Can I withdraw my resignation after immediately regretting leaving my job?

[itsme55]

I was sure about leaving my job for another and handed in my notice. As soon as I did it, I felt regret and wanted the old job back because I realised how good it was. I have asked by email if I can withdraw my resignation. I was told my my manager there is nothing I can do apart from reapplying. I've sent emails to other parts of the company including HR who have opened an appeal.

Is there anything I can do?

Now you're having second thoughts doesn't mean you have decided to stay.

From your manager's perspective I would say this doesn't sound like you are someone who is really committed to staying. You just haven't decided when you're going to leave.

I did that once and ended up staying in the job for another 3 years.

But then it turned out that my line manager was in love with me. 😆

Bit brutal but true, sadly

I too want to know about the three month waiting list. What kind of job is this?

I've done it in the past when I had immediate regrets like yours, but they didn't want to accept it in the first place.

If they're making you reapply, chances are they're happy to let you go. I'm so sorry. You could make the case of cost-saving in terms of advertising the role and training your replacement, I guess. Productivity losses while they get up to speed?

If it's any consolation, I withdrew my resignation then immediately regretted THAT and had to hand my notice in again. Not my finest hour. Trust whatever it was that drove you to leave in the first place.

I did this a few years ago when I worked for a huge UK charity but my old job wanted me back. I quit happily, started the new role and instantly regretted it. The new role was somewhere I'd worked before and had loved it, but it had only been temporary. Then they wanted me back permanently. So I quit the charity job, restarted at my old company, and to my horror, I HATED it this time around. I was so depressed and it had changed for the worse in the time I'd been away.

I went begging to the charity job to take me back but they'd replaced me in a matter of days, and all they had to say to me was "you never returned your laptop, please do" (I had). That was it. They couldn't have been less interested. And that's the issue. We are so replaceable.

I persevered at the new job, and now a few years later I am absolutely loving it! Have you started a new role yet, or just want the old one back?

OP, legally you have no right to un-resign.

You don't say what your job is. Frankly if they like you and think you will be hard to replace your chances are high. If they don't and it's a job they can fill fairly easily then less promising I fear.

So naive. If they valued you, you’d be staying. Business don’t try to ‘be fair’ to people who don’t even work there!

People resign all the time and then get called into meetings and counter offered and asked what it is that they need to do to keep the employee to stop them from resigning
If they didn’t do that with you, it doesn’t sound as if they have that keen to keep you to be blunt

They don’t want you back. If they did want to keep you, they absolutely could cancel your resignation. No one wants to keep hiring and training new people.

This . Sorry I’m sure that’s not what you wanted to hear.

I withdrew my resignation. I have never really been happy again and my boss doesn’t trust me - it’s been horrible. And this is a job I loved - I was headhunted and felt it was an offer that wouldn’t come up again even though I didn’t want to leave. I was right in one thing - the opportunity never came up again and I fucked my career up.

I’m bamboozled by what the job could be?! Kitten cuddler? Puppy play supervisor? Wine tester?

Get advice from a trade union. If you handed in notice, then immediately (i.e. within hours) withdrew, there may be legal precedents to challenge at an employment tribunal.

However, I suspect if an employer chooses to accept notice of termination of your contract, there’s little you can do. Apart from fight to convince them to agree to you rescinding the notice on the basis you’re a good employee and retaining you is preferable to a costly recruitment/onboarding.

@itsme55 is the issue that you desperately want to stay in your current job, or is it just that your family's move has been delayed and now it is less convenient for you to start the new job that you applied for?

Be honest now.

Helpful

No. You ended your contract. It's entirely up to your current employer if they want to give you a new one, and it sounds like they don't.

They obviously don't want to keep you or they'd be happy that you want to stay - take it as a lesson and move on

I can't imagine they would be that far down the process of hiring your replacement if you're less than month since handing your notice in. It would be far easier just to have the current person stay.

But they're not doing that which actually suggests they are happy for you to leave!

Best move onto the new job.

It's also very very normal to have "what the fuck have I done?!"panic when switching jobs. I have had new job blues in every single one of my new jobs 😂

I once handed my 3 month notice in, realised I regretted it at the 2 month mark after I realised it was the role I hated, not the company. I spoke to my boss' boss and they offered me my dream role elsewhere in the company. If they want to keep you, they will

In 2026 are managers still somehow successfully managing to convince their employees "its not me, it's HR/policy"?

Op, if your Manager wanted you to stay you'd be staying. Its likely nothing to do with the manager having an issue with your performance or you though (you'd have known if it was, under the guise of "its not me bringing this up, its HR" obvs). It will very likely be good old fashioned managers feeling affronted when someone wants to leave and any loyalty just disappears.

It'll be policy (HR) blamed for sure though. Weasly managers have always blamed and hid behind HR for their own decisions and actions 🥱

...and they'll gladly have you back on half your previous salary.

It seems to me a bit mean not to agree to you withdrawing your notice and remaining. You were intending to move and are not doing so now. It is not as if it was some tactic to get a pay rise.

The company's discretion though.

I was in the same situation but they weren’t able to stop the resignation.

In my case they had decided to get rid of the role completely though.

However, I was very fortunate as a much better role opened up and they said I had to wait until the deadline etc but it was guaranteed to be mine if I want it.
So there was about a 2 week break where I wasn’t working there.

If they won’t let you stay, then you’ll have to reapply for another role (or maybe yours again ) and in my case it was my managers who had the final say of who got it.

The only concern I would have if I was them would be if you’re still planning on moving.