Employee Left Without Resignation & Now Want To Join!

Hi all!

One of our employees (Sr. Technician) has left his job without informing or submitting a resignation letter. He probably joined somewhere in Orissa. However, he found the new job is not at all good. Now he has come back to our office and wants to continue with us.

Based on my earlier interactions with him, he is a good, gentle, and sincere guy. He is also self-motivated. Now his boss (Sr. Manager, Operation) has allowed him to rejoin, but he will not be rewarded with a bonus or increment for some time.

In my view, not giving a bonus or increment is not the only solution. They should find out what made him leave this organization. Once such reasons are analyzed, some motivational tools could be implemented to retain such a good employee.

I would like to ask for your opinion. Is punishment the only solution?

Regards,

Dinamani

Dear Ms. Javaid,

You are absolutely right. The situation you described is quite common, where individuals are not satisfied with their current positions and are eager to grow, which often leads to vocal expressions of this desire. Your boss's opinion is also relevant in this context.

Regards,
Asst. HR Manager
Ms. Saba Javaid

Hi,

Yes, you are right. Whichever department the employee was in, HR has to call the employee and have a dialogue with him about his actions. They should also have a dialogue with the boss of the employee. Knowing the reasons behind his actions would help the organization judge whether financial reasons, personal reasons, or sheer convenience of commuting, etc., have prompted the decision. Since you say he is committed and self-motivated, it is imperative this exercise is conducted.

While punishment is necessary for the sake of discipline, the HR department should also analyze if the pay scales are at par with the market rates, if other staff facilities and performance incentives also match up to the market. If they do not, there is a danger of losing self-motivated employees despite punishments. It is always an additional cost to recruit new employees and train them to the level of experienced employees. Instead, a small incentive or raise for the experienced employees goes a longer way in the interests of the organization.

There seems to be some HR aspect definitely involved in the incident as the gentle, committed person did not feel like talking to anybody in the organization, either in his own department or HR, before leaving. Apparently, there is a gap between him and his boss in communication!

Finally, the bigger picture is that every organization should provide a conducive atmosphere for committed workers to thrive in the organization. These incidents are warning signs. It is for HR to take note of it.

Jyothi

Dear everyone,

Everyone wants to raise in his life and wants to grow. I have seen some organizations where the attrition rate is very, very low because they have some specialty. In this particular case, he should receive a little punishment, but you should analyze why people left the organization and try to implement those things.

Thanks,
J. S. Malik

Hi Dear,

I wish to add some dimension to leaving and subsequent joining and decision of the management for deferring increment or incentive for his conduct.

To me, it looks like there are two issues involved – one legal and another motivational. Legal because neither he has resigned nor intimated about his intention of leaving, nor has the management taken any action regarding his absence and consequently dispensing with his services. None of these actions seem to have been taken. You may, therefore, conclude about the likely stand. Secondly, on motivational grounds, as both sides want to consider reconciliation for the mutual need of each other. In such a situation, punishment shall have a negative psychological effect on an employee as he may not express openly but would start thinking of being deprived of a year's increase. It shall place him at a disadvantage concerning overall remuneration compared with others in the company, which eventually shall make him think of a change in due course. If he is a good employee performance-wise for reconsideration and continuity, punishment does not seem to be the answer but definitely some counseling session.

This point of view is independent of not knowing the period of absence, which I presume is reasonably long.

For your suitable consideration.

Rajpal

Hi,

It is really unethical to leave a job without giving resignation. It's understandable that everyone wants to grow in his/her career, but that doesn't give a room to abscond. If an employee is moving without resigning just for a better opportunity, then I don't think that's justified. A person who was not loyal to the company earlier can't be expected to be loyal now.

Hi,

For better HR practices in an organization and to sustain business growth, as an HR professional, we should conduct employee counseling when an employee reports their resignation to the organization. It is essential to understand the reasons for an employee's decision to join another company. Identifying the gaps between these situations presents challenges that we must address in line with the company's policies. Failing to take any action, whether positive or negative, in response to such situations may lead the employee to undervalue HR's role.

Regards,
Lingaraju.N
rajunhrd_1975@rediffmail.com

I am not sure about the employment laws governing such moves in India, but over here in Malaysia, if an employee leaves without formal notification of resignation, the law allows his salary to be withheld. From an organizational perspective, he would usually be blacklisted, however good he was as a person or in his job. That is the legal position (in that sense, I have to agree with Chanda Batra).

In any case, if he was so good and all, why did he leave without notifying the company? Some form of punishment may be justified if he now wants to re-join (legal options aside) and he has to go through counseling, etc. His leaving may only be right if the job offer/contract of employment was also verbal; then he would be justified in doing so.

Venkat, KL

Dear Venket,

Not only in Malaysia, but even in our country, India, they follow the same procedure. Very few companies provide relaxation. However, if an employee wants to rejoin after a break, he will be treated as a new employee. During his settlement, his break in service will not be taken into account.

Dear Dinamani,

As a Senior Technician, the first step should have been to initiate action against him under the standing orders for the offense he committed in violation of the contract. This would entail terminating his services after providing due notice. Subsequently, the decision to rehire a terminated employee would depend on your company's policy.

Regards,
Prakash D

Dear All,

I am not very sure that rejoining of such employees is a wise decision for any organization if one has left the company without any intimation or resignation. Such act itself shows the lackluster behavior of an employee, and after that, expecting good output/loyalty may go in vain.

Though I also agree that the HR department should step up and look for the reason behind that act, the company should have a strict policy regarding rejoining of employees.

Dear Dinamani,

I totally agree with you; punishment is not the only solution. Apart from that, we must address the root cause of the problem as HR professionals. However, it should be done in the right way. It should be through the proper channel and process because sometimes, by identifying the root cause, we may arrive at a different outcome that may not be related to the actual reason.

Ashok Pamnani

Hi cg, The following points can be included in your offer letter.

Your appointment shall be effective from on or before -------------.

The Company shall pay you a consolidated stipend of Rs. ------/- per month.

You will be on training for one year from the date of your joining the Company. If your work is found satisfactory, the Company will confirm your employment.

You will have to execute a service bond with the company, which will be valid for the period of ---- years from the date of joining or payment of Rs. 1,00,000/- (One Lac Only) (whatever amount your management wish to add) in lieu thereof. The bond can be made separately on the Rs. 100/- stamp paper.

Regards, nel

Hi cg,

The following points can be included in your offer letter. Your appointment shall be effective on or before -------------. The Company shall pay you a consolidated stipend of Rs. ------/- per month. You will be on training for one year from the date of your joining the Company. If your work is found satisfactory, the Company will confirm your employment. You will have to execute a service bond with the company, which will be valid for the period of ---- years from the date of joining or payment of Rs. 1,00,000/- (One Lac Only) (whatever amount your management wishes to add) in lieu thereof. The bond can be made separately on the Rs. 100/- stamp paper.

Regards, nel

Dear Friend,

You have mentioned here that he left the job without submitting his resignation, which means he has not actually left the job; he was just on unauthorized leave or absent for a long period. In that case, you might need to take necessary statutory steps as per the law and your company's standing orders, such as sending notices for unauthorized absence, etc. Otherwise, you are also wrong, and you do not have the right to blame him alone. If he did not resign and you have not taken any legal steps, then he has the right to continue his job with the same salary, bonus, leaves, etc., and under the law, you have no right to stop anything.

Even on humanitarian grounds, you can find out the reason for all this and ask him to provide a written explanation for his long absence. You can then issue a written warning and allow him to continue his job as before.

However, in my opinion, withholding bonuses or any other cash payment is not a solution as it will only demotivate him.

Thank you,
Shiv Kumar

Hi all,

We are all human beings; we learn from mistakes. An individual has the right to look for a greener world outside his sphere, and we as HR people must understand the human aspects of such behavior. If the person is good, it is worth a bargain; they need to understand their mistake. Don't be surprised if they repeat the same in the future; it is a human tendency. We only need to understand if they are of use to the organization. Such cases also teach us a lot; don't call this learning; it is an experience.

Regards,
Bharat Ketkar

Hi Deenomony,

I agree with Rajpal on the following issues:

1. Why did such a senior employee leave in the first place? This question needs to be thoroughly investigated.

2. Treating his return benevolently may demotivate the other employees who have remained loyal to the company. This factor should be communicated to the prodigal son who has returned.

3. He must realize his folly and be convinced that he has been taken back for his competency and good behavior in the past.

4. Any 'punishment' given to him, no matter how small, should be made known to all other employees because "justice not only should be done but it should be seen to be done."

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Dear Dinamani,

Chanda already answered your question, but here are a few more things to ponder on. Since you have already re-hired the person, there is not much you can do. As you know, HR experts conduct behavioral interviews to assess a candidate based on past behavior to determine what to expect in the future. You can 'punish' the candidate, but he is back in your organization probably because of a lack of alternatives. So, if you can figure out what made him leave, you may be able to predict his stability and plan accordingly.

This is not a good practice to join somewhere without any information and found the job not at all good and then come back to continue. This type of practice should be strictly prohibited in an organization to send a positive message to other teammates.

Regards,
Arun

Dear Deenomony,

Why does an employee leave?

1. Better Money
2. Fed up with the existing company/practices/manager/work profile/staff, etc.

Once an employee makes up his mind, he convinces himself fully on both aspects, finding valid and/or assumed reasons. There is no way that he can return/rejoin and continue working properly. According to industry research, such individuals can only be readmitted after a gap of 1.5 years.

In my view, taking him back is not appropriate and would result in a loss to the company as ROI is not expected to meet the benchmark.

As Umaselva said, a written request for formal long leave is admissible with valid reasons for the same.

Exclusions:
Case when such rejoining is allowed:
1. Call center: You work on a per-call made/received revenue model, and the same is what you bill to your client. Value from the employee (Manpower ROI) is expected and received in real-time, and there is no long-term benefit (learning cycle) expected from this profile. In such a case, a returning employee may be readmitted.