Leaving UCD

The (opens in a new window)UCD Resignation Policy is designed to ensure the correct process is followed by Heads of Schools/Units in the event of an employee tendering their resignation from UCD.  It also includes a checklist intended to assist employees when composing a letter of resignation.

This page contains a brief summary of the policy however, in all cases, the Policy itself remains the definitive source for information.

• The Employee must submit a ‘letter of resignation’ to their Manager on the day they verbally give notice. Notice will not be deemed to have commenced until such time as it is offered in writing, as per the terms of your Contract of Employment.
• The Head of School/Unit will confirm acceptance of an the resignation by completing UCD Human Resources' Resignation Notification Form. This must be forwarded to (opens in a new window)HRHelpdesk@ucd.ie within a week of the resignation being tendered, along with the original employee resignation letter (or a scanned copy). 
• The Head of School/Unit is responsible for confirming an employee’s last day of work, as well as, any agreements they have made in regards to payment in lieu of annual leave not taken before this date.  The accepted Notice period and last day of work must comply with UCD’s Contract of Employment.  
• All former employees will be contacted within 6 weeks of their leave date by the Pensions Office regarding their Pension Options; however please refer to the for further information in the meantime.
• Employees should complete an (opens in a new window)Exit Interview Survey if leaving before their contract end date.
  These surveys
  • Identify themes that can be used to enhance the working environment in UCD 
  • Highlight any issues that can be addressed and/or improvements that can be made to ensure that the University is a great place to work for everyone irrespective of their background

Purpose

The main purpose of the exit interview questionnaire is to:

• Identify themes that can be used to enhance the working environment in UCD 
• Highlight any issues that can be addressed and/or improvements that can be made to ensure that the University is a great place to work for everyone irrespective of their background

Scope

This questionnaire applies to all permanent and temporary employees who are leaving UCD.

Themes from the questionnaire will provide the University with information that can be used to enhance employment practices, policies and procedures. 

Should an employee request it, a face-to-face meeting can be organised – please contact your manager or your HR Partner to arrange this. 

Leaving procedure

Automated emails containing a link to the exit interview survey are issued in line with contract end dates. If you are awaiting the issue of a new contract, have recently signed a new contract or if you have completed an exit interview survey in the last 6 months then please ignore the email.

Data 

The data collected as part of the questionnaire will be stored confidentially in line with GDPR regulations by the Culture and Engagement Unit. 

All responses are anonymous. Only themes will be identified from the information collected for statistical purposes and no individual will be identified. 

Data outputs will be monitored at University level and themes reported to College Principals/Heads of Units. Reports will only be generated for areas that have had a participation rate of 10 or more, therefore results with 10 or less individuals from the same area will be aggregated or rolled-up with other teams in the local organisational structure so as to ensure anonymity. 

Questions

Questions are broadly grouped into the themes below:

• Reason for leaving
• Working at UCD
• Equality Diversity and Inclusion

If you have special accessibility requirements and require this survey in an alternative format, or for any queries, please contact (opens in a new window)engage@ucd.ie.

When you finish working with UCD, you may be eligible to apply for a refund of your pension contributions or they may remain with the University in the form of preserved benefits, depending on the amount of qualifying service you have (under or over 2 years) and the pension Scheme of which you are a member. 

Details of the different pension Schemes available and their membership criteria can be found on the UCD Pensions website. You cannot continue paying into the UCD Pension Scheme once you leave employment.

Visit the Pensions Leaver Page to find contact details and more detailed information outlining what happens to your pension when you leave UCD and what choices are available to you.

Information on who to contact in the event of a query is also provided below.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Pensions Office will contact all staff members on leaving the University with regard to their leaving pension options. Your leaving pension options will be issued to you via email. Please ensure that your current personal email address is correct on our records or inform us of a forwarding personal email address by which we can contact you. You can update your email address on your Infohub profile or forward your email address  to (opens in a new window) hrhelpdesk@ucd.ie.

Completed application forms for refund of pension contributions should be returned to us by email to (opens in a new window)pensions@ucd.ie.

Fixed term and specified purpose employees of UCD who have completed at least 2 years (104 weeks) continuous service and meet the conditions laid down under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2007, may be entitled to receive Statutory Redundancy Payment (at the end of their employment period). This process is managed by the (opens in a new window)HR Helpdesk and you can find out more on the Statutory Redundancy page.

Access to UCD email account, UCD Connect account or any other IT resources and will end 30 days from your recorded end date in UCD. Depending on the timing of when this action is processed by UCD HR Operations, you will receive a notice of your account expiry up to 30 days in advance. 

What to do before you leave: 

• Should you have any personal files and emails please ensure you have removed these.
• Your contacts should be advised of a new non-UCD email address in order to reach you. 
• If you have shared files with your colleagues using Google Drive, you should transfer ownership of these files or move them to a (opens in a new window)Google Team Drive in advance of this date. NB  This must be done in a GDPR-compliant manner.
• If you are on a Career Break of more than 1 year, please see the UCD HR Career Break Policy, Section 4.7 relates to the provision of IT access.
• Please ensure to download the final payslips from Employee Self-Service (ESS) in advance of your IT account expiry. 

Access to IT services is directly linked to your employment status and can not be extended beyond the 30-day period after your end date. 

For further information and FAQs please review the UCD IT Services knowledge base articles: 

• (opens in a new window)Information for Faculty & Staff regarding Connect IT accounts when leaving UCD
• (opens in a new window)Faculty & Staff - Additional Information and FAQs on Connect IT accounts when leaving UCD
• (opens in a new window)UCD IT Services IT Account and Service Access Procedures

Below is a checklist of the key areas associated with an employee leaving UCD. This checklist is designed to assist managers and ensure as smooth a transition as possible.

Notification

• UCD’s Resignation Policy is available on the Governance Document Library website and is a useful reference guide for managers.
• All UCD Employees are required to provide notice of their resignation in writing. They are required to submit their letter of resignation to their manager on the day they verbally give notice. Notice will not be deemed to have commenced until such time as it is offered in writing, as per the terms of UCD’s Contract of Employment.
• Notice provided must be in line with the employee’s contract of employment. The notice period can be confirmed by the HR Helpdesk if you are unsure.
• The Head of School/Unit will confirm acceptance of the resignation by completing UCD Human Resources’ Resignation Notification Form. This must be forwarded to the (opens in a new window)hrhelpdesk@ucd.ie within a week of the resignation being tendered, along with the original employee resignation letter (or a scanned copy).
• It is the responsibility of the School (Head of School/Unit) to ensure that the resignation notification form is forwarded to the HR helpdesk to prevent any overpayment occurring.
• The Head of School/Unit should confirm if there any fees or payments to be returned i.e. relocation expenses or staff fee concessions’ monies.
• The Head of School/Unit is responsible for confirming an employee’s last day of work, as well as confirming any agreed outstanding annual leave not taken before this end date.  Annual leave entitlement up to an employee’s last day of service and which cannot be used in advance of the employee’s end date needs to be included in the resignation notification form that is returned to the HR helpdesk. The employee will receive payment in lieu of any agreed annual leave outstanding. The accepted notice period and last day of work must comply with the employee’s contract of employment) .
• Managers should remind the employee to complete the exit interview survey when they receive it.
• Reference: a manager, if requested, may decide to provide a reference on request to include a statement of employment which normally includes start date, finish date and job title. Anything given in a reference beyond this would be a personal reference given by the manager, not on behalf of UCD. The HR Helpdesk can provide confirmation of dates of employment, role, status i.e. permanent, temporary etc if requested.
• Managers should remind employees to ensure they keep (opens in a new window)UCD HR - Pensions informed if their contact details change in the future. 

Personal farewell

• A positive departure from UCD is always encouraged. Former employees can be wonderful ambassadors for your School/Unit and university overall. They may also return to UCD at some point in the future or they may be leaving for another School or Unit in UCD.
• If appropriate, organise a farewell gathering and acknowledge the contribution the employee made to the team and the university.
• Make a point of saying goodbye on the actual day the person leaves and thank them again for all their hard work.

Equipment, IT and other issues

Does the employee need to return any of the following? It is important that you make arrangements to organise the return of any UCD property:

• Mobile phone / Laptop / tablet or other electronic equipment
  
• Access keys / locker keys / desk keys / swipe cards
  
• Files / email list
  
• ID Cards

Does the employee need to clear out their desk or locker?

Confidential Information: key points of note.

• Does the employee have any confidential information on any personal computers –
  do you need confirmation that this was destroyed/returned?
• Any personal information held on personal drives or emails must be discarded.
• Do you need to remove access to any shared drives/networks/databases?
  
• Do you need to remind the employee about their obligations in relation to confidential
  information?
• Do you need to disable any remote access the employee may have?
• Consider if the employee created any inventions/intellectual property that you need
  assigned/actioned before departure

Handover period

• Has a meeting been arranged to handover outstanding work and ensure continuity of service?
• Has your employee's departure been communicated to the wider team and is it clear where future queries should be directed?
• Do you need to update the School / Unit contact details or organisation chart?
• Has the employee set an 'out of office' message so that queries are directed to a new colleague?
• Are there passwords or logins for social media services that need to be noted or changed?
• Are there instances where the employee is an approver for a University business system (e.g. e Procurement) as this access and responsibility may need to be transferred to another colleague.
• Is the employee listed as the owner of the school / unit website or a sponsor for generic email accounts?

Employees leaving your School / Unit but continuing to work for UCD

• The staff directory will be updated automatically once the new appointment is processed by UCD HR Operations.
• Do you need to remove the employee from School / Unit emailing lists (as they will keep their UCD email)
• Do you need to end any InfoHub roles and services? E.g. Sick leave recording access. 
• If the employee was a line manager do you need to request an update to the organisation structure?
• Have you removed access to shared folders on Google Drive? (as they will still have access to Google Drive in their new unit)

Below is a checklist highlighting important information for employees leaving UCD. Take a moment to ensure you understand the notification process and what you need to do to ensure a smooth handover.

Notification

• UCD’s Resignation Policy is available on the Governance Document Library website and is a useful reference guide for managers.
• All UCD Employees are required to provide notice of their resignation in writing. They are required to submit their letter of resignation to their manager on the day they verbally give notice. Notice will not be deemed to have commenced until such time as it is offered in writing, as per the terms of UCD’s Contract of Employment.
• Notice provided must be in line with the employee’s contract of employment. The notice period can be confirmed by the HR Helpdesk if you are unsure.
• The Head of School/Unit will confirm acceptance of the resignation by completing UCD Human Resources' Resignation Notification Form. This must be forwarded to the (opens in a new window)hrhelpdesk@ucd.ie within a week of the resignation being tendered, along with the original employee resignation letter (or a scanned copy).
• It is the responsibility of the School (Head of School/Unit) to ensure that the resignation notification form is forwarded to the HR helpdesk to prevent any overpayment occurring.
• The Head of School/Unit should confirm if there any fees or payments to be returned i.e. relocation expenses or staff fee concessions’ monies.
• The Head of School/Unit is responsible for confirming an employee’s last day of work, as well as confirming any agreed outstanding annual leave not taken before this end date.  Annual leave entitlement up to an employee’s last day of service and which cannot be used in advance of the employee’s end date needs to be included in the resignation notification form that is returned to the HR helpdesk. The employee will receive payment in lieu of any agreed annual leave outstanding. The accepted notice period and last day of work must comply with the employee’s contract of employment) .
• Remind the employee to complete the exit inteview survey when they receive it.
• Reference: a manager, if requested, may decide to provide a reference on request to include a statement of employment which normally includes start date, finish date and job title. Anything given in a reference beyond this would be a personal reference given by the manager, not on behalf of UCD. The HR Helpdesk can provide confirmation of dates of employment, role, status i.e. permanent, temporary etc if requested.
• Remind employees to ensure they keep (opens in a new window)UCD HR - Pensions informed if their contact details change in the future.

Equipment, IT and other issues

Do you need to return any of the following? It is important that you make arrangements to organise the return of any UCD property:

• Mobile phone / Laptop / tablet or other electronic equipment
  
• Access keys / locker keys / desk keys / swipe cards
  
• Files / email list
  
• ID Cards

Do you need to clear out your desk or locker?

Do you have any library books or fines oustanding?

Returning your Work Permits and Hosting Agreements

If you required a Hosting Agreement as part of your employment with UCD then you must return the original Hosting Agreement to the HR Helpdesk prior to your last day of work. The Hosting Agreement will be cancelled and Immigration will be notified of the end date. Please mark the envelope for the attention of: HR Helpdesk, 3rd Floor, Roebuck Offices,UCD Belfield Campus.

If you required a Work Permit or Green Card as part of your employment with UCD then you must return the original Work Permit or Green Card to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment at the following address: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Work Permits Section, Davitt House, 65A Adelaide Road, Dublin 2.

Confidential Information: key points of note.

• Do you have any confidential information on any personal computers and have you confirmed that this was destroyed/returned?
• Have you any personal information held on personal drives or emails?
  
• Do you understand your obligations in relation to confidential information?
• Are there inventions/intellectual property that you need aassigned/actioned before you leave UCD?
• Please ensure to download final payslips from Employee Self Service (ESS) before your IT account expires.  

Handover period

• Has a meeting been arranged to handover outstanding work and ensure continuity of service?
• Have you set an 'out of office' message so that queries are directed to a new colleague?
• Are there passwords or logins for social media services that you need to hand over to your colleagues?
• Have you handed over ownership of the school / unit website or generic email accounts to a colleague?

Employees leaving your School / Unit but continuing to work for UCD

• Has the staff directory been updated?
• Have you checked you are no longer on School / Unit emailing lists? (as you will be keeping your UCD email)

If you are moving seamlessly from one role in UCD to another then you don't need to submit a resignation letter. You are not leaving employment with UCD, just changing unit.