INTRODUCTION
Employers will from time to time be faced with the situation
where an employee hastily submits a resignation in the "heat
of the moment". Then within a day or so of submitting their
resignation, they seek to withdraw it. Can the employer, simply
refuse to allow the employee to withdraw the resignation in this
situation without risking an unfair dismissal claim?
This was the situation which faced BUPA Aged Care as
reported in a decision in BUPA Aged Care Australia Pty Limited t/a
BUPA Aged Care Mosman v Shahin Tavassoli (Tavassoli). In this
instance, the circumstances in which the resignation was submitted
by the employee, and their state of mind either apparent or which
should have been apparent, was such that their letter of
resignation was found not to be legally effective. Thus termination
based upon the letter of resignation was found to be at the
initiative of the employer (not the employee). This meant the
employee was entitled to bring a claim
