I'm sorry, but you are so far off-base here that I had to comment. Yes, the old employer certainly DOES have a say. Most employers require a 2-week notice in order to be eligible for re-hire. All a future employer has to do is ask HR if the employee is eligible for rehire. When they say "no," the potential employer will probably drop him like a hot potato.
As for the old employer being "unprepared," that makes no sense. He JUST gave his notice. How could they have been prepared to have him train his replacement when they didn't even know he was leaving until yesterday??
I'm sorry but you are way off base yourself. An employer cannot require notice unless there is some sort of employment contract. Most states do not have employment contracts as a matter of law unless there is a union involved.
The
courtesy rule of thumb is:
1 week for casual labor type positions
2 weeks for mid management on down to the casual labor
1-2 months for CEO's, CFO's etc.
As for hearing a Not eligible for rehire and "dropping like a hot potato" you are setting your company up to be sued by the prospective employee.
Employers rarely go there anymore. The laws have tied our hands and so we have had to find other ways to check a persons character, the word of a former co-worker/HR Dept is just not enough and it can be very misleading or vague.
We get DMV records, use Google, we hire private background companies etc. We verify dates of employment looking for large gaps, we run criminal checks and credit reports but we rarely base a decision on the words of a former employer, its just not worth the risk and is subject to all sorts of discrimination.
That response is "I am sorry, but I am not allowed to give out that information due to company policy. All I can tell you is that he is not eligible to be rehired."
Not difficult.
When I was a manager, I was told we could answer two questions. They were:
"Was this person employed here?"
and
"Is this person eligible to be rehired by you?"
Both are yes and no questions that, if brought up in a suit, are easily backed by factual information that the company can provide. We were not allowed to give details because those can be colored by preferences and past issues. These details could get someone in trouble.
And let me tell ya. If I was checking references and got a "no" to the rehire question then that person would be put on the bottom of the stack. If the OPs husband doesn't play nice with his last few days, he could end up as a "no" to the rehire question, which could cost him a job in the future.
Let me tell you when checking references the Not Eligible for rehire really does not deter me and if you are not careful, your tone can be called into question and again you are setting your employer up to be sued. Courts/Juries are not employer friendly, they want to see the little guy win, be very careful in what you do, how you say it and who you say it to. Not Eligible for Rehire has become so passe that it means nothing to most HR personel I know. Sometimes I will ask the perspective employee why their former employer is holding a grudge and its amazing the stories I have heard.
I am not afraid of a former employer and refuse to give them that kind of power.
I generally call the former employer and the conversation goes something like this:
Hi, I'm calling for an employment verification regarding _____
I have dates of hire being X to X. Beginning wage X and ending wage X.
Is their any reason legally documented in the personel file that I should be aware of in regards to hiring this person?
I have found that those words tend to put someone on their heels and I get the information I am looking for. Also, I always get a release from the prospective employee and will send it over on request.
Employment law is something that lots of people think they know, but in reality they do not and they make all sorts of mistakes because of it.
Leaving 2 days early is not a decent enough reason to mark an employee ineligible for rehire, no company worth its salt or with a decent reputation would even go there.
People do not owe their employers anything. The whole loyal employee going to be there till they retire is outdated and archaic. Employers are not loyal, they are in business to make $$$ and will let an employee go despite years of loyal service etc.
Also, remember most prospective employees don't want you contacting their current employer so we the employers have to make hiring decisons around that obstacle too.