Added and Amended Policies > Series 400 Budget, Finance and Operations > 4.19.2 Separation of Employment and Exit Guidelines

4.19.2 Separation of Employment and Exit Guidelines

A. Purpose

It is the policy of the University to ensure consistent administrative practices in terminating employment of employees and establish guidelines for the exit process. This policy is to ensure the timely return, the recovery of university property, the recovery of outstanding fees, and the timely cancellation of all network access at the University.

B. Persons Affected

This Policy applies to all employees separating employment from The University of Texas at Tyler and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (collectively, the “University”).

C. Definitions

N/A

D. Policy

Employees voluntarily resigning or retiring from a position with the university are expected to give a minimum of two (2) work week notice in writing to their supervisor and to the Office of Human Resources.  A longer or shorter period may be mutually agreed upon in writing by the supervisor and the employee. Resignations received at the end of a calendar month shall be adjusted and effective as the last day of the month.  Department heads may request, through prior approval, to waive this stipulation on an individual basis. A written request is required to waive the two (2) work week notice period and should be submitted to the Office of Human Resources. 

Some departments and positions may require that employees give more than (2) two weeks’ notice. The department head will be responsible for establishing this policy and informing their employees.

The effective date of an employee's resignation is the last day the employee performs duties for the University.  Employees are required to work the entire notice period unless the supervisor approves interim leave.  Employees are required to work on the stated final day of employment with the following exceptions:

• Employees retiring or transferring to another state agency are not required to work their last day if the supervisor has approved the use of applicable leave accruals on the final day(s) of employment.
• Employees on Family Medical Leave (FMLA) or Leave of Absence (LOA) at the time of resignation are not required to work their last day.  The effective date will be the date the employee notifies the university of their intent to resign. 

1. Termination Pay.  A University employee who resigns, is dismissed, or separates from employment will receive lump sum pay for all active hours worked, duly accrued unused vacation leave up to the maximum allowable. The vacation accrual is paid, provided that the individual's employment with the State has been continuous for a period of six (6) months and the employee is not a direct transfer to another state agency. Payment will be calculated at the base rate of compensation (excluding longevity pay, stipends, additional pay or differentials) at the time of separation. 

   In the case of death, the estate of an employee will be paid for all of the employee's accrued vacation balance and one-half (or 336 hours, whichever is less) of the accrued sick leave. Such payment will be calculated at the rate of compensation (excluding stipends, additional pay, or differentials) being paid the employee at the time of death.

2. Unclassified Employees. Unclassified administrative and professional employees voluntarily resigning, or retiring are expected to give a minimum of 30 days written notice to their supervisor and the Office of Human Resources. This notice is not inclusive of leave time.

   Faculty wishing to terminate their employment are expected to give a minimum of 90 days written notice to their supervisor and to the Office of Human Resources. This notice is not inclusive of leave time. 

E. Responsibilities

A. Employing Department/Manager

1. Obtains resignation in writing, to include effective resignation date. If the termination does not coincide with the termination date, manager must notify the Office of Human Resources immediately.

2. Completes the appropriate eForm and attach the resignation/retirement letter. Upon submission of the eForm, an electronic exit notification is sent to all the appropriate Data Owners and manager detailing actions that should be taken within 10 days. In addition, managers should refer to the HOP 7.1.6 Account Management for timeliness of disabling employee application access.

3. Informs the separating employee of their obligation to settle any outstanding items.

4. Returns all University property to the appropriate University departments.

5. Disables, deletes or transfers access of third-party systems that are not managed by a UT Tyler system. Examples include Facebook and Qualtrics.

B. Employee

1. Reviews and completes the Employee Exit Checklist, which includes expectations of returning all University owned property, completing the Exit Interview Questionnaire, etc.

2. Informs the HR Benefits Office of any address changes, as well as discussing options to continue health insurance coverage through COBRA.

F. Review

This policy shall be reviewed by the Office of Human Resources every five years or as legislation changes.