I accepted a job offer, but now they're changing the terms we agreed on. Am I stuck, or can I still back out?
Hey everyone, I just signed an offer letter for what I thought was my dream job, but I'm starting to see some major red flags. Throughout the interviews, we had a clear agreement that the job was fully remote and that my start date would be in about four months so I could finish the notice period at my current job.
Right after I signed the offer letter, the hiring manager called me. He started pressuring me hard to talk to my current manager and try to leave my notice period early to start with them in three weeks. I told him that's likely not going to happen, but he kept insisting and saying things like, 'The team is really swamped and waiting for you to jump right in, so this delay will put you behind.' In the same call, he also said they 'strongly encourage' people to come into the office four days a week for collaboration, which means I would need to relocate.
Honestly, I want to back out. But I'm not sure how binding this is. The paper I signed was an 'offer letter,' not a full employment contract. It only had the basics like salary, PTO, and health insurance information. And it didn't mention anything about a notice period if I wanted to leave or about a probationary period.
I know I should probably talk to a real lawyer, but honestly, I'm terrified. Has anyone been in this situation before? And what did you do?