My employee has resigned. Should I accept it quickly before they change their mind?
April 27, 2016 | By Christine Howitz, Vitil
When employees resign, sometimes it's hard to know what to do next
We often get the question "should I accept the resignation quickly before they change their mind?" The short answer is yes, you can. However, before you run out to buy the champagne and put up the bunting, there are a few steps you may like to consider.
Firstly remember their job contract. If it is more favourable to the employee, this will prevail over the National Employment Standard and any relevant Award they maybe covered by. We also recommend that you consider whether you need to meet with the employee to discuss their decision in the first instance, as this could potentially save you time and money down the track.
Reasons you might want to meet with them
#1 There's been a dispute or a grievance
If an employee in Perth resigns after raising or being involved in a grievance or a dispute, there is a strong possibility that they are resigning as a direct result of the issue. They may not agree with the way you've handled it or the decision you've made. This situation in Perth can be dangerous as the employee could decide to pursue a constructive dismissal claim.
In these circumstances ensure you have documentation on any grievance and how it was handled and resolved.
#2 The resignation came out of the blue
Sometimes you have a good idea that a person's unhappy or is ready to move on. You spend a lot of time with them and you can read the signs. However, sometimes a resignation is completely unexpected. Even if you aren't exactly devastated at the news, it's not a bad idea to arrange a chat to discuss their reasons. You may uncover an issue that you weren't aware of before and although it might not be something you can put right, you should at least take the opportunity to ask the question and find out what's been happening.
This can be completed through a HR exit interview. By knowing the reason, you can proactively address it moving forward with recruitment.
#3 There are some changes happening in your business
Some people don't cope very well with change. They react badly to proposed changes and they'd rather leave than deal with what's happening. Depending on the circumstances, you might decide to meet with them to make sure they do understand the changes and what that means to them and their role. You may find that they've misunderstood or that it wasn't clear to them what the benefits of the changes are going to be.
After the meeting
Once you've had a chance to have a chat with the employee, you'll know if the next step is to deal with an issue or to write to them to confirm acceptance of their resignation. If it's the latter, at least you'll know that there really wasn't anything you could have done to avoid it and you can accept it with a clear conscience.
If your employee has just resigned and you're not sure what to do next, get in touch with Vitil HR recruitment Services Perth, to chat through your options.
Our Perth Human Resource Consultants partner with many SMEs to develop their strategic human resource plans and manage their onboarding or off-boarding needs to ensure a dynamic, proactive environment is maintained.
Vitil's Human Resource Consultants are a boutique HR consulting firm based across Perth, who offer flexible, reliable and affordable outsourced human resource support and recruitment services, where your team is the key focus. By outsourcing HR to an expert in Human Resource Services, our experienced professionals can objectively assess your environment, your human capital needs, and ensure your recruitment process will further develop your businesses performance.