Audience
Department-wide
Purpose
This procedure outlines how an employee can notify the Department of Education (the department) that they are ceasing their employment.
Overview
When an employee intends to cease their employment with the department they must notify their manager, principal or supervisor. Prior to separation the employee and their manager, principal or supervisor must ensure the return of departmental property, revocation of computer access, and finalisation of outstanding finance and administrative matters.
Responsibilities
Employees
- Provide written notice of their intention to cease employment (DoE employees only) in accordance with the required notice period within the relevant award or agreement (DoE employees only)
- Resolve all outstanding finance and administrative matters prior to their departure
- Return all information belonging to the department prior to their departure, including both hard and electronic copies of official records and those contained on digital / electronic media devices
- Return all government property belonging to the department prior to their departure
- Complete the employee separation checklist (for all employees) and employee departure survey (for permanent employees only).
- Employment separation checklists must be completed upon an employee’s cessation, secondment, transfer or at any other time an employee ceases in a role (whether temporarily or permanently).
- Do not improperly disclose or use confidential information gained in the course of their employment.
Managers, principals, supervisors
- Explain to employees their responsibilities prior to and upon ceasing employment and complete all required actions as detailed within the relevant employment separation checklist
- Provide employees with information about the employee assistance program (DoE employees only) if they require further support regarding their decision to leave the department.
HR delegate
- To determine appropriate action when the required notice period has not been provided by the employee.
Regional office
- File the employment separation checklist on the official employee record, as appropriate.
Payroll services
- File the employment separation checklist on the official employee record, as appropriate
- Process the employee separation and all outstanding payments.
Process
1. Submit a notice to cease employment
Employee submits a notice to cease employment (DoE employees only) form to their manager, principal or supervisor as soon as practicable, but no later than the required notice period under their award or certified agreement.
If the minimum notice period has been provided, the manager, principal or supervisor provides Payroll Services with the notice to cease employment immediately after approval.
If the minimum notice period has not been provided, the manager, principal or supervisor refers the matter to the Human Resource (HR) delegate to determine the appropriate action. The HR delegate must immediately advise Payroll services of their decision (via the notice to cease employment form) to ensure the correct termination entitlements applicable to the employee are processed.
In the instance that an employee wishes to withdraw their notice to cease employment, please refer to the withdrawing notice to cease employment factsheet.
2. Process employee separation
Prior to finishing their last day of work, an employee must complete, sign and submit an employment separation checklist to their manager, principal or supervisor for approval.
The manager, principal or supervisor must review the completed employment separation checklist, complete all required actions of the manager, principal or supervisor and thereafter sign the employment separation checklist.
For permanent employees only, the manager, principal or supervisor provides the employee with a departure survey (DoE employees only). The employee’s manager, principal or supervisor undertakes the following tasks with effect from close of business of the employee’s last date of employment:
- removes the employee’s phone book details from the department’s intranet
- cancels, or transfers to another employee, any subscriptions to software or publications paid for by the department.
3. Finalise employee separation
Immediately after the employee’s separation, the employee’s manager, principal or supervisor provides the completed and signed employment separation checklist to:
- the appropriate Regional Office (for regional employees) to retain on the employee’s personnel file
- Payroll services (for central office and Early Childhood Education and Care employees), to retain on the employee’s personnel file.
Payroll services process the employee separation and all outstanding payments.
4. Applying to return to work following separation from employment with an FCR in place
An FCR is a Notice placed on an employee’s computerised employment record as a mechanism to monitor applications of an employee seeking to return to work following separation from employment. A Notice requires that applications for future employment with the department be referred directly to the relevant unit for consideration. Reasons for placement of an FCR include:
- Conduct, performance or regulatory issues
- Finance
- Health
- Payroll.
Definitions
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Term
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Definition
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HR delegate
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Refer to the departmental HR delegations manual (DoE employees only).
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Digital / electronic media devices
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Any storage device that holds digital data including data, voice and video (e.g. magnetic disk, magnetic tape, optical disc and USB drive).
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Notice period
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For the purposed of this procedure, a notice period is the time period between the day that an employee gives notice to the employer of the final day of employment, and the final day of employment itself. Minimum notice periods appear in the
Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld) as well as in some awards and certified agreements (DoE employees only).
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Official records
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Any form of recorded information, both received and created, that provides evidence of the departmental decisions and actions while government employees are undertaking its activities. It can include emails that document departmental decisions and actions; handwritten notes documenting departmental decisions and actions; SMS messages that document departmental decisions and actions; version-controlled work instructions; data within a database that records business processes and actions; agendas and papers presented at departmental meetings; general briefing notes to senior management; or minutes recorded during departmental meetings.
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Legislation
Delegations/Authorisations
Other resources
Superseded versions
Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.
1.0 Employee Separation and Withdrawal of Notices to Cease Employment
2.0 Employee separation