomStick

Unless you signed some sort of contract that states somewhere that he can take legal action on you for quitting, I doubt there's anything he could do.

Wezoin

But to answer your question, I doubt it. My girlfriend has had a series of bad jobs and just stops showing up because if they don't give you respect while you're working for them why give them the respect of telling them you're quitting? Other option is e-mail, if its a company with a website they probably have an e-mail for customer support, you could just e-mail a resignation to that address.

From what I understand the UK is much more labor friendly than Canada and the US so if we don't get in trouble for quitting by not showing up you probably won't either.

LewieP's Mummy

Its no wonder you're tired, you're working a 66 hour week! The only legal action your boss can take against you is to sack you for failure to turn up. But definitely wait until you've been paid, just so's you can't be messed about. If you do quit, and try to claim JSA, you'll probably be denied it, as you've left your employment voluntarily, check here; http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Employedorlookingforwork/DG_10018757

There's a handy piece of EU legislation called the Working Time Directive which states you cannot be forced to work for longer than 48 hours average per week over 17 weeks, but you won't be covered as a Christmas temp, as you won't be working for that long. Look here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029426 . It also tells you about young workers who have different rights.

If you're paid weekly, just wait til you've been paid, then go. If you're being paid monthly do the same, but make sure you actually work the hours you're being paid for - eg. I am paid monthly on 15th of every month, 2 weeks in arrears, 2 weeks up front. I'd have to finish a job on the last day of the month, otherwise I would owe my employer money.

BigBadWolf

Does your contract have a notice period in it? If not you're pretty much free and clear.
To be honest, even if you, the time and hassle involved in enforcing it would prohibitive for the company - there's nothing for them to gain in doing so! (You think they're going to take you to court and force you to work your notice period??)

Having said that, its still a pretty horrible thing to do. Not so much for your boss, but for any co-workers who are left picking up the slack. I've seen that happen and it took management a month before they starting looking to replace her as they had no idea if she'd show up again.

Basically, if you want to leave do so - but tell someone (anyone!) that you're not coming back. Is there an HR department that you can contact? (email if you have to). At worst just ring your boss and tell him you're not coming back - if he starts getting confrontational just hangup. He isn't going to come after you once you've left!

Oh, and don't worry about missing out on any pay you're owed. Legally (disclaimer - IANAL), they have to pay you for any hours you've worked. If they don't - well then you get to turn the screws on them. ( Citizen's Advice Bureau

zepherin

I know in the US you can just stop showing up for work and eventually they catch the hint. They probably won't give you a recommendation in the future but at 2 weeks your not putting them on your resume anyways. Now the UK has contracts of work, and if you have signed one of those you have to follow the resignation terms on that, or not, your labour laws are odd to me.

V1m

Igort wrote:

My job is not the best. I'm working just for the Christmas period, and I'm working Monday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (sometimes we leave early though) in a small warehouse printing and packing t-shirts. I've only been here two weeks, but my boss is incredibly arrogant and condescending and coupled with the long hours I find myself getting very stressed out and tired.

To give a couple of examples of what my boss is like, after one of my colleagues (who is actually a long time friend of mine) asked why he hadn't been paid yet, my boss asked him to leave an hour early that day, and also told him to not bother coming in on the following day because he "wasn't needed".

A few days later on the Saturday (which is "optional overtime") another of my colleagues tried on several occassions to get my bosses attention, but he kept getting ignored. After a while, said colleague packed up and started to leave telling my boss that he had left him a message as to why he had left. My boss said he wasn't going to bother reading his message and a few moments after the colleague had left, my boss phoned him up and fired him. So much for optional overtime, I guess?

So now I want to quit, but I get the feeling if I tell this guy that I don't want to work there anymore he'll make a big scene and verbally abuse me, something I really don't want to put up with. So I'm tempted to just stop showing up and using the time I would be working to look for a job I'm more interested in.

My question is this: if I stop showing up for work, can my boss take legal action against me? I live in the UK, and I'm not sure what our laws are like in regards to this kind of thing. I know it's very cowardly, but I don't do well in physical confrontations so I'd rather not let this guy have the upper hand on me in a heated discussion, which I get the feeling it would inevitably turn into.

Are you getting paid per hour or fixed salary? Are you paid weekly or monthly?

EDIT: If you go to work and ask him about something and he flips out of you in front of witnessess, that's pretty clear cut constructive dismissal. In fact the behviour you describe is the very reason we have such a concept. But tbh, if you've only been there 2 weeks, yeah, just keep your head down until you get your paycheck then leave. I'm assuming you have some alternative way to make the money you need? If you can get yourself sacked, then you can claim JSA.

Igort

BigBadWolf wrote:

Oh, and don't worry about missing out on any pay you're owed. Legally (disclaimer - IANAL), they have to pay you for any hours you've worked. If they don't - well then you get to turn the screws on them. ( Citizen's Advice Bureau

Would this still be the case if no contract was ever signed or even agreed upon, though?

Xaquin

Igort wrote:

BigBadWolf wrote:

Oh, and don't worry about missing out on any pay you're owed. Legally (disclaimer - IANAL), they have to pay you for any hours you've worked. If they don't - well then you get to turn the screws on them. ( Citizen's Advice Bureau

Would this still be the case if no contract was ever signed or even agreed upon, though?

do you have a time sheet or file you can copy?

Figgy

Igort wrote:

BigBadWolf wrote:

Oh, and don't worry about missing out on any pay you're owed. Legally (disclaimer - IANAL), they have to pay you for any hours you've worked. If they don't - well then you get to turn the screws on them. ( Citizen's Advice Bureau

Would this still be the case if no contract was ever signed or even agreed upon, though?

Yes.

bowen

You can ream their asshole open if they fail to pay for hours worked. Keep judicious record of your hours and make sure people know you're there. I've had supervisors try to fudge records by altering timesheets to say I clocked out but forgot so they brought me down an hour even though they asked me to work an extra one on top of it. Take pictures with your phone if you have to of how you sign in. If you sign in by paper, use a pen. Stuff like that. Oh yeah, they'll also fine them for not paying you on top of getting you your pay.

Hey be proactive now, call the DoL and let them be aware of your situation, that you're going to quit and the boss has threatened to not pay coworkers in the past because they quit. Sometimes the DoL starts a huge investigation and gets all the people they've screwed over backpay too. So maybe your best friend will get his cash too.

Katarine

http://www.fedee.com/natlaw.html#uk also has some helpful links to the United Kingdom labor laws and what the exact law says. If I'm reading the Citizen's Advice Bureau correctly, your employer has to pay you the money owed. Make sure you have copies of all of your timecards that you haven't been paid for yet, though, because if he refuses to pay you you would need to send the company a letter explaining why they have to pay you and send copies of your timecard to prove that they owe you money.

Random Integer

Having been in a situation recently where I wished to leave a job at short notice the advice ACAS (the employment advice and concilliation service) gave me was pretty clear cut. Legally you are required to provide your employer a period of notice equal to or greater than that specified in your contract of employment. If no notice period is specified then the legal minimum is one week. Failure to provide this means at a minimum your employer can withhold wages for a period equal to your notice period and can take further legal action if they wish.

Don't even worry about legal action, it won't happen to you. It practically never happens even in cases of highly skilled and experienced employees leaving, no one is going to waste their time and money on a warehouse role that they can get someone to fill in 5 minutes (and I don't mean that as a dig at you, just the kind of job you're doing they expect to churn and burn staff).

Your employer might withhold one of your two weeks wages though, it is his legal right to do so if you haven't given sufficient notice. Which is why I would advise you give proper notice. You can just leave a written letter of resignation on his desk at the end of the week and take the next week off 'sick' if you want to avoid the confrontation, he'll probably just tell you not to bother turning up next week any way but at least your wages owing will be protected.

Mostly though you should do it for your own sake. You'll feel better about having dealt with it the right way and it will better prepare you if you ever have to deal with similar confrontations in a job that actually means something to you. I mean even if you just stop turning you'll have to deal with someone at the company eventually when they call to ask why you aren't at work or in order to obtain your P45 for your next employer