{
  "registry_version": "1.11.0",
  "data": {
    "title": "Start-Date Slippage and Post-Acceptance Revocation",
    "status": "active",
    "evidence_ids": [
      "evidence.accepted_unconditional_job_offer_is_legally_binding_uk_government_guidance"
    ],
    "content": "# Start-Date Slippage and Post-Acceptance Revocation\n\nA budgeting or project-authorisation change can lead an employer to defer a confirmed start date or withdraw an accepted offer between signing and day one.\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.\n- The linked UK guidance establishes potential legal consequences of withdrawal, not the employer's motive or the frequency of this mechanism.",
    "aliases": [
      "M-027"
    ],
    "id": "mech.start_date_slippage_and_post_acceptance_revocation",
    "type": "mechanism",
    "summary": "A budgeting or project-authorisation change can lead an employer to defer a confirmed start date or withdraw an accepted offer between signing and day one.",
    "operates_at": [
      "bar.offer_closing_contract_execution",
      "bar.probation_period_post_start_confirmation"
    ],
    "emissions": [
      {
        "artifact": "obs.offer_accepted_followed_by_delayed_start_date_or_post_signing_revocation",
        "fidelity": "direct",
        "likelihood": "high",
        "evidence": [],
        "observed_at": [
          "post-offer"
        ]
      },
      {
        "artifact": "obs.complete_silence_after_submission",
        "fidelity": "void",
        "likelihood": "medium",
        "evidence": [],
        "observed_at": [
          "post-offer"
        ]
      },
      {
        "artifact": "obs.offer_rescinded_or_delayed_due_to_internal_freeze",
        "fidelity": "euphemism",
        "likelihood": "medium",
        "evidence": [],
        "observed_at": [
          "post-offer"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "facets": {
      "actor": "policy",
      "nature": "incentive",
      "visibility": "opaque",
      "removability": "none"
    },
    "amplifies": [],
    "masks": [],
    "evidence_level": "compatible",
    "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": "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": "actor.candidate",
        "sees": "A signed offer with an indefinite or pushed start date after resigning from previous employment.",
        "reads": "Reliance may be asymmetric: the candidate may already have left another role while the new start date is deferred.",
        "does": "Checks the offer's conditions and applicable legal guidance, documents the change, and evaluates reopening the job search."
      },
      {
        "actor": "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.",
      "The linked UK guidance establishes potential legal consequences of withdrawal, not the employer's motive or the frequency of this mechanism."
    ],
    "agency_zones": {
      "employer-policy": "high",
      "candidate": "low",
      "recruiter": "low"
    }
  }
}