🇬🇧 UK · Situation guide · Updated 2026-06-27
Leaving a job? Here's everything you're owed
Whether you've resigned, been offered a new role, or are negotiating your exit, leaving a job comes with a set of rights and obligations that are easy to miss. This guide covers what you must do, what your employer owes you, and what pitfalls to watch out for before your last day.
Give the right amount of notice
You must give the notice period specified in your employment contract. If your contract is silent, the statutory minimum is 1 week after 1 month's continuous employment. Senior roles typically require 1–3 months. Giving less notice than required is a breach of contract — your employer could withhold pay for the unworked notice period.
- Check your contract — look for 'notice period', 'termination', or 'resignation' clauses
- Statutory minimum (ERA 1996): 1 week after 1 month; no statutory minimum for employees
- Notice should be given in writing — email is sufficient but a signed letter is better
- Your employer can waive the notice period or agree to a shorter period
- If you leave without working notice, your employer can deduct the shortfall from your final pay
Understand garden leave
Your employer may put you on garden leave — you remain employed and are paid, but do not work. This is common for senior roles or where your employer wants to limit your access to clients and confidential information. Garden leave counts as employment: your benefits continue, holiday accrues, and restrictive covenants run from the end of the leave period.
- You must be paid your full salary during garden leave
- Benefits (pension, health insurance) continue for the garden leave period
- Your employer can only put you on garden leave if the contract permits it
- Holiday continues to accrue — employer can require you to take it during garden leave
- Post-employment restrictions run from the end of garden leave, not from when you stopped working
Calculate your final pay
Your final paycheck must include everything you are owed up to your last day of employment: your regular salary or wages for days worked, any outstanding commission or bonus if contractually due, and accrued but untaken holiday pay. PILON (if your employer pays you instead of requiring you to work notice) must also be included.
- All outstanding salary owed up to the termination date
- Commission and bonus: depends on contract wording — 'after termination date' clauses may exclude you
- Accrued holiday: all statutory holiday accrued but not taken must be paid out
- PILON (if applicable): taxable as earnings — not covered by the £30,000 exemption
- Employer must provide P45 and final payslip in a timely manner
Claim all your accrued holiday
You are entitled to be paid for all statutory annual leave accrued but not taken in the current leave year at the point your employment ends. This includes any holiday from previous leave years that you were prevented from taking. Your employer cannot forfeit accrued holiday on resignation — it must be paid.
- Statutory minimum: 5.6 weeks' holiday per year (28 days for a 5-day week including bank holidays)
- Holiday pay is calculated based on average pay over the previous 52 weeks
- Holiday that could not be taken due to illness or maternity leave carries over indefinitely
- If you took more holiday than you accrued, your employer may deduct the overage from final pay
- Check your contract for any enhanced holiday entitlement (e.g. 25 days + bank holidays)
Check your restrictive covenants
Many employment contracts include post-termination restrictions: non-compete clauses, non-solicitation clauses (preventing you from poaching clients or colleagues), and confidentiality obligations. These can significantly restrict what you do after leaving — especially which employers you can join and which clients you can contact.
- Non-compete: restricts you from joining competitors for a set period (often 3–12 months)
- Non-solicitation: prevents you from approaching clients or colleagues for a period after leaving
- Confidentiality: may restrict what information you take or discuss indefinitely
- Restrictions must be reasonable in scope and duration to be enforceable
- Garden leave can count towards the restriction period — check how your contract is worded
Your leaving-a-job checklist
- Notice given in writing with the correct notice period
- Confirm whether employer will require you to work notice or put you on garden leave
- Final pay calculation checked: salary, holiday, commission, PILON
- Check your contract for bonus clawback or vesting cliff dates
- Request a reference in writing before your last day
- Return all company equipment (laptop, phone, pass, keys)
- Check restrictive covenants — note the end dates
- P45 received from employer
- Outstanding expenses claimed and approved
- Pension — update address with pension provider; consider consolidation
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer withhold my final pay if I left without working my notice?
Your employer can deduct the value of unworked notice from your final pay if your contract allows it, or bring a breach of contract claim for any loss they suffered as a result of your short notice. However, they cannot withhold wages already earned — your statutory entitlement to pay for work done cannot be forfeited. If they withhold pay beyond the notice shortfall, you can claim the remainder at the Employment Tribunal as an unlawful deduction from wages (UDRW claim).
Am I entitled to a reference?
There is no legal right to a positive reference — your employer is only obliged to provide a reference that is accurate and not misleading. Most employers will give a factual reference (dates of employment, job title) without commentary on performance. If your employer refuses to give any reference, that is generally their right (except in regulated sectors like financial services, where a reference may be mandatory). A maliciously false reference that causes you financial loss could give rise to a defamation or negligent misstatement claim.
What happens to my share options or equity when I leave?
This depends entirely on your share plan rules and employment contract. Options not yet vested are typically forfeited on resignation (you are a 'bad leaver'). Options already vested may be exercisable for a limited period (often 90 days) after your last day. Some plans treat resignation differently from termination. Read your share plan documents carefully — and if the value is significant, take advice before resigning, as your leaving date may be worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Can my employer make deductions from my final pay?
Yes, but only for amounts authorised by your contract or agreed in writing. Common lawful deductions include: overpaid salary or holiday, the cost of unworked notice (if your contract permits), training costs with a repayment clause, and season ticket loans. Your employer cannot deduct money because they are unhappy with your performance or departure. Any deduction not authorised by contract or statute is an unlawful deduction from wages — claimable at the Employment Tribunal within 3 months.
Do I need to tell my new employer about my restrictive covenants?
You are not legally obliged to disclose them, but practically you should — if your old employer seeks an injunction, your new employer will be affected and may become a co-defendant. Many new employers ask directly about restrictions. If your restrictions are enforceable and you breach them, both you and your new employer could face liability. It is usually better to disclose, seek legal advice, and if necessary negotiate a release from the old employer or restructure your new role to avoid the restricted activities.