The employee offboarding process is the set of steps a company follows when someone leaves, from the day notice is given to the last day and beyond. It has six steps: confirm the departure, plan the handover, hold an exit interview, return equipment and remove access, settle final pay and benefits, and say goodbye. HR owns the process, the manager owns the handover, IT owns equipment and access, and payroll owns final pay.
This guide covers each step, a checklist by role, what changes when someone is let go rather than resigning, which accounts to close, and the final pay and benefits rules in the US and the UK.
Key takeaways
- Start offboarding the day notice is given, not on the last day. Most of the work is the handover.
- Give every task one owner and a due date. Offboarding fails when HR, IT and the manager each assume someone else did it.
- Remove access by the end of the last day; for a termination, at the time the person is told.
- Final pay deadlines are set by state law in the US. In the UK, final pay normally follows the usual pay date and must include untaken statutory holiday.
- Use the exit interview to find patterns, not to argue with one person's reasons.
The Employee Offboarding Process in 6 Steps
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Confirm the departure
Confirm the last day in writing, tell the people who need to know, and assign each offboarding task an owner.
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Plan the handover
List open work, document key processes and contacts, and pick who takes over each responsibility.
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Hold the exit interview
Ask why the person is leaving and what you could improve, then log the answers by theme.
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Return equipment and remove access
Collect the laptop, phone and badge, and switch off email, apps, shared passwords and building access.
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Settle final pay and benefits
Pay final wages, any unused leave the law or policy requires, and explain what happens to benefits (see final paycheck).
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Say goodbye and stay in touch
Thank the person, share a farewell note, and invite them to your alumni network.
Timings assume a two-week notice period. Stretch them for longer notice and check local rules for final pay.
Each step is explained below. Want it as a list you can tick off? Download the free employee offboarding checklist.
How to Offboard an Employee, Step by Step
1. Confirm the departure
Get the resignation or termination in writing and confirm the last working day. Then tell the people who need to act: the manager, IT, payroll and anyone who manages the person's clients or suppliers. Agree with the employee how and when the team will be told.
Owner: HR with the manager. When: the day notice is given.
2. Plan the handover
List the person's open work, recurring tasks, key contacts and anything only they know how to do. For each item, pick a new owner and a date. Ask the leaver to document processes in your shared tools rather than in personal files, and use the notice period for side-by-side sessions with whoever takes over.
Owner: the manager and the employee. When: the first week of notice.
3. Hold the exit interview
Ask why the person is leaving, what worked, and what you should change. Keep it to 20 to 30 minutes, use the same core questions every time and record answers by theme, so you can spot patterns across leavers. Someone other than the direct manager usually gets more honest answers. For a question bank, see our exit interview questions.
Owner: HR. When: the last week.
4. Return equipment and remove access
Collect the laptop, phone, badge, keys and any company cards. Then close or transfer every account the person used (see the IT list below). Access should end by close of business on the last day, and immediately for a termination.
Owner: IT, with the manager confirming what the person had. When: the last day.
5. Settle final pay and benefits
Pay final wages by the deadline that applies where the person works, include any leave the law or your policy requires you to pay out, and explain what happens to health cover, retirement plans and other benefits. In the US, send the information needed for COBRA. The rules are summarised in the legal section below.
Owner: HR and payroll. When: by the legal final-pay deadline.
6. Say goodbye and stay in touch
Thank the person in front of the team, share a short note about what happens to their work, and give them a contact for questions after they leave. If you run an alumni network, invite them: former employees refer candidates and some come back as boomerang employees.
Owner: the manager and the team. When: the last day and after.
Employee Offboarding Checklist by Role
Use this as a starting point and add the systems and steps specific to your company.
| Task | Owner | When |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm the last day in writing | HR | Day notice is given |
| Tell IT, payroll and other teams that need to act | HR | Day notice is given |
| Agree how and when the team is told | Manager | First 2 days |
| List open work and assign a new owner for each item | Manager | First week |
| Document processes, contacts and passwords stored in shared vaults | Employee | First week |
| Run handover sessions with the successor | Employee | During notice |
| Schedule and hold the exit interview | HR | Last week |
| Collect laptop, phone, badge, keys and cards | IT | Last day |
| Close or transfer accounts and remove access | IT | Last day |
| Process final pay and any leave payout | Payroll | By the legal deadline |
| Send benefits and COBRA information (US) | HR | Within legal deadlines |
| Issue P45 (UK) | Payroll | When the person leaves |
| Thank the person and share a farewell note | Manager | Last day |
Resignation vs. Termination: What Changes
The six steps are the same, but the order and timing change when someone is let go.
| Step | Resignation | Termination or layoff |
|---|---|---|
| Access removal | By the end of the last day | At the time the person is told |
| Handover | During the notice period, with the leaver | Usually done by the manager, often without the leaver |
| Equipment return | On the last day | At the meeting, or by courier with a return label |
| Exit interview | Last week | Optional; offer a short survey instead |
| Final pay | By the state or local deadline | Often a shorter deadline in some US states; check before the meeting |
| Communication | Agreed with the leaver | Short, factual message to the team the same day |
For layoffs, prepare severance terms, a script and answers to common questions before the meetings, and plan support for the people who stay.
IT Offboarding: Accounts and Access to Remove
Access left open after someone leaves is the biggest risk in offboarding. Work from a list of every system the person used, not from memory:
- Single sign-on account (for example Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace): suspend it first, so connected apps lose access at once.
- Email: set an auto-reply or forward to the manager for an agreed period, then close the mailbox.
- Files and documents: transfer ownership of shared drives, folders and documents before deleting the account.
- Apps outside single sign-on: CRM, finance tools, social media accounts, design tools and any admin roles.
- Shared passwords: rotate any passwords the person knew, including Wi-Fi and shared vault entries.
- Devices: wipe or reassign company laptops and phones, and remove company data from personal devices.
- Building access: deactivate badges and collect keys.
- Licences: reassign or cancel paid seats so you stop paying for them.
Legal Requirements for Final Pay and Benefits
Rules depend on where the employee works. The points below are general information, not legal advice; check local law or ask an employment lawyer.
United States
- Final paycheck: federal law does not require employers to give the final paycheck immediately, but some states do. Check the deadline in the state where the person works, especially for terminations.
- Unused vacation: federal wage law does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacation. Whether unused leave is paid out depends on state law and your own policy.
- COBRA: if your health plan is covered by COBRA, the employer must notify the plan within 30 days of a termination or reduction in hours, the plan then has 14 days to send the election notice, and the person has at least 60 days to decide. Coverage after a termination can last up to 18 months.
United Kingdom
- Final pay: a worker should get their final pay on the date they are normally paid, and the employer should explain how it was calculated.
- Holiday pay: employers must pay for untaken statutory leave when someone leaves, even if they are dismissed for gross misconduct.
- P45: you must give the employee a P45 when they leave.
European Union
- Personal data: under the GDPR, keep a former employee's personal data only as long as you need it for a stated purpose, such as legal or payroll records, and then delete it.
- Notice periods and final pay rules are set by each country; check national law.
Offboarding in Special Cases
Remote employees
Send a prepaid return box for equipment, hold the exit interview by video and use e-signatures for paperwork. Remove access at the agreed time, since you cannot rely on collecting a badge at the door.
Layoffs
Prepare individual severance letters, a clear message for the team and support such as references or outplacement. Remove access consistently for everyone affected, and brief managers on what they can and cannot say.
Senior leaders
Appoint interim cover, plan internal and external communication, and pay extra attention to admin accounts, signing authority on bank accounts and access to board materials.
Why the Offboarding Process Matters
- Security: accounts that stay open after someone leaves can expose customer and company data.
- Continuity: a planned handover keeps projects and client relationships moving.
- Compliance: final pay, benefits notices and data retention all have legal rules.
- Reputation: people who leave on good terms refer candidates, recommend the company and sometimes return.
- Feedback: exit interviews show why people leave, so you can fix the causes.
How to Measure Offboarding
- Task completion: share of offboarding tasks done by their due date.
- Access removed on time: share of leavers whose accounts were all closed by the end of the last day.
- Equipment returned: share of devices recovered within a week of leaving.
- Exit interview completion: share of leavers who gave feedback, and the top reasons for leaving each quarter.
For formulas and targets, see offboarding metrics. For pitfalls, read common offboarding mistakes. To run the checklist automatically, see how to automate employee offboarding or Newployee's offboarding software.
Employee Offboarding Process: FAQ
For a resignation, offboarding usually runs for the length of the notice period, often two weeks in the US. Plan the handover as soon as notice is given, and leave equipment return, access removal and the exit interview for the final days. Final pay, benefits notices and alumni contact can continue after the last day.
HR usually owns the process and the checklist, the manager owns the handover, IT owns equipment and access, and payroll owns final pay and benefits. Give every task one named owner and a due date, so nothing is missed when several teams are involved.
By the end of the last working day for a resignation, and at the time the person is told for a termination. Suspend the single sign-on account first, then close or transfer the remaining accounts and rotate any shared passwords.
Written confirmation of the last day, a handover plan, an exit interview, return of equipment and badges, removal of access to email and every system, final pay including any leave that must be paid out, benefits information, and a farewell.
Onboarding brings a new hire into the company: setup, training and introductions. Offboarding is the reverse when someone leaves: handover, removing access, collecting equipment and closing pay and benefits. Both work best as a checklist with clear owners.
Yes. Offboarding software can start the checklist as soon as a last day is entered, assign tasks to HR, IT and managers, send reminders and collect exit survey answers. Access removal is often automated through your identity provider. The handover and the farewell still need people.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Last Paycheck
- U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation Leave
- U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA, A Worker's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA
- Acas, Final pay when someone leaves a job
- GOV.UK, Taking holiday before leaving a job
- GOV.UK, Employee leaving: P45
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Article 5(1)(e), storage limitation
