Rejecting a job in Berlin after signing the contract? | Hacker News Reader

Rejecting a job in Berlin after signing the contract?

5 pointsrand0mC0der7 comments

I have accepted an offer in Berlin and they sent me the contract to start the visa sponsorship process.

Meanwhile, I'm negotiating with another company with better offer right now, but every step takes a couple of days and Berlin company wants me to sign the contract immediately.

The contract has a clause "This Employment Agreement may not be terminated prior to commencement of employment"

Does anyone know the consequences if I sign and bail a week later ?

The visa appointment in the embassy is 2 months from now anyway but they already assigned a case worker for me and I assume that costs money they may ask for.

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Tell the other company that you have an offer on the table with a clock on the offer. If they are your top choice tell them this and if you're the top candidate, they should find a way to move the process along for you.

Agree with what the others are saying about signing and then not going to work for company 1 might cause issues in the future, especially if you're looking to work in the same industry. If this company is going to sponsor you with a Visa, it's a significant commitment for them. I have personally never seen a company go after a person who signed and then moved in a different direction. I have know companies with a policy to never offer that person employment again.

Never forget you're dealing with humans at the other end. You can always tell the person at the other end that you need time to consider and are not ready to sign the contract. You needn't offer reasons.

If they are serious about hiring you, they'll wait. Almost every time a company makes an offer they have a contingency plan for delays, rejections etc.

In any case, do not sign the contract until you are ready to sign to contract (heh, that should be obvious). Regardless of whether they can or will do anything if you bail later, it just comes off as being unprofessional. It is a waste of time and effort for both, you and them. You can be honest without being all out open about your reasons.

We'd need the full clause for context, but from what you have provided it sounds like if you sign the agreement, you are also agreeing to commence employment with them.

I suggest that if you do not want to work for them, do not sign the contract. If you sign the contract and later renege, they can sue you for breach of contract.

So, it really depends. (I am not a lawyer)

1. Usually you have a probation period (Probezeit) in your contract which allows to resign with 2 weeks notice time for X months (usually 6 months), so you could resign right when you start. During that probation period also your employer could end the employment with two weeks notice. Your contract forbids resigning before you start, so you would need to resign on your first day.

2. You can ask for nullifying the contract (Aufhebungsvertrag).

3. Depending on your contract, there could be a penalty in the contract if you resign early.

I think option two, nullifying the contract is the most honest option. Just be direct with the company you have signed with that you have a better offer.

Theoretically they could sue you and win damages, practically they probably won't, because damages won't be high.

But signing and then reneging is a serious faux-pas (unlike signing and quitting a bit into your probationary period), and if you intend to be in the general business area that this company is in, it may come back to bite you later.

They assigned you a case worker without you signing the Employment Agreement ? That sounds a bit strange to me since you clearly don't have full commitment to this offer yet. How did you accept the offer ? Verbally or in writing ?

No consequences. You can terminate it anytime you want, they can't until the end of the contract.

It's probably better to be upfront about your story.

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