Be careful what you wish for

Or more specifically, what you ask for.

A previous post advised that a request for reinstatement or re-engagement can be a powerful negotiating lever, because as a rule employers really hate the idea of taking a dismissed employee back. This is true, but you do also need to have thought through the possible consequences if your former does offer to re-employ you.

Obviously if this is what you really wanted, that’s fine. But if you were bluffing in the hope that an application for re-employment would scare your former employer into increasing its settlement offer, and the truth is you can’t think of anything you’d hate worse than going back to work for them, you’ve painted yourself into a bit of a corner. If you change your mind now and say ‘on second thoughts I just want compensation,’ your employer will point out that it was open to you to mitigate your loss 100% from whenever they offered you your job back, and the likelihood is that you won’t get a penny in compensation for future loss.