Employee Resignation Checklist For NZ Employers

Priya runs a small design studio in Auckland. On Monday morning, one of her senior designers emails to say they're resigning and their last day will be in two weeks.

Priya is happy for them, but she is also thinking about client files, passwords, unfinished work, the final pay run, and whether the employee can contact clients after they leave.

If this has just happened in your business, take a breath. A resignation can be handled smoothly when you treat it as an operational process, not just an awkward conversation.

Here is an employee resignation checklist for NZ employers that brings together the employment agreement, notice, handover, final pay, company property, confidentiality and records.

What Should You Do First When An Employee Resigns?

You should first confirm the resignation in writing, check the employment agreement, and create a short exit plan with clear dates and responsibilities.

A resignation can be given verbally, by email, by text, or in a formal letter, unless the employment agreement says it must be in a particular form. If the employee resigns verbally, send a calm follow up email confirming what was said and ask them to confirm in writing.

Your first steps are:

• Record the resignation date, including when you received it and the employee's proposed last working day.
• Check the employment agreement for notice, garden leave, payment in lieu of notice, confidentiality, restraints, deductions and property return clauses.
• Acknowledge the resignation in writing, without arguing about the decision or pressuring the employee to stay.
• Confirm the process, including notice, handover, final pay timing, access removal and the return of company property.
• Tell only the people who need to know, such as payroll, IT, the direct manager and any team members affected by the handover.

Keep your tone professional, even if the resignation is inconvenient. The Employment Relations Act 2000 still applies during the notice period, and both sides should continue dealing with each other in good faith.

Resignation Acknowledgement And Handover Plan Outline

You can use this outline as a starting point, but have a lawyer or your legal adviser tailor it before you use it as a business document:

1. Employee Details: insert the employee's name, role, team and manager.
2. Resignation Details: record the date notice was received and the final working day.
3. Notice Arrangements: state whether the employee will work notice, take approved leave, be placed on garden leave if allowed, or receive payment in lieu if allowed.
4. Handover Tasks: list open projects, client matters, systems, passwords, documents and deadlines.
5. Company Property: list items to be returned, such as laptop, phone, keys, access cards, uniforms and tools.
6. Confidentiality And Restraints: remind the employee of continuing obligations without overstating your rights.
7. Final Pay: note when payroll will calculate and pay final wages and leave entitlements.
8. Access Removal: set dates for removing email, software, banking, social media and physical access.

How Much Notice Does An Employee Have To Give In New Zealand?

The notice period usually depends on the employment agreement, because New Zealand law doesn't set one standard resignation notice period for every employee.

Many agreements require one, two or four weeks' notice, depending on the seniority of the role. Senior staff often have longer notice because they hold client relationships, business knowledge or management responsibilities.

If the employment agreement is silent, you'll usually look at what is reasonable in the circumstances. Relevant factors may include:

• the employee's role and seniority
• how long they have worked for you
• industry practice
• how hard it is to replace or hand over the role
• whether your business has accepted a similar notice period before

If the employee wants to leave earlier than the agreement allows, you can agree to a shorter notice period. If you agree, put it in writing so payroll and managers know the new final day.

If you want the employee to finish before the end of the notice period, be careful. You can only rely on payment in lieu of notice or garden leave if the employment agreement allows it, or if the employee agrees. Garden leave means the employee remains employed and paid, but doesn't attend work or perform duties.

For example, if Priya's designer has a four week notice clause but asks to leave after two weeks, Priya can agree to the shorter period. If she does, the final pay should be calculated to the agreed final day, not the original four week date.

If the person is actually a contractor, pause and consider employee or contractor advice before using your employee resignation process. The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 introduced a contractor gateway test for assessing when a worker can be treated as an independent contractor. If there's any doubt about whether the person is an employee or contractor, get advice before deciding what final entitlements apply.

What Should Be On Your Handover Checklist?

Your handover checklist should cover the work, information, people and systems that your business needs to keep operating after the employee leaves.

A good handover is practical. It shouldn't just say finish tasks. It should tell the employee exactly what needs to be transferred, to whom, and by when.

Work And Client Handover

• current projects, deadlines and next steps
• client or supplier contacts and key relationship notes
• quotes, proposals, contracts or renewals in progress
• customer complaints or sensitive issues that need context
• calendar commitments, recurring meetings and follow up dates

Business Knowledge

• standard operating procedures the employee manages
• where files, templates and records are stored
• software workflows, automations or reporting processes
• stock, bookings, rosters or job schedules
• passwords or access credentials that need to be transferred through a secure process

Company Property

• laptop, monitor, phone, tablet and chargers
• keys, access cards, security fobs and parking passes
• tools, vehicles, fuel cards or uniforms
• paper files, notebooks and storage devices
• business credit cards and expense cards

Say Mike runs a cleaning business in Wellington and his operations coordinator resigns. The coordinator manages client keys, alarm codes, cleaner rosters and supply orders. Mike's handover checklist should identify every client key, every alarm instruction, the next two weeks of rosters, supplier login details, and any urgent client issues. If he only asks for a general handover, he may discover the gaps after the employee has already left.

Templates can help you get organised, but handover documents work best when they reflect how your business actually runs.

How Do You Manage Confidentiality, Restraints And System Access?

You should manage confidentiality, restraints and access by checking the employment agreement, reminding the employee of their obligations, and removing access in a planned way.

Confidentiality obligations commonly continue after employment ends. This can cover customer lists, pricing, strategy documents, supplier terms, source code, designs, financial information and internal processes. Even if your agreement is light on detail, confidential information may still be protected, but a clear clause makes enforcement much easier.

Restraints of trade are different. Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses are only likely to be enforceable in New Zealand if they're reasonable and protect a legitimate business interest. A broad clause that stops a junior employee from working anywhere in the industry for a year is likely to be difficult to rely on.

When an employee resigns, check whether your agreement contains:

• Confidentiality clauses covering information they must not use or disclose.
• Intellectual property clauses confirming your business owns work created in the course of employment.
• Non-solicitation clauses limiting approaches to clients, suppliers or staff for a set period.
• Non-compete clauses limiting work for competitors in limited circumstances.
• Return of property clauses requiring devices, documents and records to be returned.

Access should be removed without creating operational risk. For most roles, you might keep access during the notice period so the employee can complete handover, then remove it at the end of their final day. For sensitive roles, such as finance, payroll, admin accounts, social media or senior leadership, you may need earlier limits.

Review access to:

• email and cloud storage
• accounting, payroll and banking systems
• customer relationship management systems
• social media, advertising accounts and website logins
• shared drives, source code repositories and project tools
• physical premises, alarms and keys

If the employee has handled personal information, the Privacy Act 2020 is also relevant. You should make sure customer and employee information is secure, access is removed when no longer needed, and records are kept only for proper business and legal purposes.

How Do You Calculate Final Pay After Resignation?

You calculate final pay by adding unpaid wages, leave entitlements and any other amounts owed, then checking whether any lawful deductions apply.

Final pay after resignation in NZ commonly includes:

• wages or salary up to the final day of employment
• payment for unused annual holiday entitlement under the Holidays Act 2003
• holiday pay for employees who haven't yet become entitled to annual holidays, often calculated as 8% of gross earnings less holiday pay already paid
• unused alternative holidays, if the employee has them
• any agreed bonuses, commissions or allowances that are due, including under an employee commission agreement
• KiwiSaver, PAYE and other normal payroll treatment

Sick leave isn't usually paid out on resignation unless the employment agreement or workplace policy says it will be. Bereavement leave and family violence leave are also not paid out as unused balances.

Under the Holidays Act 2003, annual holidays are generally paid using the greater of ordinary weekly pay or average weekly earnings. If the employee has unused annual holiday entitlement and that holiday period would have included a public holiday, you may also need to pay for that public holiday as if employment had continued for that purpose.

Final pay must be paid on the employee's last day, or as soon as possible and no later than the next scheduled payday. If your employment agreement, workplace policy or usual practice provides for an earlier payment, follow that. Make sure the employee receives a payslip or clear breakdown so there's less room for confusion.

Worked Example

Sam works full time for a Christchurch cafe at $28 per hour for 40 hours a week. Sam resigns and works a two week notice period.

At the final pay run, payroll records show:

• two weeks of unpaid wages: 80 hours x $28 = $2,240 gross
• 0.8 weeks of annual holiday entitlement: 0.8 x $1,120 weekly pay = $896 gross
• one unused alternative holiday based on an 8 hour day: 8 x $28 = $224 gross

Sam's gross final pay before PAYE, KiwiSaver and other lawful payroll adjustments is $3,360.

Be careful with deductions. Under the Wages Protection Act 1983, you generally need the employee's written consent or another lawful basis before deducting money from wages. Even then, deductions need to be reasonable. If an employee returns a damaged laptop, don't simply take the cost from final pay unless you have checked the agreement, the consent and the facts.

What Employment Records Should You Keep After Resignation?

You should keep accurate employment, wage, time, holiday and leave records for at least six years.

New Zealand employers have record keeping obligations under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Holidays Act 2003. These records help you show what the employee was paid, what leave was taken, and how final pay was calculated.

Your resignation file should usually include:

• the resignation letter, email or written confirmation of a verbal resignation
• the signed employment agreement and any variations
• your acknowledgement of resignation
• notice period records and final working day confirmation
• handover checklist and completion notes
• final payslip and final pay calculation
• wage, time, holiday and leave records
• company property return records
• access removal confirmation from IT or management
• any exit interview notes, if you conduct one

Keep these records securely, with clear employee privacy handbook guidance. They can contain personal information, payroll details, health information, disciplinary history or commercially sensitive material. Limit access to people who genuinely need it, such as payroll, HR, senior management or your external advisers.

A simple offboarding folder or checklist can make this much easier. If you run a small business without an HR team, assign one person to own the process so things don't get missed between the manager, payroll and IT.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Relying on memory instead of confirming resignation dates, final days and handover steps in writing.
• Assuming you can send someone home unpaid during notice without checking the employment agreement.
• Forgetting access removal for shared inboxes, social media, cloud storage and payment systems.
• Overstating restraint clauses when the clause may be too broad or unreasonable.
• Making deductions from final pay without a lawful basis and written consent where required.
• Deleting records too early when employment and leave records should be kept for six years.

Key Takeaways

• Start by confirming the resignation in writing, checking the employment agreement and setting a clear final working day.
• Notice usually comes from the employment agreement. If the agreement is silent, the right answer depends on what is reasonable for the role and circumstances.
• A strong handover checklist should cover work, clients, systems, documents, passwords and company property.
• Final pay needs to account for unpaid wages, annual holidays, alternative holidays and any lawful deductions under New Zealand employment law.
• Confidentiality, restraints, IP ownership and system access should be handled carefully before the employee leaves.
• Keep employment, wage, time, holiday and leave records for at least six years, and store them securely.

If you'd like help with employment agreements, resignation processes, final pay and confidentiality terms, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.