When a worker leaves your employment: the process
Final pay and benefits, exit interviews, notice periods and leaving dates need to be put in writing and agreed.
It is important to have a set procedure in place to help you when a person's employment ends for whatever reason.
Confirmation of leaving
Confirm with the employee:
- the start date of the notice period, if any - see how to issue the correct periods of notice
- the date they'll leave
For resignations, you should get written confirmation from the employee that they do actually intend to resign and the date of their resignation. This will help clarify when their notice period begins and ends.
For more information, see when an employee resigns.
When dismissing an employee
Employees who have worked for you continuously for a year or more are entitled to request a written statement of reasons for their dismissal. You must provide the written statement within 14 days of the request.
It is good practice to provide one even if they don't request it. The reasons for dismissal you give should be as detailed as possible.
Where employees are pregnant or on statutory maternity/adoption leave, you must provide the statement (even if not requested) regardless of their length of service.
Managing the handover process
If the leaver is to be replaced, organise a handover timetable during the notice period so the replacement employee taking over their work knows what is involved.
Where appropriate, agree with the employee the terms of an announcement to other staff about their departure.
Working out final payments
You will need to work out:
- how much pay is due, including pay for any untaken holiday
- what should be deducted from their final pay, eg a low-interest loan repayment
For more information on making final payments, see calculating final pay when a worker leaves employment.
Exit interviews
Conduct a formal exit interview with the employee before they leave to discuss reasons for leaving or get feedback on how the business could be improved. For more on exit interviews, see resignations: conducting exit interviews.
References
The law doesn't generally require you to give a departing employee a reference unless stated otherwise in their contract, but it is good practice to ask whether they want one. Read more on workers leaving: providing references.
Retrieving company property
This includes retrieving security passes, uniforms, laptops, etc. You may want to consider changing computer codes and passwords.