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Ok so my husband has accepted a contract job through a recruiter, went to interview , got the job, signed, and was given a start date. BUT THEN... start date got pushed up by a couple of days, no biggie.(financial situation somewhat ok) Couple of days go by, email from recruiter comes in saying it's going to be next week he can start. Starting to get a little concerned. (Using any monies sparingly just in case) Ok that week passes, another email saying not his week but next week. So now that's been 2 weeks and a couple of days. Long story short, 2 more weeks and then he can start. So the grand total of days with out a paycheck will a little over a month. (Financial situation critical) Like everyone else bills need to get paid.

What would be the professional and polite way to notify the current job that if the the start date continues to keep moving he will have no other choice to accept or apply to another job? Without hurting his professional standing in the computer industry world of course.

What can he do legally and Professionally? Thoughts anyone? Thanks everyone for reading my post and for any comments!

Jessie

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    I would have thought that if the contract was signed with an agreed start date, then you can't change it without amending the contract. But you will need to talk to a lawyer. – Jane S Jul 1 '15 at 0:00
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    Legal advice aside, if you go from finances being somewhat ok to critical in a month without income, you need to cut back costs. That's not easy for everyone, and you're probably doing all that you can... but the general wisdom is that you should save up to be able to survive at least 6 months without income. Best of luck to you. – 2rs2ts Jul 1 '15 at 2:06
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If the contract specifies a start date then, as Jane S comments, you should talk to a lawyer. You should probably to talk to a lawyer anyway, since you will need to make sure that your husband can just walk out of the contract (even if work hasn't started - there is a contract, and you need to make sure that it is already breached and void before taking action that could, in turn, breach the contract).

In any event, the company your husband is joining has already behaved unprofessionally. Furthermore, after having already pushed the start date several times, what is the assurance that they won't again already?

Best case scenario - there is a probation period written in to the contract, which gives the ability to provide shorted notice. Your husband might just be able to send a letter right now, and that notice could be served out before the next apparent start date.

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I don't think you need to be especially polite... "I've been looking forward to working with you folks, but I do need a paycheck coming in. If you can't put me on payroll now, I'm going to have to have to put myself back on the job market. Please give me a clear statement either way." Up to you whether you'd be willing to negotiate for partial payment for the waiting period; I wouldn't at this point (though I might have if they'd made that proposal up front and immediately put me on the health plan). Even a startup waiting for its funding ought to be able to give you something to cover the essential bills... or give you real equity in the company in lieu thereof.

If they can't, you may not be able to wait for them.

I know someone who just went thru a startup's pre-funding period. He was willing to hang on and gamble --- but they did manage to throw him some money, and he got a 3% stake in the company, AND they've promised they'll pay the back wages for that period as soon as the can. So he probably won that gamble, but it was a gamble.

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