Cleaner left without notice

AW writes: I am a cleaning contractor employing part-time workers. I told one of my workers that she had to give 12 weeks´ notice because she had 12 years´ service. She left the following week without giving notice. What protection does an employer have in this area?

Answer

Any termination notice that your staff or yourself need to give must be put into writing, writes Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula, the employment law consultancy. You may also include in this contract that you would seek damages if anyone left without giving reasonable notice. When all forms of written correspondence and communication have failed to obtain what is owed to you, you would need to go through the county-court system. This can be a costly and timely affair, which may end up costing you, as a business, more than what is owed by the worker. I know from speaking to other cleaning contractors that looking for temporary cover at short notice can be an expensive inconvenience. Turning the tables, the same cannot be said if the employer has failed to give reasonable notice. The worker has the right to take you to a tribunal and in a large percentage of claims, would win. Again, to avoid this, make sure that your termination policies are clearly illustrated within contracts of employment issued to your workers. Although this is a complex area of employment law, these guidelines should help to prevent any future misunderstanding between you and your workforce about termination.