Latest in Employment Law>Articles>If an employee issues a verbal resignation, but their contract requires a written resignation, will their resignation still be effective in law?
If an employee issues a verbal resignation, but their contract requires a written resignation, will their resignation still be effective in law?
Published on: 03/10/2024
Issues Covered: Contracts of Employment
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Chris Fullerton
Chris Fullerton

If an employee issues a verbal resignation, but their contract requires a written resignation, will their resignation still be effective in law?

There are no statutory rules about the form that notice to terminate the employment contract must take. In the absence of relevant contractual provisions, it may be given orally or in writing. However, in this case, the contractual requirements provide that notice must be given in writing. As a matter of contract, therefore, the notice is unlikely to be effective until it has been served in writing.

Accordingly, it would be recommended that you ask the employee to follow this up in writing.  This also provides a useful safeguard against disputes that can arise from heat of the moment resignations. It can also avoid disputes arising as to the date when notice starts to run or when it takes effect.

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 03/10/2024