Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Employee resignations

  1. #1
    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    2,642
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 94 Times in 77 Posts

    Employee resignations

    Today's Labour Guide newsletter covered the issue of when a resignation is a valid resignation.

    “The test for determining whether an employee resigned or not is that an employee has to, either by word or conduct, show a clear and unambiguous intention not to go on with his contract of employment in that he has to act in such a way as to lead a reasonable person to the conclusion that he did not intend to fulfill his part of the contract.”
    I found the three examples used interesting, two cases of a verbal resignation, one where the court found that there was no resignation (i.e. unfair dismissal) and the other where the court found the employee had tendered their resignation. Then another case is used to demonstrate use of email to resign, and that there is no cooling off period for resignations.

    Read the entire article on labour guide's website
    [SIGPIC]Engineer Simplicity[/SIGPIC]
    Turn ideas into products | The Art of Engineering blog

  2. #2
    Email problem stephanfx's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    203
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
    Question: So if I blow a gasket at work, storm out, shouting to the receptionist that I resign, it is in fact not a resignation, but if I should say the same to one of the directors or the manager, then it is a resignation?

    Looks like who you resign at is also a big factor. Or am I blindingly confused?

  3. #3
    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    2,642
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 94 Times in 77 Posts
    I think that is it really a question of ambiguity. It must be very clear that the employee's intention is to resign, and clear steps should be taken.

    In the one verbal case, there were no actions other than the one comment. In the other verbal case the employee accepted the payment of money due to her as a result of resignation, which clearly indicates intent to resign.

    I think the message is that as an employer you should be sure that the person has actually resigned. Having it in writing with dates, etc. is clearly the easiest way.
    [SIGPIC]Engineer Simplicity[/SIGPIC]
    Turn ideas into products | The Art of Engineering blog

  4. #4
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,732
    Thanks
    3,320
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,265 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    I'm particularly interested in the fact that verbal resignations can be acceptable under the right conditions.

    I had a situation arise about 6 months ago. I'll call it a case of excessive absenteeism - although really it was a case of the employee failing to report to work and giving bogus reasons. Possibly irrelevant to the core issue here though.

    I'd set up a preliminary investigative meeting and towards the end it became clear to the employee that we were onto her deception. She tendered her resignation verbally and stormed off. I followed up over the next few days asking for written confirmation. She emailed back to say that she "would never confirm her resignation in writing."

    After a week, I played safe, called a disciplinary with all the correct notices etc. When she failed to attend it was enough to justify instant dismissal. Officially her employment was terminated by us.

    But based on the above, it seems the verbal resignation would have been acceptable. She never came back to work....

  5. #5
    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    2,642
    Thanks
    119
    Thanked 94 Times in 77 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    She emailed back to say that she "would never confirm her resignation in writing."
    So does that classify as a written confirmation of resignation???
    [SIGPIC]Engineer Simplicity[/SIGPIC]
    Turn ideas into products | The Art of Engineering blog

  6. #6
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,732
    Thanks
    3,320
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,265 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    I debated relying on that angle.

    The whole thing got a bit messy. Basically she was trying to quit, but without resigning so that she could get her UIF payments I think. It was quite clear that if I dealt with it as a resignation, I had a round coming with the CCMA. But she never came back to work, so perhaps that would have been OK.

    In the end I played safe. She got her UIF. I lost some dead weight.

Similar Threads

  1. Absconding Deserting Employees
    By Marq in forum Labour Relations and Legislation Forum
    Replies: 34
    Last Post: 04-Jan-13, 10:18 AM
  2. Deduction of personal income protection
    By duncan drennan in forum Tax Forum
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 01-Mar-12, 08:21 PM
  3. What works to motivate your staff?
    By duncan drennan in forum Entrepreneurship and Business Management Forum
    Replies: 56
    Last Post: 22-Jul-11, 08:51 AM
  4. CCMA newsletter
    By duncan drennan in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 14-Feb-07, 10:37 PM

Tags for this Thread

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •