How can employers protect themselves during the recruitment process?

There is an increasing trend of candidates backing out of job offers.

But why has this become such a hot topic?

The current competitive job market can mean candidates are faced with more than one job offer and in the worst cases, candidates accept an offer but then later change their mind without informing the employer.

Candidates are entitled to turn down an offer where there is no legally binding contract.

However, when the candidate has accepted the offer, and met the requirements of the employer, a legally binding contract is now in force.

If a candidate then wishes to back out of the agreement, the contractual terms will apply, and the employee will be expected to serve the relevant notice period.

However, while failure to serve their notice would be recognised as a breach of contract, employers are often advised against making a claim to this effect as it would not be worthwhile in the long-term, considering the time and cost of the process.

Instead, employers are encouraged to look for ways to reduce the impact of candidates backing out of offers or avoid it altogether.

This can include:

• Ensuring you have multiple candidates that you would be happy to employ, should one change their mind and back out.
• Avoid sending out rejection letters immediately, in case the employer later needs to contact another candidate to offer the position.
• Including a clause within the contract that if the employee does not start the role, as agreed, they would need to repay the genuine costs lost by the Company as a result of this breach.
• Assessing and optimising the Company’s recruitment process. This includes checking the job can compete with others across the market, and that the process of recruitment doesn’t drag out and cause candidates to look elsewhere.
• Providing a good level of communication with candidates during the recruitment process, and once the job is offered, ensuring that the candidate feels part of the team and that the onboarding process is efficient and not drawn out either.