QUESTION
Dear HR Community Subscribers,
In our company, we have a certain procedure when an employee resigns.
When we are notified of the resignation, we will prepare a letter to state that the employee wishes to resign and he or she accepts the resignation i.e. resignation acceptance letter.
However, in this case, the employee has refused to sign any letter stating that she has resigned.
My question is whether she can refuse to sign the letter and how do you handle such a case.
We are in the construction industry.
I really appreciate your views
Kristine
HR Poll: Can the employee refuse to sign the resignation acceptance letter?
Yes: 55.07%
No: 27.54%
Maybe: 5.80%
Not sure: 11.59%
REPLIES & COMMENTS
To re-issue the contents of the resignation letter into a notification one, so no signature required on the letter. Send the letter via postman post and get a delivery receipt which the receiving person (the same person) has to sign off as recipient - Shermaine
When an employee resigns, the employee sends a resignation letter to the company. The company then reply with a letter stating that the company accepts the resignation letter - Fiona
The employee has submitted her letter of resignation. The Resignation Acceptance Letter prepared by the company is an acknowledgement and confirmation from the company that they have received and accept her resignation. Why do you still need her to sign it? - Didi
Hi Kristine, when an employee sends in his/her resignation letter and being accepted by the supervisor, his/her supervisor will need to sign and acknowledge acceptance of this resignation with the date. For me, upon receiving this duly signed letter, I will do an extra step send an email informing the resignee of their leave balance / prorated leave and attach the Exit Clearance Form with clear instruction on exit procedure; follow by Resignation Acceptance letter no resignee signature required. Hope this helps - Jenny
Employee’s obligation is to inform and fulfil the notice period. The company is in no position to refuse any resignation as either has the right to terminate this employer and employee relationship - Jessie
If an employee has the intention to resign, HR should ask him/her for a resignation letter. The resignation letter should be prepared by the employee, not HR or any manager. Hence, an employee can refuse to sign a resignation acceptance letter - KSK
Is there any other info like AL balance, confidentiality clause etc stated in the letter? If there is just print out the record from the system as proof, find a witness that you've reminded the staff on the confidentiality clause verbally, ask the witness to sign on the letter. It doesn't matter if the staff refuse to sign, the staff initiated the termination of employment, not the employer - Lorraine
There must be a mutual agreement - KYM
Hi Kristine, Ensure that the employee submits resignation in a signed writing and no other format. This avoids your issue - Alex
Hi Kristine, Why does the company need to ask the employee to sign her acceptance of the letter if she has already put in her notice of resignation? In our case, we issue an acknowledgement of resignation but the employee is not required to sign it. Unless it's a forced resignation, in such cases, it may be better to do a termination instead? - Diona
There should be a common agreement on whether it is resignation or termination - Rinda
Hi Kirstine, as long as you have the written resignation letter from the staff, having them acknowledge your acceptance of their resignation is just a formality. In this case, where the staff refuse to sign the acknowledgement and you already have a written copy of her resignation, you may send her an email acknowledging her resignation stating clearly when she informed you of her resignation and her last day of service to avoid any conflicts - Theresa
The resignation letter should come from the employee who is resigning. The company has no right to prepare a resignation letter and asking the employee to sign. This is not the correct procedure. Company will only prepare if it is a termination - Munjit
We prepare resignation acknowledgement as well but it's more from the company to the resigning employee to confirm that we've received his/her resignation and contains details such as last employed date, eligible final salary component, exit clearance etc. - Ivy
Hi Kristine, the signing is more for acknowledgement purpose. You may consider to insert a sentence that mention it should be deemed acknowledged if we do not receive your return within 3 days of your receipt thereof - AK
There is no need to sign the Resignation Acceptance Letter for both employer & employee. If it is your company's policy to do so, it would be advisable to have it added in the Letter of Offer and made known to Employee, or put it in the employee handbook to state that this is the company's policy/practice - Kelly
The letter should be issued by the company to the employee, for company to acknowledge and accept the employee's resignation. The employee does not need to sign the letter - Joanne
To send a written notification that the company noted of her resignation and the last day of her work - Eng Sze
HRSINGAPORE | HR Community Message | Resignation Acceptance Letter
