Has an employee in your workplace ever said: “That’s it, I’ve had enough and I’m off!”? It may be tempting to accept these ‘heat of the moment’ resignations at face value, however, ‘going off in a huff’ is not the same as resigning and an employee must make it clear to the employer that he or she intends to resign. These types of resignations can present traps for the unwary employer.

The potential traps

If the words or actions of resignation are unambiguous, then the employer is under no legal obligation to do other than accept the resignation. If the employee, subsequently, wishes to change his or her mind (for example, because a new job offer has fallen through), it