Need help with my decision

pecohr

I'm going long... Here's the scoop.
background info: Manufacturing, Union shop.

ee was on layoff. I called him on Friday to recall him for work. He asked when we wanted him back, I stated Monday. He stated that he was not available until Wednesday. Manager was OK with that so we mutually agreed that he would be there for his normal shift Wednesday AM.

I then sent him a confirmation letter (certified mail) welcoming him back Wednesday the 26th, 2006 (I'm a poor typist and it seems an even less skilled proofreader because I typed 2006 rather than 2003 and didn't catch it). I also added per our contract a statement that pointed out that he had 5 days to contact us regarding acceptance of his recall rights.

He did not show up on Wednesday for his shift as agreed and when I called him he said he was exercising his full 5 days and would be in on Friday.

I explained that he had already accepted a recall start date, that he had been the one who had set the date, and that based on his acceptance we had assigned work. In addition I informed him that he would be accruing occurrences for each day missed.

Can I hold him to his agreement?

Sunny

I also function in a mfg. union environment and I would think that whether or not you can terminate this employee successfully depends on your past practice. If you have ever let anyone agree to return then wait until the 5-day grace period is up - forget it - you'll never make this one stick. Most unions have elephant-like memories. If it has ever happened, they WILL remember. Of course, you can always terminate, let him file a grievance, then fight it out from there. You are really the best judge of whether this is an employee the union will fight to the death for. Are you in a right-to-work state? If you are and the ee is not in the union you probably have lots of wiggle room.

I'm afraid this isn't much help but after 20 years, I have found that these situations depend a great deal on the circumstances. However, if you feel strongly about this and are willing to fight it out or just to send a message to other employees, you can certainly terminate. Good luck - let us know what happens.

LindaS

I also work in a mfg., union shop so here's my opinion....

I'm assuming your contract has language to the effect that an ee has five days to return to work from layoff. The first question I would have is whether or not the contract states 5 WORKING days. This DOES make a difference because if it doesn't specify working days, in theory you can count the weekend as days of notification so five days would require him to return on Wednesday. If it does state working days, he still made an agreement with you to return on Wednesday regardless of the five day issue. If he wanted to exercise the five working days, he should have stated that when you spoke with him and not waited until he received his letter reminding him of this issue.

I do think you need to take a look at what has been done in the past regarding this situation. Unions DO NOT forget past precedent so you need to make sure you follow the already set precedent, if there is one, accordingly. If there isn't a precedent, give him the occurrences in accordance with the attendance policy and if the union files a grievance, you can defend the issue on the fact that the ee made an agreement to return on Wednesday. I would NOT terminate the ee as this is something you would probably lose in arbitration and then you are looking at back pay, etc.. If the union files a grievance based on the occurrences, it may possibly lead to something positive wherein an employee will be held to the agreement they made to the company to return to work, regardless of the five day rule.

Good luck! I'm just amazed at the amount of independently wealthy people in this world who can afford to take off work and don't need the money!!! That's another thing I would remind the ee is that he CANNOT collect unemployment for the days that he is choosing not to work when there is work available - this may cause him to rethink his original decision.