Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In legal terms, offer + acceptance = contract. However, your offer was for hire on vacancy. That was the term of your offer. She has now refused your offer. You are free to act accordingly.

Oh my. There is so much wrong with this statement. Stop getting advice here.

Maybe the previous poster didn't use the proper wording, but start date is a term of the contract. If agreement was for a specific start date, and the other party wants to change it, you don't have to accept.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We did something similar with an applicant.

If she's this flaky about starting the job, how do you think she'll be as an employee? You want someone excited to start the position. The one exception would be if her delay is due to a health issue.

Yup. I rescinded an offer to a candidate. She had accepted with the understanding she would start in 2 weeks. She then changed her mind and wanted a full month AND asked for a signing bonus. After consulting with an HR VP and head of employment for Legal, I rescinded the offer. The candidate panicked and complained that she had already given notice to her employer, begged me to reconsider, etc... She even threatened legal action. We were on solid employment footing (Virginia). I stood firm and went with my 2nd candidate who turned out to be a great hire - grateful, hard working, no flakiness, etc...

Anonymous wrote:In legal terms, offer + acceptance = contract. However, your offer was for hire on vacancy. That was the term of your offer. She has now refused your offer. You are free to act accordingly.

Maybe not. If the candidate has a disability, the ADA may require that the company work with her to put things into place before she can start. Inconvenience will not override the employers obligations under the ADA. Not saying this is the problem, just pointing out that there are reasons that the offer may have to be honored despite the inconvenience. And HR may not be able to discuss it due to confidentiality issues.

Anonymous wrote:
What if she took the offer in good faith, expecting to be able to leave her current position by April, but current company is holding her to a case or project or whatnot? That would be unfortunate.

Are there situations where you are not allowed to give the traditional two week to one month notice?

So what? Her issues with a different company are not the problem of a new potential employer. They can't hold her captive, she is making the choice herself.

Even if she has a health issue, your company has absolutely no legal obligation to her even in the most stringent interpretation of any law or case law.

I suspect HR is "working with her" because it's cheaper and easier than going out and recruiting again. And, if she was an exceptional candidate, it may be worth it to you too OP. But all these people getting worked up about legal exposure are ridiculous.

What if she took the offer in good faith, expecting to be able to leave her current position by April, but current company is holding her to a case or project or whatnot? That would be unfortunate.

Are there situations where you are not allowed to give the traditional two week to one month notice?