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Exit process of staff

Manager’s guidance

Resignations/Retirements – employees leaving the University

In the cases of Resignations and Retirements the University will require a written resignation that can be sent via email.

On receipt of the resignation, Line Managers should:

  • Check the employee's notice requirements (Grades 1-5: one month and Grade 6 and above: three months) and agree an end date. As their manager you are able to mutually agree to waive the full notice if beneficial to the service;
  • Agree if annual leave will be taken in advance of leaving date of employment or be paid in lieu in the employee’s last pay. (Fixed term contracts: Please note that payment in lieu of annual leave not taken does not apply at the end of a fixed term contract) Where annual leave has been taken in excess of that accrued, this will be deducted from the final salary payment. Alternatively, the last day of employment can be delayed to account for excess annual leave taken.
  • If the employee has team members reporting into them, (i.e. they are a Reporting Manager on Trent) decide which manager the team will report to and therefore will need to transfer to after their departure.
  • Notification of the new Reporting Manager will need to be confirmed to HR (via the Staff Leaving Form) to ensure requests for SRFs, annual leave and rewards still function after the employee has left.
  • Complete the Staff Leaving Form with all details and submit this to payroll@reading.ac.uk This must be submitted as soon as possible once you have been notified that an employee is leaving, and unless there is an exceptional circumstance, prior to the employee leaving. Failure to do this will incur costs for the department. Please attach a copy of the resignation letter to the form. Payroll will ensure the Leaving Date is updated on the employee record as soon as is practicable after receiving the Leaving Form. This will confirm the amount of annual leave accrued by the employee to this date.
  • Ask the employee to provide detail of any duties that will require an arranged handover
  • Make sure the employee returns any equipment/property (keys, mobile phone, uniform etc) before leaving
  • Ask the employee leaving the University to log into their ESS account to ensure forwarding address and emails are up to date. They will also need to print off copies of payslips and P60s as they will not have access to these once they have left University employment.
  • Direct your team member to the Leaving information for employees page so they can carry out necessary actions before they leave. This includes a link to the University’s Leaving Questionnaire.

Resignations – employees transferring to other roles within the University

If one of your team is transferring to another role within the University, Managers should:

  • Check the employee's notice requirements (Grades 1-5: one month and Grade 6 and above: three months) and agree an end date. As their manager you are able to agree to waive the full notice if beneficial to the service;
  • If the employee has team members reporting into them, (i.e. they are a Reporting Manager on Trent) decide who this will transfer to after their departure. Notification will need to be sent to HR (via the Staff Leaving Form) to ensure requests for SRFs, annual leave and rewards still function after the employee has left the Department.
  • Complete a Staff Leaving Form, but ensure it is clear the employee is transferring to another position in the University (Section 1.11 of the Staff Leaving Form)
  • Ask the employee to provide detail of any duties that will require an arranged handover
  • Make sure the employee returns any equipment/property (keys, mobile phone, uniform etc) before leaving the Department

Employees leaving the University: Death in service

In the sad event of a staff member dying, please make contact with your HR Partner and Advisor at your earliest convenience. They can work to support the line manager in communicating the message to the team and appropriate departments in the University, advise on dealing with the family and completing the appropriate paperwork connected to the situation.