When a PA leaves: notice, final payroll and access checklist
A complete offboarding process for resignation and other endings, including final source information, P45 handling and record retention.
For Direct Payment employers and support teams
In brief
- Record the reason, notice date and effective end date before changing payroll or access.
- Final payroll inputs can include outstanding wages, authorised expenses, holiday, notice and redundancy information; payroll or an adviser should calculate the amounts.
- Disable access and recover property, but do not delete records whose retention periods continue after employment.
Identify how the employment is ending
A resignation, agreed ending, redundancy, expiry of a fixed term and dismissal require different processes. If the employer is considering ending the employment because of conduct, capability, sickness, a safeguarding concern or a change in funding, obtain advice before issuing notice.
Keep the PA's written resignation or the employer's formal letter, the date it was received, the contractual and statutory notice considered, and the agreed final day.
Check notice against the contract and statutory floor
A contract can provide more notice but not less than the applicable statutory minimum. Northern Ireland has its own employment legislation; use Labour Relations Agency guidance for a live case.
| Situation | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Employee resigns after at least one month's service | At least one week, unless the contract requires more. |
| Employer gives notice: one month to under two years' service | At least one week. |
| Employer gives notice: two to twelve years' service | One week for each complete year. |
| Employer gives notice: twelve or more years' service | Twelve weeks. |
Close the employment record
- —Confirm the final working day and which shifts remain to be worked.
- —Approve all outstanding timesheets and identify any unresolved correction.
- —Confirm holiday taken, outstanding entitlement and any disputed request.
- —Approve or reject outstanding mileage and expense claims.
- —List keys, equipment, documents and account access to be returned or closed.
- —Record any handover needed for the employer's immediate support arrangements without sharing unnecessary employee information.
Send a complete final-payroll instruction
The payroll provider reports the leaving date and final pay through payroll and issues the P45 information. GOV.UK does not state a universal fixed number of days for giving the P45, so the useful instruction is to process it promptly with the final payroll.
| Input | Employer action |
|---|---|
| Final hours and payday | Send the approved period and intended payment date. |
| Leaving date | Use the actual employment end date required for the final FPS and P45. |
| Outstanding holiday | Provide the verified balance and leave history; payroll calculates payment due. |
| Notice | State whether notice is worked and provide the relevant documents; obtain advice on pay in lieu. |
| Expenses or deductions | Supply only authorised items. Do not make a final-pay deduction without a lawful basis. |
| Redundancy | Provide service and process information to the adviser or payroll provider; do not self-calculate from a generic table. |
Close access at the right time
- —Disable the PA portal and document access when employment and any authorised handover end.
- —Remove the PA from shared calendars, messaging groups and emergency-contact lists.
- —Change door, key-safe or alarm codes where access risk justifies it.
- —Recover keys, devices and physical files and record what was returned.
- —Remove access to the Direct Payment account, payroll portal or pension system if it was ever granted.
- —Keep the historical employment record read-only for the applicable retention periods.
Review funding and support separately
A PA leaving can create an immediate support gap and may affect the Direct Payment budget, but there is no single UK-wide council reconciliation process. Contact the funding body's Direct Payment team about unused staffing budget, recruitment costs, redundancy funding or temporary cover before committing expenditure.
Use advice early for dismissal or redundancy
A sole individual employer is still expected to follow a fair process. The Acas disciplinary and grievance code can be relevant, and tribunal compensation can be affected by unreasonable failure to follow it. Redundancy and dismissal rules are also changing, so current advice is more reliable than an old PA contract template.
Sources and further guidance
These links are provided so readers can check the underlying official guidance. Local Direct Payment agreements and individual employment circumstances still need to be considered.