resignation dates and duty of care

[oldgreyknickertest]

DH has just been signed off with stress and has resigned. His hr dept has said it would like to see what it can do to help and suggests he does not resign yet while he is under so much stress. He responded "thanks"to the message, which covered other things as well.

Is his resignation effective still?

I should think HR will see the situation as "on hold" until they get a fuller response from your dh. But if were HR, I'd see "Thanks" as a sign that the resignation may well be withdrawn. I'm not an HR professional though!

Well what did your DH mean by 'thanks'? He needs to confirm to HR whether or not he wants to withdraw his resignation. They should ask him for confirmation but may take thanks as being 'yes please I want to withdraw my resignation'. If that's not what he meant he needs to clarify.

They won't want to accept it whilst he's under stress without further communication with him in case he later retracts it and claims it was constructive dismissal. At least that's what happened at my workplace when someone tried to resign in the heat of the moment after being caught lieing. She was talked out of resigning and the resignation didn't stand.

I have heard recently of two HR departments who bent over backwards to help employees off with stress. I should think they were helpful partly out of genuine compassion and a certain "there but for the grace of God go I". But also professionally they would look terrible if they weren't compassionate. And most people now know that under stress, it's hard to make sensible decisions, and you shouldn't push anyone to be make life-changing decisions while stressed.

Where are the HR experts?? They must be on the commute home!

"Where are the HR experts?? They must be on the commute home!"

I'm never one for blowing my own trumpet but I think I would be as near an HR "expert" as we get on MN.

The answer to the OPs question is it's up to her DH to clarify whether he wishes them to consider his resignation withdrawn or not.

If the op would like an HR view as to what HR might do if the resignation is withdrawn, what kind of support they may offer, what their motives might be, what his other options are or any of the other dozens of questions she may have, then I'm sure she'll ask. But the simple answer to her simple question is its up to her DH.

Sorry, no offence intended!

I tend to engage in rather circular discussions on MN, so I'm not really used to simple answers.

I'll get me coat...

Thanks.

What he meant by thanks was thank you for responding so quickly.

Because he feared that might be the interpretation I was anxious to clarify with HR this pm. But as that was an oral conversation I will ensure it is followed up in writing and from him., although I am acting as his PA at the moment.

I had assumed that the offers of help he has now had come from a duty of care and also desire to avoid the claim of constructive dismissal, tbh, but it is not necessarily unhelpful to take one of them up, a counselling one. Can he and should he do so having resigned?

Tbh, I don't think he wants to retract. Nor personally do I think there is necessarily a good case for constructive dismissal, although I do think they have not taken his circumstances into account in how they have treated him. But I would be interested in what differentiates between a good case and a poor one.

Ladies of the garden, (nice coincidence there) could you provide more advice? I am happy to pm you with more detail if that would help, but suspect some if his colleagues could be MNrs.