Hopefully very few of us know the feeling of arriving for our first day on the job only to find that things at our new workplace are not exactly how we expected them to be. After all, we know what we were promised and this isn’t it! Why are we reporting to Bob when we were told we’d be reporting to Jim? Why are we working third shift when we were told we’d be working second shift? Why are we not getting any overtime when we were promised there’d be some?
Unfortunately, the above scenarios are only too common especially given the rushing and confusion that can occur when trying to conclude the hiring process to get the favored candidate on board and working as quickly as possible.
On a practical level any potential employee would be wise to take some commonsense precautions during the recruitment and hiring process especially when relying on a recruiter to negotiate the finer details of a new job. Keep good notes regarding the job negotiations. Retain any emails in which details of the job were discussed. Seek clarification if the written details of a job offer do not square with your recollections or expectations.
And if the worst happens, consult an experienced employment lawyer to help you assess any potential legal claims you might have. Although scenarios like this one may at first seem relatively straightforward, the legal issues can be quite complex.
For example, it could matter a great deal in a legal sense who made promises to you during the recruitment and hiring process. Was it a fellow employee or your eventual supervisor? Was it a person from human resources? Was it an outside recruiter hired by the employer?
The answer to this and other key questions will help determine the validity and strength of any legal claim you might have based on promises made to you during the hiring process.
