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When employee says leaving was a mistake, would it be a mistake to rehire him?

By John Wilcox, Moderator
8/19/2008 - 2:30am
Hiring

John Wilcox, Moderator

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John Wilcox is senior editor of 15 HR Specialist newsletters covering employment law, compensation and benefits, as well as theHRSpecialist.com. A journalist who has covered HR, training, organization development and business management for more than 15 years, John keeps his finger on the pulse of what’s working in HR through daily contact with some of the nation’s top HR pros, business people and employment law attorneys.

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Question: “We have a former employee who resigned one week ago. He has now called back and said it was a mistake for him to leave. He left us on good terms, and we are thinking about hiring him back. Does anyone foresee any problems? If we do rehire him, how should we handle issues like seniority, pay, accrued vacation, health benefits, etc?” — Nancy

Comments

It's a classic HR-type question. The answer is "It depends." Why did he leave? Is that bad situation fixed? Was it for more $$ ? Are you going to give him more $$? If not, what is there to prevent him from leaving again? I have found that once an employee makes the philosophical decision to leave, it's hard to get him/her back. However, leaving for a better job, then coming back for an even bigger promotion some time later has worked. The worst situation was that in his mind his resignation was a 'dare' or a challenge that you resisted. He didn't really want to go and took the chance that you would counter-offer him because he thought he was essential to the business. You didn't and now he's in a situation he never thought he'd have to live with. Finally, he got to the new job and the dream turned into a nightmare (happened to me). The wonderful boss was actually a jerk and co-workers spent the first 2 days telling me every awful thing they knew about the company. And it was all true. I would have paid to go back to my former job but it had been filled already. Took me 3 months to get out of there.

Posted by: Mary | August 19, 2008 at 12:59 PM

If he left on good terms and is eligible for re-hire, I see no reason not to. However, his employment was terminated, and he would now be a new hire. I've had this happen with former employees coming back- if they left on good terms and were eligible for re-hire, we'd hire again, but their seniority started all over again, along with the probationary period, and benefits waiting period. If there is no CBA barring it, you have the choice of negotiating vacation time, but otherwise there is no accrued vacation either. They essentially are treated as though they are new hires, period.

Posted by: Heather | August 19, 2008 at 01:16 PM

Even though the employee left on good terms, a question to ask is if the employee was a good worker. Were there any written warnings, red flags or any thing that would make you think twice. Our company has approximately 516 employees and 11% of them are re-hires. I am one of them. We believe in giving back seniority for vacation time, but they lose accrual as we pay out. As for medical/dental if they had only been gone a week, there is a chance of re-instating them with no interuption. If the time frame is longer then they would need to wait the enrollment period same as a new employee.

Posted by: Jeanm | August 19, 2008 at 01:57 PM

If he was a good employee and left on good terms, then it is a good idea to hire him back. Especially seeing that he was gone for only a week. He should also be reinstated with his benefits as well. This will send a positive note to other employees that the grass is NOT always greener on the other side. This could help to retain other employees.

Posted by: Mike | August 19, 2008 at 03:07 PM

I agree with Jeanm and Mike to a point. It is okay to rehire a good worker. We have done it several times. The terms of your benefit programs should tell you whether you can reinstate them immediately; however, anything that is based on seniority, such as vacation, should start over. You don't want to give your employees the idea that you have a revolving door because they will take advantage of you.

Posted by: Darrel | August 19, 2008 at 03:15 PM

We have had this same situation a couple of times. If the employee was a good worker and left in good standing, we have hired them back. An employee we recently rehired had been gone for 2 weeks. We reinstated his benefits immediately. He did not have to go through our 90 day waiting period again. On the same note, we have had other past employees ask if they could be rehired and we have not done so because of their past work record.

Posted by: Mickey L | August 20, 2008 at 06:36 AM

Even though he left on good terms, he still left by his choice. If he is subject to rehire and was a good employee, I would definitely consider doing so. But he would have to come back as a new hire as far as benefits, vacation, etc are concerned.

Posted by: Sharon | August 20, 2008 at 08:33 AM

Given what you have said (presuming good work ethic, fit in org, etc.), I would take him back. You know this person's capabilities. If you were to hire from the outside, you would be taking a gamble and would incur the onboarding expense. Sharon suggested he come back with benefits of a new hire – but I believe this would sabotage the relationship and he would ultimately leave again. Most organizations permit reinstatement along with seniority and the related benefits. A web search will turn up a number of policies.

Posted by: Adele | August 20, 2008 at 10:11 AM

I agree it was the employees choice to leave. If they want to come back and are eligible for rehire, they should be treated as a new hire and restart the benefits. I don't think it is fair to the employees who aren't testing the greener pastures.

Posted by: Shirl | August 22, 2008 at 08:49 AM

If he left in good standing and is elibible for re-hire, I'd re-hire the individual. I worked for a company who re-hired the employee back and bridged the gap with vacation time...only if the paid out vacation time check was not cashed! After that, it was as if he never left.

Posted by: Paul | August 26, 2008 at 04:35 PM

I have a supervisor that did this. She called on her first day at the new place and asked for her old job back. She was reinstated and appears to have been treated as though she never left.

I have mixed feelings. It was only one week she was gone so if they forced her to lose a weeks vaca. then ok.

But I also feel that it was her choice to go so she should have to start over. If it was me I am sure I would have had to!

Posted by: C.W. | August 27, 2008 at 08:06 AM

Our rehire policy states that if you have been with the company for at least a year, leave and return within a year, your hire date will be adjusted for benefit purposes. Say the original hire date was 01/01/06 and you were gone for three months your new hire date would be 04/01/06. This affects vacation accrual and longevity bonuses. Partially paid benefits, i.e. health insurance, would kick in depending on the completion of forms and the first payroll deduction.

Posted by: Jane | September 19, 2008 at 11:49 AM

We use a 30 day rule and if the employee was "re-hired" within 30 days of the term date they would come back with all their benefits reinstated as if they never left. Over 30 days and they would be given a new hire date and have to wait the probationary period for benefits.

Posted by: Glenda | September 25, 2008 at 07:25 AM

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