The purpose of this policy is to outline requirements for an employee resigning or retiring from their position.
Definitions:
Division
a UW-Madison college, school, or equivalent organizational unit.
Scope:
This policy applies to all University Staff, Faculty, Academic Staff, and Limited Appointees.
Policy:
Resignation
An employee may decide to resign their employment with the University at any time.
Employees are strongly encouraged to provide reasonable written notice of their intent to resign to their immediate supervisor. For certain positions, more than a two-weeks’ notice may be helpful to the division, but it is not required.
The supervisor who accepts an employee’s intent to resign should do so in writing and update divisional HR. In the event an employee provides a verbal resignation, the individual who received the verbal resignation, should confirm the resignation in writing to the employee.
If an employee wants to change their resignation date, they must work with their supervisor and divisional HR to see if a change is possible.
If the resignation is connected to a workplace investigation and/or a termination decision may be forthcoming (following applicable policies and procedures), the school, college, or division, is encouraged to consult with the Office of Human Resources (OHR)-Workforce Relations. The employee may also consult with OHR-Workforce Relations in the event they wish to obtain policy consultation regarding resigning during a workplace investigation.
The employee or the employer may request to do an exit interview. All reasonable requests for an exit interview should be granted. In the event the employee does not want to do an exit interview with the school, college, or division, the employee may do an exit interview with OHR.
Upon resignation, employees must return the following work-related items to include, but not limited to:
Office keys and key cards
Work issued laptop, tablet, stylus, and/or hot spot (see Return Computer Equipment section for departmentally supported equipment)
Purchasing cards or corporate credit cards
Identification card
Name badge
Parking permit(s)
Computer access authorization codes
Telephone cards
Any other work-related or work-issued items Failure to return university property may result in referral to law enforcement.
In the event a supervisor is in the process of addressing performance and/or conduct issues with the employee, those processes may continue during the employee’s resignation notice period.
Payroll and Benefits should refer to the WRS Administration Manual for determining the termination date of an employee when an employee is no longer considered an employee per Wis. Stat. 40.02(26).
Retirement
An employee may decide to retire from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in doing so, must meet the eligibility requirements for retirement. Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) provides benefits to eligible University of Wisconsin-Madison employees. For additional information regarding retirement and eligibility, refer to the Office of Human Resources Wisconsin Retirement system webpage.
The guidelines within the Resignation section I(A) also apply to employees who have submitted their intent to retire.