Handling an Employee’s Resignation Letter in Alberta

Receiving a letter of resignation from an employee, can be a stressful moment for both the employee and the employer. Employee resignations tend to interrupt the workplace; however, taking correct steps can make the transition smoother for all individuals involved. Below, are best practices for handling an employee resignation in Alberta.

Always receive a resignation in writing

If an employee communicates their resignation verbally, employers must ask for a letter of resignation. Receiving a written resignation, with the final date of employment, is extremely important as it works to protect employers from unemployment claims and other charges of misconduct.

Length of Notice Required

Upon resigning, the Alberta Employment Standards Code requires that an employee gives his or her employer a certain amount of notice; dependent on the length of their employment:

• 1 week of notice: Employed for more than 90 days but less than 2 years
• 2 weeks of notice: Employed for over 2 years

Reassigning work among employees

If the employee resigning is a key member of your workforce and resigning on good terms with the company; the employer should allow them to work through their notice period. This enables them to wrap up uncompleted work and provide coworkers with relevant information for ongoing projects. In the notice period, the employer can also assign the workload of the resigning employee among other workers.

During the time of transition, it is imperative that employers keep their remaining workforce in mind. To ensure employees adopting more work are prepared for the workload, they should be equipped with a list of the goals and responsibilities of the position they are assisting with.

Notifying coworkers and clients about an employee’s resignation

An employee resignation impacts all those that they worked with, as well as any customers they may have been in communication with. To prevent confusion, the employer must be proactive in effectively communicating this employee’s resignation to all those it impacts.

The following, are steps to effectively communicate an employee’s resignation with staff:

• Start by informing the department the employee worked in, of their resignation;
• Based on the size of your workforce, a meeting or company email can be sent out to inform the remaining staff of the resignation;
• Provide a timeline for replacing the leaving employee;

Looking for further information on employee resignations?

Our team of HR professionals can provide you with greater detail on the resignation of an employee, as it relates to your situation. For any HR or health & safety help, call us today: 1 (833) 247-3652