Withdrawal of resignation rejection

Unless an employee’s resignation was given in the heat of the moment and wasn’t really intended or conscious and rational at the time it was given, you aren’t obliged to accept any subsequent request from them to withdraw it. So, using our letter, you can legitimately reply that you don’t agree to their purported retraction of their notice of resignation.

Accepting a resignation withdrawal

Our Withdrawal of Resignation Acceptance is for use where you want to accept an employee’s withdrawal of their resignation, for example, where you’ve actively persuaded them to change their mind about resigning, you’ve resolved a work situation (such as bullying or harassment) that was the reason for their resignation, or where their resignation was given “in the heat of the moment” and wasn’t really intended or conscious and rational at the point in time that it was given.

Changing circumstances

However, in many cases, you won’t want to allow the employee to change their mind. This might be because you’ve already recruited someone else to replace them, you’re reorganising the business to remove or amalgamate their role or even simply because they were a poor performer or a bit of a troublemaker so you’re glad to be seeing the back of them. Conversely, the employee might have changed their mind about resigning because, say, the new employer they were intending to work for has now withdrawn their job offer, their personal circumstances have since changed, or they’ve simply got cold feet about making a fresh start with a new employer. Regardless of their reasons, you’re under no obligation to accept an employee’s withdrawal of their resignation if you don’t want to do so, even if you never formally “accepted” their resignation. Firstly, a resignation is a unilateral act so there is no legal need for acceptance of it. Secondly, once an employee has given notice of resignation in accordance with the terms of their employment contract, that contract has been lawfully terminated, subject to the notice provisions being observed. The only exception here is where the employee’s resignation was given in the heat of the moment and, when assessed objectively, it wasn’t really intended, seriously meant or conscious and rational at the point in time that it was given and they then withdraw it once they’ve had a reasonable opportunity, e.g. a day or so, to calm down – see our Response to “Heat of the Moment” Resignation to immediately deal with that situation.

Rejecting a resignation withdrawal

Where you don’t agree to the employee withdrawing their resignation, use our Withdrawal of Resignation Rejection. It confirms that you’re either not in a position to or not willing to agree to the employee’s retraction of their notice of resignation, and therefore their employment will still terminate on the previously notified termination date. If there are objective business reasons for your decision here, do set them out so that the employee knows your situation, e.g. you’ve already made arrangements for them to be replaced. However, it’s best to stay silent on the reasons if they’re somewhat personal, e.g. the employee was a poor performer or you didn’t like them, as you don’t want to stir them up into deciding to chance their arm by lodging a constructive dismissal claim! Our letter then reiterates the position on the payment of outstanding salary/benefits and holiday pay and confirms the garden leave situation, if applicable, as set out in our initial Response to Resignation letter.