Who ends the employment if I use an employer of record?

The employer of record is the legal employer, so under the service agreement it issues the notice and signs the outcome. You supply the facts and the evidence and agree the plan with it. Tell it before you speak to the employee.

Does this checklist tell me the notice period for my country?

No. Notice, consultation and severance differ by country, so this checklist sends you to the country hiring guide or your adviser. It sets the order of the work.

When should I take legal advice?

Take it before you act if the case is not routine, for example when a complaint, a leave request or a protected situation is open. If you are unsure whether it is routine, ask.

Employee termination checklist: steps in order

What should be on an employee termination checklist?

This checklist sets out the order of work. It does not state the rules for any one country: where a step depends on local law, the line tells you to check the country guide or take advice first.

Before you decide

Confirm who the legal employer is. Done when: You know whether your own entity or an employer of record employs the person. If it is an employer of record, you have told it first and not acted yourself.
Legal employer, defined
Write down the reason and the evidence. Done when: One page holds the reason, the dates, the facts, and the documents behind each fact.
Read the contract and any handbook procedure. Done when: You have listed every step they require, such as warnings, meetings and the form of notice.
Read the country guide before you act. Done when: You have read its termination page, noted what it says about notice, consultation, approvals and any protected situations, and added each step to your plan.
Country hiring guides
Take advice where the case is not routine. Done when: An employment lawyer, or the HR and legal team at your employer of record, has confirmed the plan in writing.
Check whether anything is already open. Done when: You have asked HR whether the person has a complaint, a leave request, an absence or a pending change, and your adviser knows.

The decision and the notice

Fix the dates. Done when: You have written down the date notice is given, the last working day and the last day of employment, which can be different.
List everything the person is owed. Done when: Each item has a line: final pay, accrued leave not taken, notice pay, any severance or end-of-service payment the country guide sets out, bonus and expenses, with the contract clause or guide page beside it.
Severance pay, defined
Tell payroll the last day and the amounts. Done when: Payroll has the figures before its cut-off, so the final pay lands on the right run.
Payroll cut-off date
Prepare the notice in this country's form. Done when: The notice follows the contract and the country guide, and a reviewer has read it. You have not reused a letter from another country.
Plan the conversation. Done when: Two people agree who speaks, what the first two sentences are, and what happens if the person is upset. You have checked the country guide for who may attend.
Hold the conversation and deliver the notice as required. Done when: You have recorded the date, time and method of delivery, and the person has signed for it where signing is allowed.

After the conversation

Agree what the team and clients are told, and when. Done when: One short message is approved, and nobody learns about the exit from someone else first.
Plan access removal. Done when: A list names each system and the time its access ends, and sensitive access ends no later than the agreed plan.
Arrange the return of equipment and company property. Done when: Collection or return is booked, and each item is logged when it arrives.
Pay the final amounts on the right payroll run. Done when: The final payslip shows each item you listed, and the person has received it.
End benefits and insurance on the right dates. Done when: Each provider has been told in writing, and the person knows what happens to their cover.
Issue the end-of-employment documents the country requires. Done when: You have checked the country guide for any certificate, statement or tax form, and issued each one.
Update tax and social security records. Done when: The exit is reported to each authority in the form and by the date the country guide gives.
Keep the file together. Done when: The reason, evidence, notice, calculations, payments and messages sit in one place, kept for the period the country guide sets.
Review what you learned. Done when: You have noted what you would change, and the checklist is updated.

That is the whole checklist.

Why does a termination need a checklist?

A termination has many small steps, and an error in one of them can undo the rest. The step that causes most trouble is the one that depends on local law, which is why this checklist sends you to the country guide at each point rather than stating a rule.

Order matters too. You confirm who the employer is before you decide, decide before you give notice, and give notice before you pay, so that every later step rests on the one before it.

Who can you ask before you act with Teamed?

Real HR and legal experts come on every Teamed plan, so there is someone to ask before you act.

Termination, defined
The term in plain words.
Notice period, defined
What a notice period is and what it covers.
Top 10 HR compliance issues for multi-country teams
The issues that come up most.
Country hiring guides
Notice, severance and procedure for each country.

Questions people ask

Who ends the employment if I use an employer of record?
The employer of record is the legal employer, so under the service agreement it issues the notice and signs the outcome. You supply the facts and the evidence and agree the plan with it. Tell it before you speak to the employee.
Does this checklist tell me the notice period for my country?
No. Notice, consultation and severance differ by country, so this checklist sends you to the country hiring guide or your adviser. It sets the order of the work.
When should I take legal advice?
Take it before you act if the case is not routine, for example when a complaint, a leave request or a protected situation is open. If you are unsure whether it is routine, ask.

This checklist is a planning aid, not legal advice. Where a step depends on a country's rules, check the country guide or take advice.

Send this page to an AI and ask it to explain it.

An employee termination checklist for doing it in the right order.

What should be on an employee termination checklist?

Before you decide

The decision and the notice

After the conversation

Why does a termination need a checklist?

Who can you ask before you act with Teamed?

Questions people ask

Print this checklist

What should be on an employee termination checklist?

Before you decide

The decision and the notice

After the conversation

Why does a termination need a checklist?

Who can you ask before you act with Teamed?

Where should you go next?

Questions people ask

Print this checklist