Leaving the University - information for managers

There may be a time when a member of staff wishes to leave the University. This may be for a variety of reasons - for example, to take on a new position or retire from their role. It is important that we follow the leaver’s process for all colleagues to ensure that we accurately record this and gain valuable feedback from them.

Giving notice

It is important that the correct notice period is given when a staff member notifies us of their intention to leave. The notice period can be found in the individuals’ contract in the section headed ‘Notice Period’. Please confirm with HR if you are unsure, as notice periods can be affected by such things as length of service and the grade that the staff member is on. 

• General contract terms and conditions for academic and professional services staff
• Leaving the University - information for staff members

Notice must be given by the staff member in writing; this can either be by letter or email. It is important that the date that the notice is given is recorded as well as the last working day and reason for leaving. 

Leavers form

Once a staff member has handed in their notice, a leavers form (.pdf) should be completed for them as soon as possible. This is important so that the correct information is recorded for the individual and to ensure that HR can acknowledge their resignation and notice period in writing.

Completing a leavers form

It is important that all the relevant fields are completed on the form to ensure there are no delays in acknowledging the resignation and processing the information for the staff member accordingly, sorting out matters such as their annual leave, and ensuring their final pay is correct. Some fields have a drop-down list whilst others will need to be manually entered. Please pay particular attention to the following fields:

Personal reference number

Each individual has a personal reference within iTrent which refers to them, this can be found under the Employment tab in ‘current job details’ within People Manager.

Positions reference number

Every individual is allocated a reference number unique to the position they hold. This can be found in People Manager by clicking on the ‘positions details’ screen from the home page.

Covering reporting manager

If the member of staff who is leaving is a line manager, then please confirm who will be covering their duties whilst a replacement is being recruited (if applicable).

Last day of working / last day of service

It is important that these dates are provided as a member of staff may take annual leave before their last day of service.

Reason for leaving

Please select the reason from the drop down list. If the reason is not there then please complete the ‘other’ section. Guidance for filling in these fields can also be found on the second page of the leavers form.

Annual leave

If you wish to find out how much annual leave a member of staff has left, you can work this out using the annual leave calculator.

When calculating the leave remaining please ensure that any holiday that has already been taken is deducted from the amount to ensure an accurate figure. All leavers are required to take their accrued annual leave before their last day of employment and should work with their line manager to ensure this is managed in a planned way. Exceptional request for the payment of annual leave at the end of employment must be approved in advance by the Director of People and Culture.

If the member of staff owes holiday as they have overtaken their entitlement then this will be deducted from any final payment made. 

Resignation acknowledgement

It is important that we acknowledge any notice to leave the University. Once the leavers form has been submitted to People and Culture via our general queries email address, staffing@essex.ac.uk an acknowledgement letter will be produced and sent to the member of staff by email. 

You can however confirm receipt of this notice and confirm the leaving date with the member of staff.

On the last day

Please ensure that any University property is returned, this includes any staff card as well as keys. iTrent will be updated by the Human Resources team with the leaving date. 

Please ensure that any University property is returned, this includes any staff cards as well as keys. Please also complete the Digital Information & Technology Services IT equipment leavers form whether you are, or are not, returning any IT equipment. This can be submitted by the member of staff leaving, or their Line Manager.