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View full libraryThis Employee Departure Communications Plan provides a structured way to plan and coordinate communications when an employee leaves the organisation. It helps ensure that the right people receive appropriate information at the right time while protecting confidentiality and maintaining a professional approach to the employee's departure.
Use this plan to:
If you are managing employee offboarding, the toolkit brings together practical HR templates covering notice, handover, company property, access, final pay and exit arrangements.
This template brings together the key information, sections and considerations you need to create a clear, comprehensive and professional HR document. Preview the document below.
Departure details
| Employee name | |
| Job title | |
| Department / Team | |
| Manager | |
| Reason for departure | |
| Final working day | |
| Employment end date | |
| Departure type | Resignation / Retirement / Redundancy / Dismissal / Settlement / Other |
Communication objectives
What do we need to achieve through the departure communications?
Confidentiality and communication restrictions
| Are there any confidentiality requirements? | Yes / No |
| Are there any restrictions on what can be communicated? | Yes / No |
| Has a settlement agreement or other confidentiality arrangement been agreed? | Yes / No / Not applicable |
| Who has approved the communication approach? |
Information that can be shared
Approved information that can be communicated:
| Employee has left / is leaving | Yes / No |
| Final working date | Yes |
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This plan provides a practical framework for managing communications when an employee leaves the organisation. It can be used for resignations, retirements, redundancies, dismissals and other departures, with the communication approach adapted to the circumstances and any confidentiality requirements.
The plan identifies the key information that needs to be communicated, the intended audiences, who should deliver each message and when communication should take place. This helps avoid inconsistent messages or people finding out about a departure before the organisation is ready to communicate it.
The information shared should be appropriate to the audience and circumstances. Colleagues and external contacts will not normally need details about the employee's personal circumstances, disciplinary matters, settlement arrangements or other confidential employment information.
Internal communication may include the employee's immediate team, wider department, senior management and other employees who need to know for operational reasons. The plan can identify whether the departing employee, manager, HR or another person should communicate the news.
Where the employee has regular contact with customers, suppliers or other external stakeholders, communication should focus on continuity. The organisation can explain who will take over the relevant responsibilities without unnecessarily disclosing personal information about the departing employee.
Departure communications should sit alongside the practical offboarding process, including handover, system access, outstanding work, customer relationships and ownership of key responsibilities. Sensitive information should only be shared with people who have a legitimate reason to receive it.
Related HR resources and workflow
Explore the HR resources that may be relevant before and / or after using the Employee departure communications plan, helping you understand the wider process, maintain appropriate documentation and follow a consistent approach.
Our Employee Offboarding Checklist Form Template ensures a thorough and organised process, covering essential steps to smoothly transition departing employees out of the organisation.
The Exit Interview Meeting Invitation Letter formally invites an employee to an exit interview before or shortly after they leave the organisation.
Use these best practice actions, recommended timescales and process stages to understand when and how the Employee departure communications plan should be used, helping ensure each step is handled consistently and appropriately documented.
Understand the common mistakes to avoid when using this HR template, helping you reduce risk, prevent unnecessary costs and ensure the process is handled correctly.
There is no single approach that applies to every departure. The employee, manager, HR or another appropriate person may communicate the departure depending on the circumstances. The approach should be agreed in advance, particularly where the employee has requested to tell colleagues themselves.
Normally, no. Colleagues and customers generally do not need details about an employee's personal circumstances, disciplinary history, health, grievance, settlement or other confidential employment matters. A simple statement confirming the departure and any relevant arrangements is usually sufficient.
Where the employee has an important customer or supplier relationship, it may be appropriate to communicate the departure and identify who will take over the relationship. The communication should focus on continuity and should not disclose unnecessary personal information.
Yes, where appropriate. The employee and manager can agree how and when colleagues or customers are informed. The organisation should still ensure that the information shared is appropriate and does not disclose confidential information.
Yes, although the communication approach may be significantly different. For a dismissal, redundancy or other sensitive departure, HR should normally control or closely coordinate the communication to protect confidentiality and ensure that the message does not disclose inappropriate details.
HRDocBox templates provide a structured starting point designed for UK employers, combining practical HR wording with relevant employment law, data protection considerations and workplace best practice. AI can generate wording, but a structured plan helps ensure the operational and confidentiality aspects of an employee departure are not overlooked.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The Employee departure communications plan template is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing offboarding HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
Whether you employ 5 people or 50, hrdocbox gives you the structure, documents and expertise needed to manage employees professionally and legally.
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