Our employees are free to terminate their employment at will, by giving us the required period of notice. In straightforward cases our process below shows you how to handle these including organising the departure, exit interviews and beginning to find a replacement.
Resignation issues you might need to manage
Some resignations raise issues you need to manage correctly. For example, do we want to reverse the decision to resign? Was this a legitimate resignation
or has something forced them to resign (constructive dismissal)? Has the employee given the required notice period and what part of that notice will they work? Resignation often comes with a request for a reference and we have policy on that. To see what can constructively be learned from this resignation it’s our practice to hold Exit Interviews (HR conducts these). In some cases the employee has a restraint of trade, non-solicitation or other post employment obligation which we should remind them of before they leave. Sometimes we must deal with situations where the termination is not strictly a resignation e.g. the employee is absent with little prospect of return or abandons their employment see our section on Non-Disciplinary Termination.
Follow our process
When an employee notifies you of their intention to resign follow the process below. If you are unsure at any point discuss the matter with HR.
START: Employees are free to resign at will by giving us the required period of notice. Most resignations are straightforward. Sometimes resignations can raise a few issues you need to manage correctly. These include; was this a legitimate resignation? or is there some underlying cause we have responsibility for? or was the employee forced to resign (constructive dismissal)? Do we want to reverse the decision to resign? Has the employee given the required notice period and what part of that notice period will they work? Resignation often comes with a request for a reference and we have policy on that. Finally, it is our practice to hold Exit Interviews (HR conducts these) to see what can constructively be learned from this resignation.
1. Your first step is to explore the reasons for the resignation and ask for written confirmation including a mutually acceptable final date. Test whether the employee has felt under pressure to resign, Is there any suggestion of bullying, harassment, unreasonable stress etc. If there is suggest a cooling off period while you investigate those matters. Indicate you are not comfortable accepting the resignation in these circumstances until they have been investigated. Discuss with HR how best to proceed. If the person has a constructive approach to their resignation explore (now or before they leave) any reflections they have on how things could be improved. Exiting people often have great insights to share
2. You need to a terminating employee form and send it to HR, IT and Payroll. HR will send the employee a confirmation letter including final date and any termination requirements.
3. You are responsible for developing and implementing a transition plan so that the departing employee’s duties and responsibilities will be covered after their departure. Key issues are; getting recruitment underway, negotiating with other employees to cover the departing employees workload, organising temporary cover from inside or outside.
4. You need to manage the arrangements for an exit interview any farewell, final handover and recovery of keys, access tags and any company property the employee may hold.
