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The Staff Leaver IT Checklist: Ten Things to Do on Their Last Day
A former employee with a live account is one of the most avoidable risks in any small business. Here are ten things to do on the last day, in a sensible order.
Ten steps, in order
- Agree the exact last day and time with HR and the manager, then block sign-in at that time.
- Revoke all active sessions and remove their MFA methods so no signed-in device keeps working.
- Reset the password in case it was shared or reused.
- Decide the mailbox: convert it to a shared mailbox (under 50 GB it needs no licence), or forward it, and give the manager access.
- Move important OneDrive files to the manager before the account is deleted. By default a deleted account’s OneDrive is kept for 30 days.
- Remove the licence only after the mailbox and files are safe, so nothing is deleted by accident.
- Remove them from groups, Teams, distribution lists and shared mailboxes.
- Change any shared passwords or accounts they knew.
- Collect and securely wipe or retire their devices, including the company phone.
- Disable their accounts in other apps and supplier portals, and update your asset register.
Do it the same way every time
Leaver problems usually come from improvising: the account that stayed active for three months, the laptop nobody wiped, the supplier portal that still worked. A written checklist makes it routine, and it also supports your GDPR and insurance answers. Our free checklist generator builds a printable starter and leaver list around the systems your business uses. Ask HR to confirm the legal and contractual side of any departure.