Source
r/legaladviceireland•
aldev94

I accepted and signed a 12 month contract with a prospective employer only for them to reduce it to a 6 month contract due to yearly budgets.

I am from Ireland, I accepted a contract offer from a company with the contract being a 12 month fixed term contract. At the time of signing this job offer I also rejected another company offering a 12 month contract as I preferred the initial company. Now however since signing the contract they have contacted me stating they need to reduce the contract to 6 months due to yearly budgets as a 12 month contract runs into 2021. Is there anything I can do about this?

Posted Feb 25, 2020, 2:09 PM UTC

811
FlukyS•

Just say no. They signed a contract knowing the terms and you don't owe them anything. It takes you agreeing to reduce the duration so just say no.

6
Heuston_•

They can just let OP go if they refuse to sign, and without any redundancy too

1
peteybehr•

Check if the contract has a claus saying "either party can terminate with 4 week notice". Its fairly common for contract roles to have that - especially in IT roles.

If it doesn't, you can threaten legal action if they dismiss you early. If it does, they can drop you any time, so they might drop you at 6 months or any time really.

6
FairyOnTheLoose•

What? No you can't. You can terminate employment with no reason within the first 13 weeks of employment with no notice. After that, you will have to give notice, which, less than 6 months in will be 1 week.

1
peteybehr•

An employee must give an employer at least one week’s notice unless the employment contract specifies to the contrary. Employers and employees may agree longer periods of notice.

https://www.lawyer.ie/employment-law/minimum-notice/

2
FairyOnTheLoose•

Did you read what I wrote? Did you read what you linked to? They say the same thing...

1
peteybehr•

"Unless the contract specifies otherwise" is the key point. Statutory minimum and contract minimum are two different things and OP stated he had signed the contract in the original post.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

4
JohnnyHardballs•

Without seeing the exact contract terms and knowing more about the context its not really possible for anyone to clarify this for you.

You are perfectly entitled to insist on the contract remaining the same. Likewise they are also entitled to exercise any opt out provisions - which are typically no more than is obliged under the wrongful dismissals legislation. (As opposed to unfair dismissal where no protection is afforded until you hit the 12 month mark - that's usually the reason contracts are kept short of 12 months)

You need to be sure of what all your options are before deciding your stance.

  • is the other job still open to you ? And would you take 12 months there over 6 months in this job ?

You can always negotiate with them - accept the 6 months but get something else you want in return. (Pay, holidays etc etc)

4
RigasTelRuun•

Have you read the contract? What does it say about altering the terms?

1