Table of Contents
A lot of job seekers find themselves in a tricky position following an offer from their prospective employer. To avoid making the wrong decision, it’s important to know how you can rescind your job offer and avoid any legal ramifications.
The “rescinding a job offer letter: sample messages” is a document that has been prepared for you to use. The document includes a template for the letter you need to send in order to rescind your job offer.
It’s crucial to understand how to properly cancel a job offer for professional, reputational, and legal reasons. To begin, be sure your explanation does not violate labor regulations (i.e., discrimination against a protected class). You’ll next inform the applicant of your choice, ideally by communicating with them personally and explaining why the offer was cancelled. You should allow the applicant to ask follow-up questions or explain the circumstances of a Background check failed or drug test, for example, however this may not alter your mind. Finally, write a letter to the applicant to formalize your selection.
Create and personalize a letter that matches your company’s requirements with our free example letter template.
Thank you for your interest in downloading!
Step 1: Make Sure It’s Legal
The termination of employment must have a legal basis. A employment offer cannot be rescinded for legally protected grounds, such as race, religion, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, age, or national origin.
At-will employment is legal in several states. Employers may terminate the employment relationship at any time in these states as long as the cause for rejecting employment does not violate any federal hiring or employment regulations and is not related to past whistleblower efforts.
Step 2: Make the Candidate aware of the situation.
Even if a verbal signal was given, the chance of rescinding an offer prior to delivering an offer letter is low. As a result, contact the applicant and make it clear that the employment offer has been withdrawn.
The best way to deliver the news is in person, with the first contact generally taking place over the phone; this isn’t something you want to leave on a voicemail. If you can’t reach the applicant right away, ask them to call you back. Speaking directly with the applicant, despite the discomfort, is the greatest way to demonstrate the compassion and professionalism that your organization offers.
When alerting the applicant that you have retracted their employment offer, be sure to provide the following information.
- Declare that the call is private.
- Explain why the position has been terminated.
- Allow the applicant to explain themselves or ask questions.
Step 3: Explain why you’re doing it.
Explain why the offer is being canceled in explicit terms. Companies often revoke job offers after a failed pre-employment drug test or background check. Share your company’s problems without passing judgment or making false charges.
There might be a simple reason, and if the applicant is still qualified for this or another job in your company, you want to keep in touch. If it’s due to a company-wide decision, such as financial constraints or a shift in strategy, apologize to the applicant.
Allow time for a follow-up.
Give the applicant an open invitation to contact the firm with any questions they may have following the interview. Furthermore, if the employment offer was revoked owing to a candidate mistake or discovery, you should provide them the opportunity to explain. Although it is unlikely that this would influence your selection, it is a good practice to follow.
Send a Formal Letter in Step 5
When you retract a job offer, the process isn’t complete until you’ve sent the applicant a written letter outlining what happened and what was discussed over the phone. This letter may be sent through email or traditional mail, but it must reach the applicant within three business days following your call. Customize our rescinding a job offer to the applicant template letter.
The following should be included in your physical letter:
- Name and address of the candidate
- A reference line that says unequivocally that the formal employment offer has been withdrawn.
- The position’s title and start date when it was first advertised
- The reason for the revocation of the offer
- The signature of the company’s recruiting manager, position manager, or owner
Employers’ Reasons for Rejecting Job Offers
Job offers are rescinded for a variety of reasons. They include both external (or candidate) reasons, such as failed background or drug tests, as well as internal (or corporate) considerations, such as budget constraints or making the incorrect candidate an offer.
- (Candidate) External Factors
- Factors that affect a company’s internal operations
It may be prudent for your organization to retract a job offer if unexpected circumstances develop with a certain applicant. These may include the following:
- Background check failed
- Failure to pass a pre-employment drug test
- Unsuccessful job references
- After the employment offer, offensive social media conduct was uncovered.
- Concerns about resume content accuracy, such as job experience or education
- Dishonesty about gained skills, licenses, or credentials
Depending on the circumstances, you may be unable to hire an applicant to whom you have previously extended an offer of employment. These may include the following:
- Change in strategy: When a company’s strategy or intended goals for selecting the appropriate person for a job have changed or developed.
- Budgetary adjustments: Unintentionally exceeding the position’s budget.
- HR blunder: offering the wrong pay or complete compensation package to a candidate.
- Double-filling a post is a management oversight.
- Hiring for a post that has been freshly designated for removal is a change in business view.
- Improper behavior or behaviour during the interview and selection process is unlawful or improper (may include favoritism, illegal decision-making criteria, nepotism, and other biases among interviewers)
- Failure to review employment or character references prior to the job offer is an example of an incomplete pre-employment procedure.
- Mistaken identity: A job offer was sent to the incorrect person.
Conclusion
The act of rescinding a job offer is the act of revoking a previously made job offer to a candidate, generally because the employer discovered an area, or numerous areas, of concern. Internal changes in planning are another cause for rescinding a job offer.
Although the employer has the right to make business choices that are in the best interests of the firm, it is critical to understand how to properly retract a job offer. An offer of employment should be rescinded in a professional and legal manner. Use our example letter as a starting point for a swift and legal procedure.
You Might Also Enjoy…
Withdrawing an offer of employment is a difficult process, but it can be done. Here’s how to do it in 5 steps. Reference: withdrawing offer of employment email.
Related Tags
- how to rescind a job offer as an employee
- how to respond to a rescinded job offer
- how to rescind a job offer acceptance
- rescinding offer to unresponsive candidate
- rescind offer letter due to drug test template
