The time has come to part ways with an employee and the decision has been made to terminate their employment. You got through the hard conversation and advised them, however there are inevitably some practical steps required when an employment relationship ends. It’s not as simple as pointing them to the door!

HR Gurus have put together a simple exit checklist of things you should consider when an employee leaves your organisation.

The employee’s personal property:

Most people will have some items at their desk or workspace that they need to collect – even if it’s the mug the kids bought them at the father’s day stall at the school. Obviously they will need to collect these items, but it may be worth putting some thought into what the best way to do that is. A few questions you may want to think about include – is it appropriate for them to collect at that point? Is there an option to return after hours? Would they prefer someone else collect them on their behalf?

Return of company property:

Make sure the employee has returned any company property that they may have before they leave – or that you have a plan to collect any items which might be at their home. Consider laptops, phones, tablets, tools, company credit cards – and don’t forget the keys to the office! It’s great practice to have employees sign for any property when they commence, so you have a record of exactly what they have, and have both parties sign when the items are returned so you have a record.

System Access

Ensure that any access to email, company systems, social media accounts or internet banking they may have access to is shut off as soon as possible. Change any passwords to systems that you can’t remove access. It way also be worth setting up autoreply on their email and voicemail for then next 30 days – so clients and contacts know who to contact in their absence.

Advise Payroll & Final Payments

There are financial obligations relating to what must be included in an employees’ final pay. You need to ensure that the following is included:

  • outstanding wages for hours they have worked, including penalty rates and allowances
  • any accumulated annual leave
  • payment for any notice not worked

…and if it applies:

  • any payments that are being made in lieu of notice of termination by the employer
  • accrued or pro-rata long service leave
  • redundancy pay

An employee may also request a Separation Certificate for Centrelink purposes – you will need to complete this and provide it to the employee if requested.

So as a quick checklist recap:

  • Personal Property
  • Company Property
  • System Access
  • Final Pay

If you need assistance with terminating or exiting an employee from your organization, please give HR Guru’s a call for help.

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