Can I Rehire an Employee Who Resigned? Seeking Advice on Rejoining Process

One of our employees (Field Force) resigned on 02/12/12, and we accepted it with immediate effect. Now, after a few conversations with management, he is ready to rejoin our organization once again as an Area Sales Manager in the same headquarters. My query is, can I revoke his resignation, or what should I do? I can't take him as a fresh candidate.

You mentioned that his resignation has been 'accepted'—but has he been relieved? If he hasn't been relieved yet, there's no bar from revoking—strictly speaking, the initiative will have to be from the employee's end. He needs to withdraw his resignation and continue as mutually decided.

If he has already been relieved from services, then ask him to submit a letter to the company conveying his interest to rejoin the company. The company can issue him a formal letter agreeing to his request—with the agreed-upon terms and conditions clearly mentioned.

Regards,
TS

Yes, if he is not yet relieved by mutual consent and withdraws the resignation, he can continue. If he is relieved, then it is left to management discretion. If management is happy, he has to send a request.

Thanks

Friends, whatever has been said so far is technically and procedurally correct. However, in my opinion, all efforts of persuading and discussing retention should have been exhausted before accepting the resignation. Once the resignation has been accepted, both sides should adhere to it. I am sorry, but it reflects poorly on the management and sends the wrong signals to other employees.

Regards,
Munshi

You do have a point. However, why not look at it from another angle? The management failed to convince this employee, and this resulted in resignation. However, this guy was so good at work that the management didn't stop in their efforts to convince him and finally succeeded, which led to this thread being posted by Ankitaadhikary.

Regarding the employee, he didn't think, "Won't the company think very low of me if I agree to rejoin after resigning?" Or even if he did, he still went by his past experiences in the company (which would have been very good; else rethinking about resignation wouldn't arise) and the convincing mode of handling by the management.

In essence, both sides deviated from any ego or feelings and decided based on the facts of the case/situation.

Any comments with regard to this line of thinking?

Regards,
TS

I agree with TS as he has considered both sides of the issue. However, I believe that you should personally speak with the employee to understand his future plans in order to prevent a similar situation in the future if you decide to reconsider him.

Additionally, it is important to set clear expectations with him/her so that both parties can come to a mutual agreement regarding his/her role, designation, and other relevant aspects thoroughly.

If you require further discussion, please let me know.

Thank you.

Regards,

I would like to thank all of you for your suggestions and guidance. Mr. Munsi, I respect your views, but we believe in retaining old employees rather than recruiting new ones. (These are my personal views and may differ from others.)

I have taken an undertaking from the employee stating the incident and revoked his resignation by referring to his letter.

Regards,
Ankita
Executive HR

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” In other words, be willing to help others and share your knowledge and insights with others who may benefit.

If the employee has not left the organization, the resignation can be revoked. If the employee has left the organization, then they need to rejoin. Take approval from the management for rehiring and reversal.