Amazon Rehire Policy In 2023 (All You Need To Know)

Amazon is one of the largest employers in the United States and the world, with over 1.6 million employees globally. With such a large workforce, it‘s no surprise that employee turnover is common. Many employees end up leaving Amazon, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, and later decide they want to return. But what exactly is Amazon‘s rehire policy? Can former employees get their jobs back if they leave?

In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about Amazon‘s rehire policy, including:

Will Amazon Rehire Employees Who Quit?

In general, Amazon allows employees who voluntarily resigned in good standing to reapply for jobs after a waiting period, typically 90 days. Employees who resigned without proper notice or who were otherwise not in good standing may not be eligible for rehire.

Here are some key factors that impact rehire eligibility for former employees who quit:

• Notice Period: Employees who provide proper notice (typically 2 weeks) are more likely to remain in good standing compared to those who quit without notice. Quitting without notice may lead to being marked as non-rehirable.

• Reason for Leaving: Employees who left for personal reasons, school, family emergencies etc. are more likely to be rehired compared to those who quit over conflicts or performance issues.

• Job Performance: Employees with a solid history of strong performance reviews are preferred for rehire vs poor performers.

• Job Abandonment: Employees who fail to show up for work without notice (job abandonment) are usually not eligible for rehire.

• Write-ups/Disciplinary Issues: Past disciplinary issues can impact rehire eligibility. Employees with a clean record have a better chance.

In summary, as long as former employees left Amazon in good standing without any major disciplinary issues, they have a good chance of being rehired after the standard 90 day waiting period.

Does Amazon Rehire After Termination?

Employees who were involuntarily terminated face greater obstacles to getting rehired compared to those who voluntarily resigned. However, rehire after termination is still possible depending on the circumstances.

Here are key considerations around rehiring terminated employees:

• Reason for Termination: Employees fired for serious misconduct e.g. theft, harassment are usually permanently banned. Those laid off due to role elimination or performance issues may be eligible for rehire after 1 year.

• Severance Pay: Employees who accept severance pay as part of termination agreement forfeit rehire eligibility. Those who decline severance may be able to get rehired.

• Length of Service: Long-tenured employees (>5 years) terminated for non-serious reasons may receive greater leniency around rehire policy.

• Time Elapsed: The longer the gap since termination, the higher the chances of being rehired. Most employees have to wait at least 1 year.

• Job Performance: As with resignations, strong performers have an advantage over poor performers when being considered for rehire after termination.

• Behavioral Issues: Terminations due to insubordination, violations of conduct policy significantly reduce chances of rehire.

While rehire after termination is difficult, it ultimately depends on the specifics of each case. Employees terminated for performance issues or layoffs have the best shot after 1 year.

Waiting Period To Reapply At Amazon

Former Amazon employees looking to return to the company after quitting or getting fired face defined waiting periods before they can reapply:

• Resigned Employees: Typical waiting period is 90 days from last day of work before being eligible to reapply. Some locations may be more flexible.

• Terminated Employees: Waiting period is longer, with most locations requiring 1 year before being eligible for rehire after involuntary termination.

Beyond these baseline requirements, the exact reapplication timing may vary:

• Some locations enforce waiting periods very strictly, while others provide more leeway on timing.

• Employees with strong performance histories may be allowed to reapply sooner in some cases.

• The higher the level of the role, the longer the waiting period. L6+ managers may wait 1.5-2 years.

• Employees terminated for integrity/policy violations may be banned much longer or permanently.

The takeaway is that 90 days is the typical reapplication window for resigned employees, while terminated employees usually have to wait at least 12 months. Some flexibility exists based on the specifics.

Impact Of Severance Pay On Rehire Eligibility

A major factor impacting rehire eligibility for terminated Amazon employees is whether they accept severance pay. The general policy is:

• Employees who take severance pay forfeit rehire rights as part of their termination agreement. Amazon will not rehire them later.

• Employees who turn down severance at time of firing remain eligible for rehire consideration after the waiting period.

Some key notes:

• Severance packages can be highly appealing to terminated employees due to the payout. But the tradeoff is losing rehire eligibility.

• In rare cases, employees may be able to negotiate with Amazon to get severance and still remain eligible for rehire, but this is uncommon.

• Employees who feel their termination was unjustified would be better off skipping severance pay if they wish to return to Amazon.

Severance pay often gives terminated employees a short-term payout boost, but may hurt long-term reemployment prospects at Amazon. The decision requires careful evaluation of priorities.

Policy Variations By Location

While Amazon has standardized corporate policies around rehiring former employees, practical implementation varies across different fulfillment centers and locations:

• Some centers strictly enforce corporate rehire policy, while others take a more flexible approach.

• Local management has autonomy to make some rehire decisions based on staffing needs.

• Facilities with high turnover and staffing shortages tend to be more lenient. Well-staffed sites adhere more closely.

• Timing requirements around waiting periods before reapplying may be loosely enforced in some cases.

• HR teams have latitude when evaluating candidates with disciplinary history – local precedent matters.

The broader principle of eligibility for resigned vs terminated employees still applies. But practical rehiring decisions involve discretion based on each facility‘s unique situation.

Dealing With Insubordination Before Termination

How does Amazon handle employees who are insubordinate or violate policy, but have not reached the stage of formal termination?

Typically a series of steps occur before outright firing for behavioral issues:

• Verbal Warning: First offense leads to manager discussion highlighting need for immediate improvement.

• Written Warning: Further issues result in formal write-up outlining consequences of continued non-compliance.

• Final Warning: Last chance to correct behavior before termination proceedings begin.

• PIP (Performance Improvement Plan): Structured process involving goals, action plans and timetables to demonstrate improvement.

• Termination: If all prior efforts fail and serious infractions continue, employee is fired. Severance offer may be made.

The sequence is not rigid, and Amazon reserves right to accelerate disciplinary actions for egregious offenses. But generally, multiple warnings occur before terminating employees with insubordination problems. Outright firing without following steps is rare outside of zero tolerance policy violations.

Conclusion

Amazon employs a large global workforce, so it has standardized procedures for handling situations where former employees want to return to the company after leaving voluntarily or involuntarily.

The ability to get rehired depends primarily on the circumstances around the departure, length of time elapsed, job performance history, and severance pay acceptance. While Amazon grants more leeway to top performers, employees terminated for serious misconduct are permanently banned.

Local flexibility in applying corporate rehire policy also exists based on management discretion and individual sites‘ staffing needs. But the general principles around rehire eligibility give former Amazon employees reasonable clarity on what to expect if they wish to boomerang back to the company.