Ethical Dilemma in Recruitment: How Should HR Handle Offer Cancellations?

Dear Friends,

Can you advise me on this case?

XYZ Ltd. has a vacancy for a Taxation Manager. Therefore, they called candidates for interviews and selected Mr. X for the position. XYZ Ltd. issued an offer letter so that Mr. X could resign and join as soon as possible. Mr. X mentioned he would be joining on April 1, 2009. He resigned from his current company and began handing over his duties.

After two weeks, XYZ Ltd.'s CEO contacted the HR Manager and requested the cancellation of the offer made to Mr. X. The HR Manager promptly informed his boss, the Sr. Vice President of HR, about the situation. However, the Sr. Vice President responded with, "OK, I will discuss this with the CEO," but did not provide a reply the following day.

The HR Manager then sent an email to Mr. X as follows, to allow him to make alternative arrangements or reconsider his resignation:

"Dear Mr. X,
This is in reference to the offer letter we provided on March 7, 2009. Due to internal issues, we advise you not to leave your current job until further notice.

Regards,
HR Manager"

A copy of this email was also sent to the Sr. Vice President of HR. Upon seeing the email, he immediately called the HR Manager and criticized him for contacting the candidate. The Sr. Vice President suggested that Mr. X should still join the company on April 1, 2009, and then a second termination letter would be issued on April 2 citing poor performance, ultimately benefiting the company.

Can you advise me if this is a proper HR practice? Who was correct in this situation? Or can you suggest an alternative approach?

Regards,

HR Manager
XYZ Ltd.

Hi,

Well, first and foremost, the HR manager who hired Mr. X should ask the CEO about the reason why he doesn't want Mr. X. Now, apart from whatever reasons XYZ company has, the HR manager should inform Mr. X that the company has decided to hold the profile of Taxation Manager for some time. So, please take back your resignation. Apologies, and then later, they can explain that they don't require anyone for that position.

Hiring a person and then firing him for internal reasons, and above that, telling a lie that he was not performing, is totally against HR policies. Moreover, the HR manager should formulate some new policies so that there are no such problems in the future.

Regards,
Meghha:-|

Hi,

I agree with Meghha. Hiring and then firing for internal reasons, and mentioning that he was not performing well, that won't be good. So, what your HR manager has done is right, but still, he should have informed him as Meghha said.

Regards,
Rajasekar

Both are wrong.

The HR manager should have sent an email to the CEO stating, "As discussed, to terminate the candidate, please find below the email that would be sent across to him..." and mark a CC to the VP - HR.

At least after this, they would have discussed the matter.

And it's such a weird idea of saving the company's image by issuing a termination letter so soon on non-performance. It only shows poor interviewing skills and nothing wrong on the candidate's end.

There is nothing wrong in sending an email to the candidate stating that the position no longer exists. Maybe the person has better options to choose from (may stick to the previous company or may find another alternative). But he will be careful in choosing the profile as he knows what he should be careful about the next time he is interviewed.

The HR Manager should have discussed this before with the VP and the CEO much in advance and explained why such an email should be sent, rather than hiring and terminating. That is the only mistake on his end.

Well... the VP - HR should be fired. If a person in the senior position has such an idea that makes no sense and saves his own position - that will be the future of the company too. He will earn as much as he can and leave the company in doom.

Why should HR Manager alone formulate policies... and let the VP come up with strategies that ruin one's smart work??

I am glad I am not the HR manager in this case. I would have lost my temper and questioned his "experience".

Hi Asha,

I agree with you. But don't you think that the HR manager should first ask the CEO about the reason? The boss is not always right. Perhaps the HR manager, before sending an email to Mr. X, could convince the CEO to select him. Even if they do not want to select him, they should discuss the matter before sending an email to that candidate. It reflects poorly on the company XYZ rather than on the HR manager and CEO. There is nothing wrong with sending an email to the candidate, but keeping him hanging for a long time is not right. What if, after some time, they really want to fill this position? It's not that the HR manager will formulate the policies alone; he will surely discuss it with his seniors. However, apparently, the HR manager is the one managing and executing everything, not directing. Therefore, he will take initiatives and then discuss with others.

I hope you understand my point of view.

Well, this is what happens in big organizations - more people, more confusion in decision-making. That's a joke! 😁

Regards,
Meghha