re-employ
C1Formal to neutral, primarily used in business, HR, legal, and administrative contexts.
Definition
Meaning
To give someone their job back after a period of not working for you.
To hire again, or to reintegrate into the workforce, after a period of termination, redundancy, or absence. Can also imply a restoration of a previous professional relationship.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word implies a pre-existing employer-employee relationship. It is not typically used for hiring someone new. The hyphen is more common in British English, but the hyphenated and non-hyphenated forms (reemploy) are both found in American English.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
UK English strongly prefers the hyphenated form 're-employ'. US English more readily accepts the closed form 'reemploy', especially in corporate or technical writing, though the hyphenated form is also correct.
Connotations
No significant difference in connotation. Both carry a formal, procedural tone.
Frequency
Moderately low frequency in both varieties, but the concept is common in HR discourse.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[employer] re-employs [employee][employee] is re-employed by [employer] (passive)re-employ [employee] as [position]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[No specific idioms for this word]”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Standard term in human resources for discussing post-redundancy hiring or post-maternity leave return.
Academic
Used in economics, sociology, or labour law papers discussing workforce dynamics and re-absorption into the labour market.
Everyday
Rare in casual conversation; more likely to say 'give them their job back'.
Technical
Precise legal term in employment law, often found in contracts and tribunal rulings.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The company had a legal duty to re-employ her after her maternity leave.
- Following the tribunal's decision, they were forced to re-employ the unfairly dismissed worker.
American English
- The firm's policy is to reemploy veterans wherever possible.
- After the project was renewed, they reemployed most of the original team.
adverb
British English
- [Not commonly used as an adverb]
American English
- [Not commonly used as an adverb]
adjective
British English
- She was offered a re-employment contract with slightly different terms.
- The re-employment rate after the factory closure was disappointingly low.
American English
- The reemployment assistance program helped laid-off workers.
- He attended a reemployment training workshop.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- His old boss said he can re-employ him next summer.
- She was happy to be re-employed at the shop.
- If the company's finances improve, they hope to re-employ some of the staff they let go.
- The law says you have the right to be re-employed after taking parental leave.
- Despite the acrimonious departure, the new management decided to re-employ him as a consultant.
- The study examined the challenges faced by older workers seeking re-employment.
- The collective bargaining agreement includes specific clauses governing the preferential re-employment of union members following layoffs.
- Her legal counsel argued that the failure to re-employ her constituted a breach of the settlement agreement.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of the prefix RE- meaning 'again' + EMPLOY meaning 'to hire'. You are 'employing again' someone who worked for you before.
Conceptual Metaphor
WORK AS A CYCLE / RESTORATION. The employee is seen as returning to a previous state or position within an organisational structure.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'нанять заново' (hire anew) for a new person. Use 'принять на работу снова/обратно' or the specific legal term 'восстановить на работе'.
Common Mistakes
- Using it for a first-time hire. Confusing with 'employ' without the 're-' prefix. Incorrect spelling: 'reemloy', 're-imploy'. Incorrect stress: stressing the first syllable as 'RE-employ' instead of 're-em-PLOY'.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 're-employ' LEAST appropriate?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Hire' is general and can be for a first-time job. 'Re-employ' specifically means to hire someone who previously worked for the same employer.
It's not an everyday word but is standard and common in formal contexts like Human Resources, law, and business reports.
In British English, yes, it's standard. In American English, it's often written as 'reemploy', but the hyphenated form is also correct and avoids ambiguity.
Typically, no. The 're-' prefix points to the same employer-employee relationship. For a different company, you would use 'hire' or 'recruit'.