Is he still here, love?
No, I'm afraid he just got home. He was supposed to be able to move into his Brand New House last weekend, but it is of course not finished (just as it was not finished last July, when it was supposed to be the first time).
Fay, Mr. Evil is acting just fiendish. And it certainly seems as though there should be contract law covering this -- how could he possibly not have signed a contract when he obviously hired you and knew you were working there? (I take it you don't have a copy of the contract.) And even if he didn't, you did, which should hold a certain amount of legal weight. Grr! Just... dastardly, and acting in very bad faith.
He thinks we owe him money because he has to recruit our replacements.
Which is totally attempting to have it both ways, because if there's no contract obliging him to pay you, there certainly can't be one obliging you to do anything at all for him, especially something so farcical as this. What an.... arrrrg.
I really doubt that he can in any way charge you for the cost of recruitment. He thinks he has a couple of scared little girls in a foreign country to play with and that if he growls loudly enough you'll fall into line. He's incompetent and immoral.
He is
beyond
stupid, to imagine that I'm going to be intimidated by any of this. But I really want to be sure that we're not opening any legal can of worms - I'm conscious that (a) I ticked a box indicating I would be renewing my contract, and then turned around and said I wouldn't after all. And that (b) he
had
told us there would be a clause preventing us from working in the city for anyone else for 3 years after the commencement of the contract. I know I was expecting it, but when it
wasn't in the contract I was given,
I just thought "yay!" and didn't quibble. God knows I'd had enough unpleasant surprises
(no salary until the end of the 2nd month, hardly any chairs and tables, no reading scheme, scanty and outdated resources, no policies of any kind, no subject co-ordinators etc etc etc) so having a pleasant surprise seemed like my karmic due by that point.
If he has the wit to remember, he
did
email me a copy of someone
else's
contract after I'd accepted his job offer. As a sample. He said it was an old contract, and that mine would be the same kind of thing but with different name and salary. I've gone back to check through it, and I find that it did contain that clause. It wasn't my contract, though. It was some other bloke's. The contract I was eventually given with my name on it and my salary did not contain the clause.
If I were a lawyer inclined to screw me, though, I fear that I could probably make something of that.
I would guess he never signs the contracts. Fucker.
What does New!Employer have to say about all this, Fay?
Fay, I am so sorry for the situation you're in. I hope this is all just an unpleasant memory in a very short time.
Fay, The Evil Boss had plenty of time and opportunity to correct the contract you signed to include the Evil Clause Limiting Employment. He never did that, and it would work against him in any legal action. As for ticking off that box, I remember it as being only indicative of your intention, but not binding. If he'd presented you with a new contract after that with only half the pay you wouldn't have been bound to sign it, would you? Stay strong, and try to make him communicate in paper with you.
ION, I got out of bed this morning and went to my second-ever spin class. I now feel virtuous because I exercised. On the down side, I'm also hungry enough to eat the ass out of a bear because I exercised.
ACK! Em is CRAWLING!! She started last week!! She also had her first piece of toast.
