{
  "registry_version": "2026.08.3",
  "data": {
    "title": "Offer accepted followed by delayed start date or post-signing revocation",
    "status": "active",
    "evidence_ids": [
      "EVD-040",
      "EVD-041"
    ],
    "content": "# Offer accepted followed by delayed start date or post-signing revocation\n\nA signed offer is met with repeated start-date delays, pre-day-one communication freezes, or sudden revocation during early onboarding.\n\n### Diagnostic Non-Inferences\n- Does not establish that the candidate's performance or background check caused the delay.\n- Does not establish that the role was fraudulent when the offer was originally issued.",
    "id": "A-020",
    "type": "artifact",
    "summary": "A signed offer is met with repeated start-date delays, pre-day-one communication freezes, or sudden revocation during early onboarding.",
    "stages": [
      "post-offer"
    ],
    "evidence_level": "established",
    "probes": [
      {
        "id": "PROBE-A-020-1",
        "action": "Request written confirmation of the revised start date alongside written clarification of whether hardware shipment and payroll registration remain active.",
        "expected_signal": "Separates an administrative IT delay from a structural hiring freeze or pre-start headcount cancellation.",
        "cost": "low",
        "outcomes": [
          {
            "id": "written-confirmation-received",
            "label": "The employer confirms the date with tracking details for onboarding equipment.",
            "excludes": [
              "M-007",
              "M-027"
            ],
            "because": "Active equipment dispatch and confirmed start date rule out pre-start headcount freeze and offer revocation."
          },
          {
            "id": "evasive-delay-notice",
            "label": "The employer provides vague holding notices without committing to a fixed onboarding date.",
            "excludes": [
              "M-001"
            ],
            "because": "Evasive holding notices without confirmed dates contradict an honest post-offer onboarding path."
          },
          {
            "id": "revocation-or-freeze-confirmed",
            "label": "The employer confirms headcount revocation or indefinite pause prior to start date.",
            "excludes": [
              "M-001"
            ],
            "because": "Confirmed headcount cancellation prior to day one directly contradicts an honest hire."
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "specimens": [
      {
        "kind": "email",
        "label": "Post-acceptance start date slippage",
        "subject": "Update on your upcoming start date",
        "lines": [
          {
            "at": "day -7",
            "text": "We are excited to welcome you next Monday!",
            "tell": false
          },
          {
            "at": "day -2",
            "text": "Due to internal team restructuring, we need to push your start date by three weeks.",
            "tell": true
          },
          {
            "at": "day +15",
            "text": "We are still finalizing leadership approvals for the revised onboarding date.",
            "tell": true
          }
        ],
        "reading": "The delay occurs after the candidate has resigned from previous employment, shifting contractual risk entirely onto the worker."
      }
    ],
    "perspectives": [
      {
        "actor": "candidate",
        "sees": "A confirmed start date deferred after notice was given to a prior employer, leaving their career runway exposed.",
        "reads": "Start-date slippage signals unbudgeted headcount risk or an unannounced internal hiring pause.",
        "does": "Requests clear written documentation of employment status and assesses legal and search alternatives."
      },
      {
        "actor": "recruiter",
        "sees": "An onboarding ticket blocked by finance or department leadership pending quarterly budget reconciliation.",
        "reads": "The offer was extended under previous headcount assumptions that changed before start day.",
        "does": "Relays holding messages while awaiting confirmation on whether the placement can proceed."
      },
      {
        "actor": "employer-policy",
        "sees": "Quarterly headcount adjustments or project scope revisions occurring between offer acceptance and payroll commencement.",
        "reads": "Pushing start dates preserves budget flexibility before formal employment liability attaches.",
        "does": "Enforces hiring pauses across pending pipeline offers where commercial conditions shift."
      }
    ],
    "non_inferences": [
      "Does not establish that the candidate's performance or background check caused the delay.",
      "Does not establish that the role was fraudulent when the offer was originally issued."
    ]
  }
}