Beyoncé speaks during a news conference. Image, AP Photo, Matt Slocum.
Beyoncé (once again) has the world in a choke hold, and this time to quit our jobs. After listening to her latest single Break My Soul, social media was abuzz with Gen Zs and even Millennials ready to quit.
As the song was released, the resignation-inspiring lyrics ( “Now, I just fell in love / And I just quit my job,” ; “I’m gonna find new drive / Damn, they work me so damn hard / Work by 9 / Then off past 5 / And they work my nerves / That’s why I cannot sleep at night.”) prompted a flurry of social media activity with people globally saying the pop sensation had inspired them to quit their jobs.
But according to experts at commercial law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, we shouldn’t be too hasty with such serious decisions as they can’t be reversed.
“If an employee resigns – and then tries to withdraw the resignation – there’s a high likelihood they won’t be able to take back the decision,” employment law expert at CDH. “A court case earlier in 2022, brought before the Labour Court (LC) found that once an employee formally hands in his/her resignation – it is final; even if Beyoncé told you to do it,” say CDH Employment Law Practice experts.
The court held that resignation is by definition a voluntary and unilateral act that seeks to end the employment relationship, albeit that an employer can still elect to press disciplinary proceedings against an errant employee during the notice period if that employee sought to resign to avoid the potential for an adverse outcome in that process
“In essence, the court gave credence to the fact that when an employee voluntarily elects to communicate their intention to terminate the employment relationship, that election cannot be unilaterally withdrawn once it has been communicated to the employer. Where the employee was bound to serve a notice period, their failure to serve that period will not negate the effect of the resignation, as the employment contract will still have reached an end. The only way to revive the contract of employment would be through a fresh offer and acceptance – which amounts to rehiring or re-employment. This can occur if the employer opts to consent to the withdrawal of a resignation, but the employer’s representative who consents to the withdrawal must be a person authorised to rehire or re-employ; anything to the contrary would be invalid and of no force and effect,” say the CDH experts.
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