REHIRE

An ee left his employment for 5 months before returning. We reinstated him and allowed insurance coverage right away. Now there is a question of his start date for vacation time. Does that depend on company policy? What if we do not have a policy? My thought was to use his first start date and subtract the amount of time between him leaving and coming back to make that the anniversary date. Any suggestions?

Comments

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  • It is strictly company policy. You can be as generous or strict as you want to be. You should write a policy though so that you are consistent. I have seen policies ranging from "rehire is treated as new hire no matter what" to "rehire in six months will be eligible for benefits immediately or first of the month".
  • MISKLU: In previous companies with whom I have been the HR, we used an adjusted hire date for the benefits, just like you described. It was policy, whether you have a policy in written format or not it becomes a precedent setting issue.

    My present company does not use an adjusted hire date for benefits. However, in practice for 401 K and medical coverage the home office does allow for previous time in service and disregards the loss time. We verify the first date of employment, as the one used and the actual time in service added to that date to validate one's right to benefit entitlements. Once you work 12 months you are given credit for 1 year. If one was to leave and then come back after 2 years, one year from the original hire date month and 12 months in the current employment service year, would amount to 2 years of active service with the company.

    I don't like this method, but it works for the corporate body and we have learned to practice the procedure for each individual.

    I hope this helps.
  • Our policy is if an ee is rehired within one year of their term date, then we do exactly as you say. If they are gone for more than one year, they start over as new hires.
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