Thursday 19 May 2011

“That’s it, I quit!” – Are resignations in the heat of the moment final?

Have you stormed out of the office following an argument with a colleague or your boss and vowed never to return? Or have you fired an employee on the spot because they happened to catch you at a bad time? Under employment law, these situations are referred to as occurring ‘in the heat of the moment’ and do not necessarily count as the end of the employment relationship between the parties.

Both employers and employees should be aware that they can kiss and make up after a split-second decision to quit or fire someone, if they want.

For an employee, resigning in the heat of the moment might seem like the only possible way of expressing your frustration but once you’ve left the office and cooled down, you may feel differently.

If you change your mind, employment law allows you a ‘reasonable period of time’ to explain to your employer that you did not intend to resign and that you’d like to remain in your job. Employment law says that it would be unreasonable for an employer to accept your resignation and treat it as final in these circumstances.

However, you should bear in mind that a ‘reasonable period of time’ is not long; one or two days at most. A judge in a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case said a fourteen day period was not reasonable, even though Christmas fell in the middle of it.

If you have resigned in the heat of the moment but feel you had no other option to leave your job due to the conduct of your employer, you may have a constructive dismissal claim against them. For example, if your employer suddenly changed your shift from day to night in breach of your employment contract and you quit after an argument about it, you may have a claim. You should discuss the situation with an employment solicitor.

For an employer, it’s important not to overreact when an employee storms out of the office leaving you in the lurch and damaging moral. The law requires you to give them a reasonable period to cool off and come back to work. Don’t assume that their resignation was final; get in touch the next day and determine if they really intend to never come back.

If you take them at their word and refuse to let them return to work, they could claim for unfair dismissal in an employment tribunal.

Employers are advised to investigate the resignation; is there an underlying problem at work, such as bullying or discrimination, which could have contributed to the employee leaving? Investigating these issues can prepare you for possible claims from the employee and will help you decide on your action going forward.

If you have fired an employee in the heat of the moment, you are also allowed a reasonable period of time under employment law to change your mind and keep the employment contract intact. It can be advantageous to offer reinstatement even if you think the employee will not accept, as it may decrease any compensation they are awarded by a Tribunal through failure to mitigate on their behalf.

One way to avoid both situations is to train management in conflict resolution. Offering mediation to stop a dispute from escalating is advocated by Acas and they offer a mediation service.

Job Justice is a service dedicated to helping employers and employees get the legal advice on employment law issues they need from a local, experienced employment solicitor.

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