Unfortunately, resignations can’t be predicted. One day you best employee could be notifying you of their departure. It may be a shock but you must know how to handle an employee resignation situation professionally.
How to Handle an Employee Resignation
1) It’s best practice to request the resignation be in writing. This will prevent any arguments at a later date regarding the start of notice period.
2) If an employee resigns during the heat of the moment, you should allow them time to cool off before accepting it. If you not allow the employee to retract the resignation, you could face an unfair dismissal claims.
3) If the Contract does not state a notice period, then the employee should be excepted to at least work the one week statutory minimum. There are a few options for employee’s notice periods:
- The employee works it
- You put the employee on garden leave
- Pay them in lieu of notice and ask them to leave immediately
Whichever course of action you take, you must inform the employee when their last day is and how the notice period will be handled.
4) If the employee’s contract contains any restrictive covenants, you should remind them. If they breach these covenants, you may take legal action.
5) Hold an exit interview. During this time, you can find out the reason why they’re leaving. If it’s a workplace issue, see if it can be resolved. You should discuss handover projects, what needs to be returned and how departure should be communicated to the workforce.
It’s a small world, the probability of you crossing paths with the leaver is too high to risk parting ways on bad terms. Also, you don’t want to be slandered all over social media.
If you need more guidance on how to handle an employee resignation, or you would prefer for a Wurkplace HR professional to deal with it for you call 0330 400 5490. Alternatively, request a quick quote here. Wurkplace can also provide letter and form templates for employment law issues such as resignation.
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