If an employee tells you that they are resigning or intend to resign, the first thing you need to do is find out why.

If the resignation is unexpected, find out why they want to resign. Is there anything you can do to make them change their mind?

Sometimes employees resign because they fall out with someone, eg their line manager. For advice on handling such situations, see resignations in the heat of the moment.

The resignation may be due to family commitments that mean the employee is unable to continue working the same hours for you. Are there changes you can make to working arrangements to accommodate this? See flexible working: the law and best practice.

If the employee is resigning to work for one of your competitors, consider whether it would be worth improving their remuneration/benefits package, working environment, or looking into their promotion prospects.

Notice periods

It is also important that you refer to the employment contract, written statement, or any other agreement you have with the employee to check what period of notice they are required to give.

If there is nothing on notice periods in any written agreement, the statutory notice period will apply, which, for employees with at least one month's service, is a minimum of one week. For more information, see how to issue the correct periods of notice.

If you accept an employee's resignation, there are several things you need to do to make their departure as smooth as possible. Make sure you:

• Get written confirmation of the resignation and the date of resignation. This will help you avoid disputes over the exact date of the resignation and the start of any notice period.
• Decide whether you wish the employee to work out their full notice period. You may find it more appropriate to pay the employee in lieu of all or part of the notice period if your contract provides for it or the employee agrees. However, if you do so, be sure that you are covered in respect of having another employee who can immediately take on the job.
• Confirm the employee's notice period, usually part of their contract of employment. If it is not, statutory notice will apply. See how to issue the correct periods of notice.
• Agree with the employee the terms of an announcement to other staff concerning their departure, if appropriate.
• Organise a handover period. This allows for a smooth handover to existing staff or the employee's replacement of key tasks and responsibilities.
• Arrange an exit interview - see resignations: conducting exit interviews.
• Retrieve security passes and all other property of your business, eg tools, uniforms, computers and company cars.
• Organise their final payment including all money owing, eg pay in lieu of working a notice period, money for unused holidays, overtime and bonus payments. See calculate final pay when a worker leaves.
• Part on good terms. The person leaving may become a client or may be able to refer business to you. Equally, a disgruntled ex-employee can damage the reputation of your business if they leave on poor terms, eg having identified you as their previous employer and then writing about their experiences as your employee on a social networking website or blog. This may be the case where the employee has details on their profile which identifies them as having worked for you. Read Labour Relations Agency advice on social media and the employment relationship.
• Organise a farewell gift or party, if appropriate. Acknowledgement of good service appreciated is valuable for maintaining staff morale and the promotion of a positive organisational culture.
• Make a point of saying goodbye on the actual day the person leaves and thank them again for all their hard work.
• Be careful about references - see when workers leave your employment.

When employees leave, it is a good idea to arrange an exit interview. You can then use their response to determine whether there are any underlying issues to be addressed.

However, getting employees to reveal the real reason they're leaving can be difficult.

For example, if they say that they have been offered more money by another employer, this doesn't necessarily explain why they started looking for a new job in the first place. It may be that the employee didn't get on with their manager or a team colleague, or that they think they were unfairly overlooked for promotion.

If, during the interview, the employee starts making accusations against a colleague, don't act too hastily. You must ensure there is a fair investigation.

Questions for exit interviews

Some useful questions you could ask include:

• What have you enjoyed the most/least about working for the business/the role?
• What sorts of problems have you found?
• How well did you understand your role? (this would only be relevant to shorter-term staff)
• How effective is the communication/consultation?
• How easy was it to get on with your boss/colleagues?
• To what extent do you feel your work was valued?
• To what extent were your skills and talents used effectively?
• To what extent did you feel your role was secure?
• How satisfied were you with money, terms and conditions, facilities, and equipment?
• How does your current role compare to your new job?
• When did you begin looking for another job?

The employee's answers may be influenced by their need for a reference.

Ideally, someone other than the leaver's manager should try to find out why they're leaving. They may have difficulty telling their manager about problems with their job or department.

You should also look out for reasons that might lead to employees claiming constructive dismissal or discrimination. These wrongs could be corrected before the employee leaves but beware not to suggest any reasons or say anything that could later be used against you. See dismissing employees and how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sometimes an employee may say that they are resigning after an argument with their manager or another colleague. In such situations, they might not really have meant to resign.

If this is the case, it is dangerous to act as though the contract has ended because the employee could later claim unfair or constructive dismissal. See dismissing employees.

Managing the situation

If an employee seems to have resigned or has walked out after an argument:

• Don't immediately assume they have resigned.
• Give the employee a 'cooling-off' period.
• Take action to find out whether they really meant to resign.
• If you can't contact them, wait a reasonable time before confirming that their resignation has been accepted.
• Investigate further if you receive additional information relating to the situation, eg that they may have been bullied by a colleague/their manager. See bullying and harassment.

You should also be careful not to say things in the heat of the moment that could be misinterpreted as a dismissal.

It is a good idea to train managers in handling conflict. This can help resolve any workplace problems straight away, rather than allowing them to escalate to the point where formal procedures need to be applied. See managing conflict.

An employee may be entitled to resign if you fundamentally breach a term of their employment contract. This is known as constructive dismissal.

Breaches of contract that may give rise to unfair constructive dismissal claims might include anything that makes it impossible or intolerable for the employee to continue doing the job.

Examples of breaches of contract

Some examples of breaches of the employment contract include:

• cutting an employee's wages or salary or other contractual benefits without their agreement
• transferring an employee to a different job or location in the absence of any stated or implied contractual right to do so
• failing to provide a safe place of work
• breach of your obligation of mutual trust and confidence, a term that is implied in every employment contract

For this reason, you should always seek the employee's prior written agreement when you propose to change their employment contract. For more details, see how to change an employee's terms of employment.

Best practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures

If you don't get the employee's agreement, they could raise a grievance with you. When dealing with such a grievance, you should follow a fair and reasonable procedure. Ideally, your procedure should follow the good practice principles set out in the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), if a business - or a part of a business - is transferred to another business, in most cases the employees of the old employer will automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions.

However, an employee can't be transferred to a new employer against their will and may object to the transfer before it takes place.

In this case, if they refuse to have their contract transferred to the new employer, the employee is regarded as having resigned with effect from the transfer date. As a result, there is generally:

• no dismissal
• no redundancy and therefore no right to statutory redundancy pay
• no obligation for the new employer to take them on

However, if the transfer results in a significant and unfavourable change to an employee's working conditions - eg their new place of work is in a different more inconvenient location from their old one or there are substantial changes to their role/duties - they could resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. However, it will ultimately be a matter for the Industrial Tribunal to determine in light of the circumstances of each case.

For more information on business transfers, see responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.

If an employee tells you that they are resigning or intend to resign, the first thing you need to do is find out why.

If the resignation is unexpected, find out why they want to resign. Is there anything you can do to make them change their mind?

Sometimes employees resign because they fall out with someone, eg their line manager. For advice on handling such situations, see resignations in the heat of the moment.

The resignation may be due to family commitments that mean the employee is unable to continue working the same hours for you. Are there changes you can make to working arrangements to accommodate this? See flexible working: the law and best practice.

If the employee is resigning to work for one of your competitors, consider whether it would be worth improving their remuneration/benefits package, working environment, or looking into their promotion prospects.

Notice periods

It is also important that you refer to the employment contract, written statement, or any other agreement you have with the employee to check what period of notice they are required to give.

If there is nothing on notice periods in any written agreement, the statutory notice period will apply, which, for employees with at least one month's service, is a minimum of one week. For more information, see how to issue the correct periods of notice.

If you accept an employee's resignation, there are several things you need to do to make their departure as smooth as possible. Make sure you:

• Get written confirmation of the resignation and the date of resignation. This will help you avoid disputes over the exact date of the resignation and the start of any notice period.
• Decide whether you wish the employee to work out their full notice period. You may find it more appropriate to pay the employee in lieu of all or part of the notice period if your contract provides for it or the employee agrees. However, if you do so, be sure that you are covered in respect of having another employee who can immediately take on the job.
• Confirm the employee's notice period, usually part of their contract of employment. If it is not, statutory notice will apply. See how to issue the correct periods of notice.
• Agree with the employee the terms of an announcement to other staff concerning their departure, if appropriate.
• Organise a handover period. This allows for a smooth handover to existing staff or the employee's replacement of key tasks and responsibilities.
• Arrange an exit interview - see resignations: conducting exit interviews.
• Retrieve security passes and all other property of your business, eg tools, uniforms, computers and company cars.
• Organise their final payment including all money owing, eg pay in lieu of working a notice period, money for unused holidays, overtime and bonus payments. See calculate final pay when a worker leaves.
• Part on good terms. The person leaving may become a client or may be able to refer business to you. Equally, a disgruntled ex-employee can damage the reputation of your business if they leave on poor terms, eg having identified you as their previous employer and then writing about their experiences as your employee on a social networking website or blog. This may be the case where the employee has details on their profile which identifies them as having worked for you. Read Labour Relations Agency advice on social media and the employment relationship.
• Organise a farewell gift or party, if appropriate. Acknowledgement of good service appreciated is valuable for maintaining staff morale and the promotion of a positive organisational culture.
• Make a point of saying goodbye on the actual day the person leaves and thank them again for all their hard work.
• Be careful about references - see when workers leave your employment.

When employees leave, it is a good idea to arrange an exit interview. You can then use their response to determine whether there are any underlying issues to be addressed.

However, getting employees to reveal the real reason they're leaving can be difficult.

For example, if they say that they have been offered more money by another employer, this doesn't necessarily explain why they started looking for a new job in the first place. It may be that the employee didn't get on with their manager or a team colleague, or that they think they were unfairly overlooked for promotion.

If, during the interview, the employee starts making accusations against a colleague, don't act too hastily. You must ensure there is a fair investigation.

Questions for exit interviews

Some useful questions you could ask include:

• What have you enjoyed the most/least about working for the business/the role?
• What sorts of problems have you found?
• How well did you understand your role? (this would only be relevant to shorter-term staff)
• How effective is the communication/consultation?
• How easy was it to get on with your boss/colleagues?
• To what extent do you feel your work was valued?
• To what extent were your skills and talents used effectively?
• To what extent did you feel your role was secure?
• How satisfied were you with money, terms and conditions, facilities, and equipment?
• How does your current role compare to your new job?
• When did you begin looking for another job?

The employee's answers may be influenced by their need for a reference.

Ideally, someone other than the leaver's manager should try to find out why they're leaving. They may have difficulty telling their manager about problems with their job or department.

You should also look out for reasons that might lead to employees claiming constructive dismissal or discrimination. These wrongs could be corrected before the employee leaves but beware not to suggest any reasons or say anything that could later be used against you. See dismissing employees and how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sometimes an employee may say that they are resigning after an argument with their manager or another colleague. In such situations, they might not really have meant to resign.

If this is the case, it is dangerous to act as though the contract has ended because the employee could later claim unfair or constructive dismissal. See dismissing employees.

Managing the situation

If an employee seems to have resigned or has walked out after an argument:

• Don't immediately assume they have resigned.
• Give the employee a 'cooling-off' period.
• Take action to find out whether they really meant to resign.
• If you can't contact them, wait a reasonable time before confirming that their resignation has been accepted.
• Investigate further if you receive additional information relating to the situation, eg that they may have been bullied by a colleague/their manager. See bullying and harassment.

You should also be careful not to say things in the heat of the moment that could be misinterpreted as a dismissal.

It is a good idea to train managers in handling conflict. This can help resolve any workplace problems straight away, rather than allowing them to escalate to the point where formal procedures need to be applied. See managing conflict.

An employee may be entitled to resign if you fundamentally breach a term of their employment contract. This is known as constructive dismissal.

Breaches of contract that may give rise to unfair constructive dismissal claims might include anything that makes it impossible or intolerable for the employee to continue doing the job.

Examples of breaches of contract

Some examples of breaches of the employment contract include:

• cutting an employee's wages or salary or other contractual benefits without their agreement
• transferring an employee to a different job or location in the absence of any stated or implied contractual right to do so
• failing to provide a safe place of work
• breach of your obligation of mutual trust and confidence, a term that is implied in every employment contract

For this reason, you should always seek the employee's prior written agreement when you propose to change their employment contract. For more details, see how to change an employee's terms of employment.

Best practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures

If you don't get the employee's agreement, they could raise a grievance with you. When dealing with such a grievance, you should follow a fair and reasonable procedure. Ideally, your procedure should follow the good practice principles set out in the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), if a business - or a part of a business - is transferred to another business, in most cases the employees of the old employer will automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions.

However, an employee can't be transferred to a new employer against their will and may object to the transfer before it takes place.

In this case, if they refuse to have their contract transferred to the new employer, the employee is regarded as having resigned with effect from the transfer date. As a result, there is generally:

• no dismissal
• no redundancy and therefore no right to statutory redundancy pay
• no obligation for the new employer to take them on

However, if the transfer results in a significant and unfavourable change to an employee's working conditions - eg their new place of work is in a different more inconvenient location from their old one or there are substantial changes to their role/duties - they could resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. However, it will ultimately be a matter for the Industrial Tribunal to determine in light of the circumstances of each case.

For more information on business transfers, see responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.

If an employee tells you that they are resigning or intend to resign, the first thing you need to do is find out why.

If the resignation is unexpected, find out why they want to resign. Is there anything you can do to make them change their mind?

Sometimes employees resign because they fall out with someone, eg their line manager. For advice on handling such situations, see resignations in the heat of the moment.

The resignation may be due to family commitments that mean the employee is unable to continue working the same hours for you. Are there changes you can make to working arrangements to accommodate this? See flexible working: the law and best practice.

If the employee is resigning to work for one of your competitors, consider whether it would be worth improving their remuneration/benefits package, working environment, or looking into their promotion prospects.

Notice periods

It is also important that you refer to the employment contract, written statement, or any other agreement you have with the employee to check what period of notice they are required to give.

If there is nothing on notice periods in any written agreement, the statutory notice period will apply, which, for employees with at least one month's service, is a minimum of one week. For more information, see how to issue the correct periods of notice.

If you accept an employee's resignation, there are several things you need to do to make their departure as smooth as possible. Make sure you:

• Get written confirmation of the resignation and the date of resignation. This will help you avoid disputes over the exact date of the resignation and the start of any notice period.
• Decide whether you wish the employee to work out their full notice period. You may find it more appropriate to pay the employee in lieu of all or part of the notice period if your contract provides for it or the employee agrees. However, if you do so, be sure that you are covered in respect of having another employee who can immediately take on the job.
• Confirm the employee's notice period, usually part of their contract of employment. If it is not, statutory notice will apply. See how to issue the correct periods of notice.
• Agree with the employee the terms of an announcement to other staff concerning their departure, if appropriate.
• Organise a handover period. This allows for a smooth handover to existing staff or the employee's replacement of key tasks and responsibilities.
• Arrange an exit interview - see resignations: conducting exit interviews.
• Retrieve security passes and all other property of your business, eg tools, uniforms, computers and company cars.
• Organise their final payment including all money owing, eg pay in lieu of working a notice period, money for unused holidays, overtime and bonus payments. See calculate final pay when a worker leaves.
• Part on good terms. The person leaving may become a client or may be able to refer business to you. Equally, a disgruntled ex-employee can damage the reputation of your business if they leave on poor terms, eg having identified you as their previous employer and then writing about their experiences as your employee on a social networking website or blog. This may be the case where the employee has details on their profile which identifies them as having worked for you. Read Labour Relations Agency advice on social media and the employment relationship.
• Organise a farewell gift or party, if appropriate. Acknowledgement of good service appreciated is valuable for maintaining staff morale and the promotion of a positive organisational culture.
• Make a point of saying goodbye on the actual day the person leaves and thank them again for all their hard work.
• Be careful about references - see when workers leave your employment.

When employees leave, it is a good idea to arrange an exit interview. You can then use their response to determine whether there are any underlying issues to be addressed.

However, getting employees to reveal the real reason they're leaving can be difficult.

For example, if they say that they have been offered more money by another employer, this doesn't necessarily explain why they started looking for a new job in the first place. It may be that the employee didn't get on with their manager or a team colleague, or that they think they were unfairly overlooked for promotion.

If, during the interview, the employee starts making accusations against a colleague, don't act too hastily. You must ensure there is a fair investigation.

Questions for exit interviews

Some useful questions you could ask include:

• What have you enjoyed the most/least about working for the business/the role?
• What sorts of problems have you found?
• How well did you understand your role? (this would only be relevant to shorter-term staff)
• How effective is the communication/consultation?
• How easy was it to get on with your boss/colleagues?
• To what extent do you feel your work was valued?
• To what extent were your skills and talents used effectively?
• To what extent did you feel your role was secure?
• How satisfied were you with money, terms and conditions, facilities, and equipment?
• How does your current role compare to your new job?
• When did you begin looking for another job?

The employee's answers may be influenced by their need for a reference.

Ideally, someone other than the leaver's manager should try to find out why they're leaving. They may have difficulty telling their manager about problems with their job or department.

You should also look out for reasons that might lead to employees claiming constructive dismissal or discrimination. These wrongs could be corrected before the employee leaves but beware not to suggest any reasons or say anything that could later be used against you. See dismissing employees and how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sometimes an employee may say that they are resigning after an argument with their manager or another colleague. In such situations, they might not really have meant to resign.

If this is the case, it is dangerous to act as though the contract has ended because the employee could later claim unfair or constructive dismissal. See dismissing employees.

Managing the situation

If an employee seems to have resigned or has walked out after an argument:

• Don't immediately assume they have resigned.
• Give the employee a 'cooling-off' period.
• Take action to find out whether they really meant to resign.
• If you can't contact them, wait a reasonable time before confirming that their resignation has been accepted.
• Investigate further if you receive additional information relating to the situation, eg that they may have been bullied by a colleague/their manager. See bullying and harassment.

You should also be careful not to say things in the heat of the moment that could be misinterpreted as a dismissal.

It is a good idea to train managers in handling conflict. This can help resolve any workplace problems straight away, rather than allowing them to escalate to the point where formal procedures need to be applied. See managing conflict.

An employee may be entitled to resign if you fundamentally breach a term of their employment contract. This is known as constructive dismissal.

Breaches of contract that may give rise to unfair constructive dismissal claims might include anything that makes it impossible or intolerable for the employee to continue doing the job.

Examples of breaches of contract

Some examples of breaches of the employment contract include:

• cutting an employee's wages or salary or other contractual benefits without their agreement
• transferring an employee to a different job or location in the absence of any stated or implied contractual right to do so
• failing to provide a safe place of work
• breach of your obligation of mutual trust and confidence, a term that is implied in every employment contract

For this reason, you should always seek the employee's prior written agreement when you propose to change their employment contract. For more details, see how to change an employee's terms of employment.

Best practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures

If you don't get the employee's agreement, they could raise a grievance with you. When dealing with such a grievance, you should follow a fair and reasonable procedure. Ideally, your procedure should follow the good practice principles set out in the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), if a business - or a part of a business - is transferred to another business, in most cases the employees of the old employer will automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions.

However, an employee can't be transferred to a new employer against their will and may object to the transfer before it takes place.

In this case, if they refuse to have their contract transferred to the new employer, the employee is regarded as having resigned with effect from the transfer date. As a result, there is generally:

• no dismissal
• no redundancy and therefore no right to statutory redundancy pay
• no obligation for the new employer to take them on

However, if the transfer results in a significant and unfavourable change to an employee's working conditions - eg their new place of work is in a different more inconvenient location from their old one or there are substantial changes to their role/duties - they could resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. However, it will ultimately be a matter for the Industrial Tribunal to determine in light of the circumstances of each case.

For more information on business transfers, see responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.

If an employee tells you that they are resigning or intend to resign, the first thing you need to do is find out why.

If the resignation is unexpected, find out why they want to resign. Is there anything you can do to make them change their mind?

Sometimes employees resign because they fall out with someone, eg their line manager. For advice on handling such situations, see resignations in the heat of the moment.

The resignation may be due to family commitments that mean the employee is unable to continue working the same hours for you. Are there changes you can make to working arrangements to accommodate this? See flexible working: the law and best practice.

If the employee is resigning to work for one of your competitors, consider whether it would be worth improving their remuneration/benefits package, working environment, or looking into their promotion prospects.

Notice periods

It is also important that you refer to the employment contract, written statement, or any other agreement you have with the employee to check what period of notice they are required to give.

If there is nothing on notice periods in any written agreement, the statutory notice period will apply, which, for employees with at least one month's service, is a minimum of one week. For more information, see how to issue the correct periods of notice.

If you accept an employee's resignation, there are several things you need to do to make their departure as smooth as possible. Make sure you:

• Get written confirmation of the resignation and the date of resignation. This will help you avoid disputes over the exact date of the resignation and the start of any notice period.
• Decide whether you wish the employee to work out their full notice period. You may find it more appropriate to pay the employee in lieu of all or part of the notice period if your contract provides for it or the employee agrees. However, if you do so, be sure that you are covered in respect of having another employee who can immediately take on the job.
• Confirm the employee's notice period, usually part of their contract of employment. If it is not, statutory notice will apply. See how to issue the correct periods of notice.
• Agree with the employee the terms of an announcement to other staff concerning their departure, if appropriate.
• Organise a handover period. This allows for a smooth handover to existing staff or the employee's replacement of key tasks and responsibilities.
• Arrange an exit interview - see resignations: conducting exit interviews.
• Retrieve security passes and all other property of your business, eg tools, uniforms, computers and company cars.
• Organise their final payment including all money owing, eg pay in lieu of working a notice period, money for unused holidays, overtime and bonus payments. See calculate final pay when a worker leaves.
• Part on good terms. The person leaving may become a client or may be able to refer business to you. Equally, a disgruntled ex-employee can damage the reputation of your business if they leave on poor terms, eg having identified you as their previous employer and then writing about their experiences as your employee on a social networking website or blog. This may be the case where the employee has details on their profile which identifies them as having worked for you. Read Labour Relations Agency advice on social media and the employment relationship.
• Organise a farewell gift or party, if appropriate. Acknowledgement of good service appreciated is valuable for maintaining staff morale and the promotion of a positive organisational culture.
• Make a point of saying goodbye on the actual day the person leaves and thank them again for all their hard work.
• Be careful about references - see when workers leave your employment.

When employees leave, it is a good idea to arrange an exit interview. You can then use their response to determine whether there are any underlying issues to be addressed.

However, getting employees to reveal the real reason they're leaving can be difficult.

For example, if they say that they have been offered more money by another employer, this doesn't necessarily explain why they started looking for a new job in the first place. It may be that the employee didn't get on with their manager or a team colleague, or that they think they were unfairly overlooked for promotion.

If, during the interview, the employee starts making accusations against a colleague, don't act too hastily. You must ensure there is a fair investigation.

Questions for exit interviews

Some useful questions you could ask include:

• What have you enjoyed the most/least about working for the business/the role?
• What sorts of problems have you found?
• How well did you understand your role? (this would only be relevant to shorter-term staff)
• How effective is the communication/consultation?
• How easy was it to get on with your boss/colleagues?
• To what extent do you feel your work was valued?
• To what extent were your skills and talents used effectively?
• To what extent did you feel your role was secure?
• How satisfied were you with money, terms and conditions, facilities, and equipment?
• How does your current role compare to your new job?
• When did you begin looking for another job?

The employee's answers may be influenced by their need for a reference.

Ideally, someone other than the leaver's manager should try to find out why they're leaving. They may have difficulty telling their manager about problems with their job or department.

You should also look out for reasons that might lead to employees claiming constructive dismissal or discrimination. These wrongs could be corrected before the employee leaves but beware not to suggest any reasons or say anything that could later be used against you. See dismissing employees and how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sometimes an employee may say that they are resigning after an argument with their manager or another colleague. In such situations, they might not really have meant to resign.

If this is the case, it is dangerous to act as though the contract has ended because the employee could later claim unfair or constructive dismissal. See dismissing employees.

Managing the situation

If an employee seems to have resigned or has walked out after an argument:

• Don't immediately assume they have resigned.
• Give the employee a 'cooling-off' period.
• Take action to find out whether they really meant to resign.
• If you can't contact them, wait a reasonable time before confirming that their resignation has been accepted.
• Investigate further if you receive additional information relating to the situation, eg that they may have been bullied by a colleague/their manager. See bullying and harassment.

You should also be careful not to say things in the heat of the moment that could be misinterpreted as a dismissal.

It is a good idea to train managers in handling conflict. This can help resolve any workplace problems straight away, rather than allowing them to escalate to the point where formal procedures need to be applied. See managing conflict.

An employee may be entitled to resign if you fundamentally breach a term of their employment contract. This is known as constructive dismissal.

Breaches of contract that may give rise to unfair constructive dismissal claims might include anything that makes it impossible or intolerable for the employee to continue doing the job.

Examples of breaches of contract

Some examples of breaches of the employment contract include:

• cutting an employee's wages or salary or other contractual benefits without their agreement
• transferring an employee to a different job or location in the absence of any stated or implied contractual right to do so
• failing to provide a safe place of work
• breach of your obligation of mutual trust and confidence, a term that is implied in every employment contract

For this reason, you should always seek the employee's prior written agreement when you propose to change their employment contract. For more details, see how to change an employee's terms of employment.

Best practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures

If you don't get the employee's agreement, they could raise a grievance with you. When dealing with such a grievance, you should follow a fair and reasonable procedure. Ideally, your procedure should follow the good practice principles set out in the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), if a business - or a part of a business - is transferred to another business, in most cases the employees of the old employer will automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions.

However, an employee can't be transferred to a new employer against their will and may object to the transfer before it takes place.

In this case, if they refuse to have their contract transferred to the new employer, the employee is regarded as having resigned with effect from the transfer date. As a result, there is generally:

• no dismissal
• no redundancy and therefore no right to statutory redundancy pay
• no obligation for the new employer to take them on

However, if the transfer results in a significant and unfavourable change to an employee's working conditions - eg their new place of work is in a different more inconvenient location from their old one or there are substantial changes to their role/duties - they could resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. However, it will ultimately be a matter for the Industrial Tribunal to determine in light of the circumstances of each case.

For more information on business transfers, see responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.

If an employee tells you that they are resigning or intend to resign, the first thing you need to do is find out why.

If the resignation is unexpected, find out why they want to resign. Is there anything you can do to make them change their mind?

Sometimes employees resign because they fall out with someone, eg their line manager. For advice on handling such situations, see resignations in the heat of the moment.

The resignation may be due to family commitments that mean the employee is unable to continue working the same hours for you. Are there changes you can make to working arrangements to accommodate this? See flexible working: the law and best practice.

If the employee is resigning to work for one of your competitors, consider whether it would be worth improving their remuneration/benefits package, working environment, or looking into their promotion prospects.

Notice periods

It is also important that you refer to the employment contract, written statement, or any other agreement you have with the employee to check what period of notice they are required to give.

If there is nothing on notice periods in any written agreement, the statutory notice period will apply, which, for employees with at least one month's service, is a minimum of one week. For more information, see how to issue the correct periods of notice.

If you accept an employee's resignation, there are several things you need to do to make their departure as smooth as possible. Make sure you:

• Get written confirmation of the resignation and the date of resignation. This will help you avoid disputes over the exact date of the resignation and the start of any notice period.
• Decide whether you wish the employee to work out their full notice period. You may find it more appropriate to pay the employee in lieu of all or part of the notice period if your contract provides for it or the employee agrees. However, if you do so, be sure that you are covered in respect of having another employee who can immediately take on the job.
• Confirm the employee's notice period, usually part of their contract of employment. If it is not, statutory notice will apply. See how to issue the correct periods of notice.
• Agree with the employee the terms of an announcement to other staff concerning their departure, if appropriate.
• Organise a handover period. This allows for a smooth handover to existing staff or the employee's replacement of key tasks and responsibilities.
• Arrange an exit interview - see resignations: conducting exit interviews.
• Retrieve security passes and all other property of your business, eg tools, uniforms, computers and company cars.
• Organise their final payment including all money owing, eg pay in lieu of working a notice period, money for unused holidays, overtime and bonus payments. See calculate final pay when a worker leaves.
• Part on good terms. The person leaving may become a client or may be able to refer business to you. Equally, a disgruntled ex-employee can damage the reputation of your business if they leave on poor terms, eg having identified you as their previous employer and then writing about their experiences as your employee on a social networking website or blog. This may be the case where the employee has details on their profile which identifies them as having worked for you. Read Labour Relations Agency advice on social media and the employment relationship.
• Organise a farewell gift or party, if appropriate. Acknowledgement of good service appreciated is valuable for maintaining staff morale and the promotion of a positive organisational culture.
• Make a point of saying goodbye on the actual day the person leaves and thank them again for all their hard work.
• Be careful about references - see when workers leave your employment.

When employees leave, it is a good idea to arrange an exit interview. You can then use their response to determine whether there are any underlying issues to be addressed.

However, getting employees to reveal the real reason they're leaving can be difficult.

For example, if they say that they have been offered more money by another employer, this doesn't necessarily explain why they started looking for a new job in the first place. It may be that the employee didn't get on with their manager or a team colleague, or that they think they were unfairly overlooked for promotion.

If, during the interview, the employee starts making accusations against a colleague, don't act too hastily. You must ensure there is a fair investigation.

Questions for exit interviews

Some useful questions you could ask include:

• What have you enjoyed the most/least about working for the business/the role?
• What sorts of problems have you found?
• How well did you understand your role? (this would only be relevant to shorter-term staff)
• How effective is the communication/consultation?
• How easy was it to get on with your boss/colleagues?
• To what extent do you feel your work was valued?
• To what extent were your skills and talents used effectively?
• To what extent did you feel your role was secure?
• How satisfied were you with money, terms and conditions, facilities, and equipment?
• How does your current role compare to your new job?
• When did you begin looking for another job?

The employee's answers may be influenced by their need for a reference.

Ideally, someone other than the leaver's manager should try to find out why they're leaving. They may have difficulty telling their manager about problems with their job or department.

You should also look out for reasons that might lead to employees claiming constructive dismissal or discrimination. These wrongs could be corrected before the employee leaves but beware not to suggest any reasons or say anything that could later be used against you. See dismissing employees and how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Sometimes an employee may say that they are resigning after an argument with their manager or another colleague. In such situations, they might not really have meant to resign.

If this is the case, it is dangerous to act as though the contract has ended because the employee could later claim unfair or constructive dismissal. See dismissing employees.

Managing the situation

If an employee seems to have resigned or has walked out after an argument:

• Don't immediately assume they have resigned.
• Give the employee a 'cooling-off' period.
• Take action to find out whether they really meant to resign.
• If you can't contact them, wait a reasonable time before confirming that their resignation has been accepted.
• Investigate further if you receive additional information relating to the situation, eg that they may have been bullied by a colleague/their manager. See bullying and harassment.

You should also be careful not to say things in the heat of the moment that could be misinterpreted as a dismissal.

It is a good idea to train managers in handling conflict. This can help resolve any workplace problems straight away, rather than allowing them to escalate to the point where formal procedures need to be applied. See managing conflict.

An employee may be entitled to resign if you fundamentally breach a term of their employment contract. This is known as constructive dismissal.

Breaches of contract that may give rise to unfair constructive dismissal claims might include anything that makes it impossible or intolerable for the employee to continue doing the job.

Examples of breaches of contract

Some examples of breaches of the employment contract include:

• cutting an employee's wages or salary or other contractual benefits without their agreement
• transferring an employee to a different job or location in the absence of any stated or implied contractual right to do so
• failing to provide a safe place of work
• breach of your obligation of mutual trust and confidence, a term that is implied in every employment contract

For this reason, you should always seek the employee's prior written agreement when you propose to change their employment contract. For more details, see how to change an employee's terms of employment.

Best practice for disciplinary and grievance procedures

If you don't get the employee's agreement, they could raise a grievance with you. When dealing with such a grievance, you should follow a fair and reasonable procedure. Ideally, your procedure should follow the good practice principles set out in the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), if a business - or a part of a business - is transferred to another business, in most cases the employees of the old employer will automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions.

However, an employee can't be transferred to a new employer against their will and may object to the transfer before it takes place.

In this case, if they refuse to have their contract transferred to the new employer, the employee is regarded as having resigned with effect from the transfer date. As a result, there is generally:

• no dismissal
• no redundancy and therefore no right to statutory redundancy pay
• no obligation for the new employer to take them on

However, if the transfer results in a significant and unfavourable change to an employee's working conditions - eg their new place of work is in a different more inconvenient location from their old one or there are substantial changes to their role/duties - they could resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. However, it will ultimately be a matter for the Industrial Tribunal to determine in light of the circumstances of each case.

For more information on business transfers, see responsibilities to employees if you buy or sell a business.