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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