Voluntary resignation communication by the worker

Better in writing

If any of your workers want to resign, they can do so whenever they want and without having to provide any explanation. They can do it even if they signed a commitment agreement (if they agreed to stay in your company for a maximum of two years because you paid for their training), although in this case you may claim compensation for damages.

Well, if one of your workers verbally informs you that they will resign voluntarily from the company, do not trust them. If you are in this situation, draft a letter confirming that the worker requests the voluntary termination of the contract, and have them sign it.

In the resignation letter, include the date of the communication, as well as the last working day, and if possible, have a witness sign it (for example, any other employee of the company), to certify that there has been no coercion by the company.

Better safe than sorry...

If the worker's resignation is not documented in writing, there is a risk that they may file a claim for unfair dismissal alleging that the termination was communicated verbally. Some companies have found themselves in this situation and, due to lack of evidence, the judge has ended up ruling in favor of the worker, recognizing the corresponding compensation for unfair dismissal and unemployment benefits.

Notice period

The only requirement for your employee to resign voluntarily is to give the notice period established by their collective agreement, or the one agreed upon in the contract (although this agreement cannot establish a longer period than the collective agreement). If this matter is not regulated:

• If the resignation occurs during the probationary period, your employee is not required to give notice.
• After the probationary period, the law does not establish a notice period to resign. However, if the contract has lasted more than a year, demand a minimum notice period of 15 days. This is the notice period that must be given when terminating a temporary contract that has lasted more than a year.

If your employee does not comply with these deadlines, deduct from their settlement the days of notice that were not respected.

Retraction

Once your employee has communicated their resignation, they may regret it and want to retract it to continue working for you. In that case:

• The retraction is only valid if it occurs within the notice period. Keep in mind that until the worker's departure is effective, the contract remains valid, so the worker can reconsider their decision freely and unilaterally.
• The advance notice is just the prior announcement that the contract is going to be terminated. Just as you can revoke an objective dismissal within the 15 days of notice that you must give to your employee, he has the same right after having communicated his resignation.

In this case, if you do not accept his retraction and process his deregistration in Social Security after the last day of notice, such action will be considered an unfair dismissal, and the employee will claim the maximum compensation.