What if the employee verbally resigns but won’t give you written confirmation via a letter of resignation? If you suspect that a substandard job performer who gives notice may change her mindin the interim, you should confirm her verbal resignation in writing by presenting her with a confirmation of resignation (see sample in
Appendix T).

Such a written confirmation will make it more difficult for the individual to change her mind one week later and attempt to keep her job—despite her earlier notification of resignation.

Finally, what if an employee rescinds her resignation during the two-week notice period and demands to have her job back? Be careful here—she may indeed have the right to keep her job! The key question that a court would look at in a situation like this is, Did you as the employer act in reliance on the worker’s notice? In other words, did the company post the job opening, interview other candidates, reassign work within the unit, or offer the position to another candidate? If the answer to most of these questions is Yes, you will have a better chance of successfully defending a charge of wrongful termination.

If, on the other hand, you’ve done nothing in the two-week notice period, a court might argue that the employee was indeed free to rescind her resignation and get her job back. In that case, a court might interpret your refusal to reinstate the individual as an error in judgment on your part. The lesson here is simply this: When problematic and underperforming employees give you two weeks’ notice, don’t start dancing in the aisles too quickly. You’re better off taking immediate action to fill the position being vacated by posting it internally, running an ad, and reassigning work to remaining staff members.

Of course, in certain instances, you may choose to retain a wellperforming employee who rescinds her resignation, but you have to
be careful about setting an unwanted precedent. In the future, it could be argued that if you allowed one employee to rescind a resignation, you’ll have to allow others to do so. Therefore, you shouldn’t develop an active practice of allowing such changes of heart at the eleventh hour.

Taken From : The Hiring and Firing Quention and Answer Book