During Layoffs, Who is Rehireable?

Your company should have in place a hire-back policy. Rehires can be valuable team members since they already know the industry and business and like the business enough to want to come back. Those are wins all around! When you must layoff groups of people you will want to ask if they are rehireable. You’ll want that in their file and on a rehireable list that you can use as a reference when needing to fill positions once the company rebounds from whatever trouble they are currently in.

The process you should follow, includes…

• Checking your legal obligations

Consider your company policy, collective bargaining agreements, and anti-discrimination law. Your company lawyer can help you work through this process.

• Weighing the pros and cons

The pros are that there is no training necessary, there will be improved morale to see a hire back after a downsize period, however, if the rehire takes a position that an current employee wanted there could be resentment. Are the circumstances different now that a rehire would make sense?

• Rehiring the employee

This process should be the same as when you originally hired them, and how you would access anyone else applying for the position. Be very clear about expectations and terms and make an offer. You’ll want to have full communication with current employees as well. Be sure to monitor the rehire and how they reintegrate back into the company and their new role.

Small business Chronicle offers tips and warnings for this procedure…

According to Vault, “another issue that needs to be addressed is the benefits of the rehired employees. Many, though certainly not all, companies allow rehired workers to retain their former benefits as if they had not left the company. This means that they will receive all of their accrued vacation time and have no waiting period for health insurance or retirement plans. Other companies may reduce the time of the probationary period before reinstatement.”