Our employee has resigned - what are the next steps?

We are sorry to hear that your employee wishes to resign from their position and will support you throughout the process.

To receive prompt assistance, please submit the resignation request through our platform. You can navigate to the employee profile on the platform, then select "End Contract" from the dropdown menu labeled "Actions".

A detailed guide outlining each step on the platform, can be found in the linked article below:

Navigating Offboarding: Submitting Resignations and Terminations.

While the exact offboarding process may vary depending on which country the employee is employed in, the following next steps outline the general process: 

1. Resigning: since your employee is, according to the local law of the country they are hired in, not a direct employee of your company, the resignation they submitted to you is not enough to start the offboarding process. They will therefore need to submit notice of resignation to their formal employer of record, details of which can be found in their employment contract. Please note that in some countries an email is recognised as notice of resignation, however in other countries, the employee needs to send a hand-signed letter per post. While the employment contract will generally outline which type of resignation is required, the Horizons support team is happy to advise on the specific resignation requirements in case of any doubt.
   
   
2. Notice period: in the notice of resignation, it is important that the employee states their final day of work, keeping in mind the notice period and resignation terms agreed upon in their employment contract. In some countries, employees can only resign from the 15th or last day of a month. In this example, this means if an employee resigns on the 4th of a month, the notice period only begins on the 15th.
   
   
3. Annual leave: in the notice of resignation, the employee will need to confirm what happens with their accrued but untaken annual leave. In negotiating the terms of the resignation, you can generally advise the employee if they should take their outstanding annual leave before their final working day or if the accrued leave will be paid out along with their final salary. Again, specific country legislation might have their own rules regarding this point and while the employee generally cannot be forced to a decision, you are entitled to voice your preference if you have one.
   
   
4. Return of equipment: as the employee is preparing for their final day, it is important you advise them on how and when to return their equipment to your company's office. To avoid any post-offboarding conflict, it can be recommendable to organise this before the employee's final day. Organising a courier is the most common option of returning equipment and it is advisable to use tracking as well as insuring the products for any damage. If the employee pays for returning the equipment themselves, they can submit the proof of payment for reimbursement per the standard expense reimbursement process.
   
   
5. After termination: once the employee has had their final working day and has offboarded, they will be sent their final payslip and, where applicable, their de-registration certificate from the relevant social security authorities. Should the employee request a letter of recommendation, Horizons will request you complete this since the employee completed their day-to-day work for your company and Horizons only acted as the employer of record and is therefore not in a position to provide the employee with objective feedback on their performance. 

Have you found a replacement and are looking to hire a new candidate? Great news! Please contact sales@joinhorizons.com and we will advise on the quickest way to onboard your new candidate. 

We hope you found this article to be useful. If you have any questions or if you are missing any information, please contact our support team at support@joinhorizons.com.