{
  "registry_version": "2026.08.3",
  "data": {
    "title": "Start-Date Slippage and Post-Acceptance Revocation",
    "status": "active",
    "evidence_ids": [
      "EVD-040",
      "EVD-041"
    ],
    "content": "# Start-Date Slippage and Post-Acceptance Revocation\n\nEmployers defer confirmed start dates or revoke accepted offers between signing and day one when budgeting priorities or project authorisations change.\n\n### Structural Context\n- **Actor:** `policy`\n- **Nature:** `incentive`\n- **Removability:** `none`\n\n### Non-Inferences\n- Does not establish that candidate credentials or references failed validation.",
    "id": "M-027",
    "type": "mechanism",
    "summary": "Employers defer confirmed start dates or revoke accepted offers between signing and day one when budgeting priorities or project authorisations change.",
    "operates_at": [
      "B-012",
      "B-016"
    ],
    "emissions": [
      {
        "artifact": "A-020",
        "fidelity": "direct",
        "likelihood": "high",
        "evidence": [
          "EVD-040",
          "EVD-041"
        ],
        "observed_at": [
          "post-offer"
        ]
      },
      {
        "artifact": "A-001",
        "fidelity": "void",
        "likelihood": "medium",
        "evidence": [],
        "observed_at": [
          "post-offer"
        ]
      },
      {
        "artifact": "A-011",
        "fidelity": "euphemism",
        "likelihood": "medium",
        "evidence": [],
        "observed_at": [
          "post-offer"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "facets": {
      "actor": "policy",
      "nature": "incentive",
      "visibility": "opaque",
      "removability": "none"
    },
    "amplifies": [],
    "masks": [],
    "evidence_level": "established",
    "honest_baseline": false,
    "specimens": [
      {
        "kind": "email",
        "label": "Start-date deferral notice",
        "lines": [
          {
            "text": "We are finalizing internal team allocations and will be confirming the revised start date shortly.",
            "tell": true
          },
          {
            "text": "Please do not report to the office until the updated equipment schedule is issued.",
            "tell": false
          }
        ],
        "reading": "The delay manages company cash flow and headcount quotas by deferring payroll liability onto the candidate."
      }
    ],
    "perspectives": [
      {
        "actor": "employer-policy",
        "sees": "A hiring freeze or executive budget revision taking effect across pending hires before day-one employment commencement.",
        "reads": "Deferring start dates avoids immediate payroll commitments during headcount transitions.",
        "does": "Freezes onboarding queues and issues holding notifications."
      },
      {
        "actor": "candidate",
        "sees": "A signed offer with an indefinite or pushed start date after resigning from previous employment.",
        "reads": "Contractual commitment was asymmetrical: candidate resignation is irreversible while company start date is deferred.",
        "does": "Assesses legal notice entitlements (EVD-041) and evaluates reopening active job search."
      },
      {
        "actor": "recruiter",
        "sees": "A closed search reopened administratively because the approved start date cannot be scheduled.",
        "reads": "Hiring quotas shifted after offer signature, leaving recruiter metrics and candidate stranded.",
        "does": "Attempts to maintain contact while leadership resolves headcount funding."
      }
    ],
    "non_inferences": [
      "Does not establish that candidate credentials or references failed validation."
    ]
  }
}