Withdrawn job offer before starting

Whether a binding contract exists

The key first question is whether your acceptance created a legally binding contract of employment. In England and Wales a contract can be formed once an employer makes a clear job offer and you accept it, even though you have not yet started work and even if nothing has been signed. If a binding contract exists, withdrawing the offer is effectively a termination of that contract, and the employer generally has to give you the notice the contract requires.

That principle is confirmed by tribunal and appellate decisions: someone who has accepted a sufficiently certain job offer is treated as an employee for these purposes even before the first day, and pulling out without proper notice can be a breach of contract.

Conditional versus unconditional offers

The outcome depends heavily on whether the offer was conditional.

If the offer was unconditional, or it was conditional but you had already met all the conditions, then a binding contract exists and you can sue for breach of contract if the employer withdraws it.

If the offer was conditional, for example subject to satisfactory references, a DBS or criminal record check, proof of qualifications, right-to-work checks, or a medical, and you did not meet one of those conditions, the employer is usually entitled to withdraw and you generally have no claim.

Importantly, if the offer was conditional but the employer withdraws for a reason unrelated to the conditions, that can still be a breach. In one Employment Appeal Tribunal case the employer withdrew a conditional offer for reasons unconnected to the conditions, and because the paperwork said nothing about notice, a term of reasonable notice (assessed at three months) was implied and the employer had to pay damages equal to three months’ notice pay.

What you can recover

If it was a breach of contract, you are not automatically entitled to the whole salary for the job. Damages for wrongful termination of an employment contract are normally limited to what you would have earned during the notice period the employer should have given.

The notice period is either the express notice stated in the contract or offer letter, or, if the documents are silent, a reasonable notice period implied by law. What counts as reasonable depends on the seniority of the role, the industry, and the surrounding circumstances.

You also have a legal duty to mitigate your loss. That means you must take reasonable steps to find alternative work, and any earnings from a new job during the notice period are usually deducted from what you can claim. If you have suffered specific additional losses, for example you resigned from an existing job or turned down another offer in reliance on this one, those may sometimes be relevant, but the core measure remains the lost notice pay rather than every consequence.

Discrimination as a separate route

Withdrawal of a job offer can also amount to unlawful discrimination, and this is a distinct and often stronger claim. Under the Equality Act 2010 it is unlawful to discriminate in the arrangements for offering employment and in the terms on which employment is offered. If the offer was withdrawn because of a protected characteristic, such as sex, pregnancy, race, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment, you can bring an employment tribunal claim even though you never started work and regardless of length of service.

A common example is withdrawal after the employer learns of a pregnancy, a health condition amounting to a disability, or something disclosed in an equalities or medical questionnaire. Discrimination claims can include compensation for injury to feelings as well as financial loss, and there is no statutory cap.

What you cannot usually claim

Ordinary unfair dismissal rights generally do not apply here, because that protection normally requires you to have actually started and to have the necessary qualifying service. So the realistic legal routes before you start work are breach of contract and, where the facts fit, discrimination.

Gather your evidence

Before doing anything else, collect and preserve the paperwork, because your position turns on the precise wording.

1. The offer letter and any written contract or statement of terms.
2. All emails, texts or messages recording the offer, your acceptance, the start date and any conditions.
3. Anything showing whether conditions were satisfied, for example references received or checks completed.
4. Any explanation the employer gave for the withdrawal, and the date and manner of withdrawal.
5. Evidence of your losses, for example that you resigned from or declined other work, plus a record of your efforts to find replacement work.

You are entitled to ask the employer why the offer was withdrawn, although they are not obliged to give a reason. Their answer can be useful evidence, particularly if it suggests a discriminatory motive.

Practical next steps in order

1. Write to the employer setting out that you had accepted the offer, that you consider a binding contract was formed, and asking them to reconsider or to explain the withdrawal. Keep it factual and calm.

2. If that fails, send a clear written complaint or letter before claim setting out the contract, the breach, the notice period you say applies, the losses you have suffered after mitigation, and the sum you are seeking. This often prompts a settlement without litigation.

3. Consider early conciliation and advice through ACAS. For any employment tribunal claim, including discrimination, you must notify ACAS and go through early conciliation before issuing, and this is free.

4. Choose the right forum. A pure breach of contract claim of this kind, where you never started work, can be brought in the civil courts (the County Court, using the small claims track for lower-value claims). A discrimination claim must go to the employment tribunal. Where both apply, the tribunal can sometimes deal with contract issues too, but the interaction is technical and worth checking against your facts.

Time limits

Time limits differ sharply between the two routes, and missing them can be fatal to a claim.

Discrimination claims in the employment tribunal are subject to a very short limit, ordinarily three months less one day from the discriminatory act, though this is paused while ACAS early conciliation is under way. Because withdrawal cases can turn on a discrimination argument, do not delay if there is any suggestion the withdrawal was linked to a protected characteristic.

Breach of contract claims in the civil courts have a much longer limitation period of six years, but it is still sensible to act promptly while evidence and memories are fresh.

Weighing up whether to pursue it

Before committing to formal action, weigh the likely recovery against the cost, delay and stress. If your only claim is breach of contract and the notice period is short, and you have quickly found comparable work, the recoverable sum after mitigation may be modest, which points towards a firm settlement letter or a small claim rather than heavier litigation. If the withdrawal looks discriminatory, or the role was senior with a long notice entitlement and significant consequential loss, the potential value is higher and a tribunal claim may be worthwhile.

Key facts that will change the answer

The advice above depends on details you have not yet given, so the position could shift depending on:

whether the offer was expressed as conditional and, if so, whether every condition was met;

whether the offer letter or contract stated a notice period, and how senior the role was;

the reason the employer gave for withdrawing, and in particular whether it connects to any protected characteristic;

whether you had already resigned from or declined other employment in reliance on the offer; and

how quickly you can obtain alternative work of a similar kind.

If you can tell me what the offer letter said about conditions and notice, the reason given for the withdrawal, and what other work you gave up, I can be much more specific about which route fits and what you might realistically recover.