THE GUIDE
Offboarding: how to handle a resignation well
How someone leaves shapes what they say about you, whether they would come back, and how the rest of the team feels. A simple checklist keeps the handover clean and nothing important gets missed.
The first conversation
- Thank them and ask why they are leaving. Listen; this is not the moment to argue.
- Agree the last day and confirm it in writing.
- Agree together how and when the team and clients hear the news.
Common gaps
- Access removed weeks late, or before the handover is finished.
- Files left in a personal drive.
- All the leaver’s work handed to one person.
- In Singapore, missing the IR21 tax clearance deadline for foreign employees.
Frequently asked questions
Whatever the contract says. If it says nothing, the Employment Act minimums apply. See the Singapore notice period calculator.
It depends on the contract and company policy: it can be used to shorten the notice period, or paid out. Agree it early and in writing.
Only if you would have offered the same thing anyway. Counter-offers made only to stop someone leaving rarely fix the reason they started looking.
