Topics Map > Employee Handbook > 1.20 Ending Employment
Topics Map > Operational Support Resources > 4.7 Human Resources > 4.7.9 Ending Employment

Ending Employment - Offboarding Checklist - Employees

Employees are responsible for contacting payroll and benefits to determine their last day on work and last day on payroll and providing their supervisor with a written notice (e.g. email) of resignation or retirement (please note that fixed-term terminal appointments do not need to provide notice). This notice (or the job end date for a fixed-term terminal employee) begins the offboarding process for Extension - the details of this process are below.

Note: Employees with a job end date (fixed-term terminal appointments) do not need to send a letter of resignation and can proceed to Tasks to Complete Prior to Departing.

 

1) Contact Payroll and Benefits

Background

The employee who is retiring or resigning begins the offboarding process by contacting payroll and benefits to determine their last day of work and last day on payroll. 

Instructions

  1. Contact ASU Payroll and Benefits at asu.payrollbenefits@ohr.wisc.edu or call (608) 262-5322.
  2. Work with ASU Payroll and Benefits to determine if you would like your remaining leave (vacation and holiday) to be paid out in a lump sum or if you would like to use it to extend your time on payroll.
  3. Notify ASU Payroll and Benefits if you will be retiring and whether you will be collecting a WRS annuity.
  4. Notify ASU Payroll and Benefits if you will be taking a position in another UW Institution or State Agency and indicate which one. 

Get Help

Questions? Contact asu.payrollbenefits@ohr.wisc.edu

2) Send Resignation Letter to Supervisor

Background

After consulting with payroll and benefits, the employee who is retiring or resigning sends their supervisor a resignation letter. 

Instructions

  1. Create an email message using a copy of the resignation template
  2. Fill out the following information in the resignation template:
    • Supervisor (for county-based faculty this will be the AED).
    • Last day of work
    • Last day on payroll
    • Whether or not you are retiring and will be collecting a WRS Annuity
    • Whether or not you are taking a position in another UW institution or State Agency and indicate which one.
  3. Email the completed resignation letter to your supervisor.

Get Help

3) Tasks To Complete Prior to Departing

Complete Divisional Offboarding Tasks

1) Send Program Area Reports

Send any reports associated with your program area to your supervisor and program manager.

2) Complete Knowledge Transfer Document

  • Fill out a knowledge transfer document.
  • This will serve as a useful resource for the next employee in your position.
  • Send a copy to your supervisor and your state program manager.

3) Complete USDA NIFA Training

  • This only applies to some employees. Employees who are required to complete the training will receive an email from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education notifying them that they have 30 days to complete the requirement. 
  • If you have not already and are required to, make sure to complete the NIFA Research Training Requirements (RCR) training (if your position has been fully- or partially-funded by Smith Lever).
  • Follow the instructions on this Research Knowledge Base article to register for and complete the course in Canvas.
  • If you run into any issues, please contact heather.mcfadden@wisc.edu 
  • Once you have completed the training, you will be sent a confirmation email. You can use this to verify training completion with your supervisor.

4) Verify Civil Rights Files are up-to-date

  • Please make sure that your civil rights files are complete, up-to-date, and easily accessible. For guidance on what documentation should be included in your civil rights files, refer to the OAIC Civil Rights Compliance page. If you have any questions, please contact oaic@extension.wisc.edu

5) Reimbursements and Expense Reports

  • Submit outstanding coursework and professional development reimbursements, if applicable.
  • Submit outstanding expense reports, if applicable.

6) Notify any partners, clients, or other applicable parties of your departure

  • Please work with your immediate supervisor to ensure that you notify all necessary parties regarding your departure.
  • Please work with your immediate supervisor to determine the most appropriate backup contacts following your departure.

Complete Payroll Tasks

1) Verify Paid Leave Balances

FAASLI Employees: Balances listed on your under leave statements in the MyUW portal are prorated for the year and may reflect an overpayment of paid leave if you end employment prior to the fiscal year (June 30).

University Staff Employees: Balances listed on your monthly leave statement are prorated for the year and may reflect an overpayment of paid leave if you end employment prior to the calendar year (December 31). 

2) Complete Final Absence Record

Monthly Employees

  • Log into MyUW and complete your final absence report.
  • The Payroll Office cannot pay out any unused leave time until you have reported all absences.
  • You will be paid all salary earned through the last day of work, including accrued vacation as provided by unclassified staff policies, provided that all absences are reported.
Biweekly Employees
  • Log into MyUW and complete your final biweekly timesheet.
  • The Payroll Office cannot pay out any unused leave time until you have reported all absences.
  • You will be paid all salary earned through the last day of work, including accrued vacation as provided by unclassified staff policies, provided that all absences are reported.

3) Verify Home Address in MyUW is Updated

  • Log into MyUW to make sure that your home address is listed correctly.
  • Your W-2 will be mailed to the home address listed in MyUW.
  • You MUST make this change yourself (Payroll & Benefits cannot update this for you). 

Review Benefits Information

Employment in another UW-System or State Institution

If you are resigning to begin employment with another UW-System institution, public school district, local government, state agency or other entity through which you will be eligible for Wisconsin Retirement (WRS) benefits, please notify ASU at asu.payrollbenefits@ohr.wisc.edu.  Providing this notification will help to ensure that accurate information is communicated to WRS regarding your ongoing benefits eligibility.

Health Insurance Information

If you have questions regarding health insurance after employment separation, retirement account information, etc. prior to leaving employment, please contact ASU at asu.payrollbenefits@ohr.wisc.edu.

Benefit Program Eligibility

  • You will receive a letter from Employee Trust Funds (ETF) with information regarding what benefits are available under COBRA after employment ends.  The letter will be sent approximately one week after separation of employment.
  • Information regarding your benefits upon resignation is also available by contacting the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF).

Complete Exit Survey & Interview

  • For departing ongoing faculty and staff, Extension HR will send a link to an exit survey and will schedule an exit interview.
    • Note that HR will not reach out to terminal appointments that are ending (e.g. Academic Staff or University Staff with a job end date, Temporary Employees, Student appointments). If an employee in a terminal appointment would like an exit interview they should reach out to hr@extension.wisc.edu
  • This exit interview will typically be conducted via zoom given the decentralized structure of our organization. In-person exit interviews on the UW-Madison campus are available upon request. The exit interview will typically be completed prior to an employee’s last day of employment.
  • This interview will be informal and will provide exiting employees with the opportunity to provide feedback regarding their employment and to share ideas and any recommendations for improvement.The information collected is kept separate from permanent personnel records and is primarily used to identify trends and strategies for strengthening Extension’s work environments. 
  • If you have any questions please contact hr@extension.wisc.edu.

Return Work-Related Items

Please make arrangements to return the following items to the appropriate party:

  • 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 card
  • Identification card
  • Name badge
  • Parking permits
  • Computer access authorization codes
  • Telephone cards
  • Any other work-related or work-issued items

Return Computer Equipment (Departmentally Supported Computers Only)

  • Employees in possession of computer equipment supported by DoIT Departmental Support should return equipment to their office and notify the appropriate contact to work with DoIT.
  • Make sure to notify the appropriate contact from the list below depending on your work location.
Computer Equipment Contacts
Group (Location) Contact
Extension Building, Pyle Center, Lowell Center, Area Extension Directors, Milwaukee County Employees greg.johll@wisc.edu
Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey (WGNHS) peter.schoephoester@wisc.edu
Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center molly.bodde@wisc.edu 

Questions? Contact hr@extension.wisc.edu

Backup Personal Data and Transfer Ownership of University Data

  • Review Help Desk articles on steps to take before losing access to O365, G Suite, Box, and Qualtrics.
  • If your colleagues will need continued access to content that you own in any of these applications after you departing Extension, please make sure to transfer ownership (e.g. open Qualtrics surveys, or previous Qualtrics survey results).
  • Review the deactivation timeline and notifications of IT services articles. 

Help Desk - Resources for Microsoft 365, Google, Zoom, Box, and Qualtrics account changes or deactivations

Help Desk - Deactivation Timeline for Microsoft 365, Google, Zoom, Box, Qualtrics

Help Desk - Deactivation Notifications for Microsoft 365, Google, Zoom, Box, and Qualtrics

Review How to Obtain Copies of Earning, Tax and Benefit Statements

If you are currently employed at the University of Wisconsin and have accidentally lost access in error, please contact your Human Resources department to confirm that your employment status has been entered correctly.

If you need further assistance after consulting with your HR representative, please contact UW-Shared Services.

How can I access my statements?

Earning statements: Please contact your former payroll office or UW Shared Services - Service Operations Support.

Tax Statements (W-2, 1042-S, Fellowship Tax Letters): You must submit a request using the Duplicate Statement Request Form. Documents from 2018 and later can be requested free of charge. 

For questions on Leave and Benefit information or to update your mailing address, please contact UW Shared Services - Service Operations Support.

Contact UWSS Service Operations 

When do former employees lose access?

The last day of your role at UW-Madison is the last day you will be able to access your Earning, Leave, Tax, and Benefit Statements.

You will no longer be able to access your employee information or documents the day after your effective date of termination

What apps are affected?

You will lose access to all Human Resource System tiles, data, and statements in MyUW. Access to these systems is based on an active employement status. 

This includes:

  • Benefit Information (Benefits statements)
  • Payroll Information (Tax and earnings statements)
  • Time and Absence (Timesheets and leave balances/reports)
  • HR, Payroll and Benefits News
  • HRS Approvals
  • Manager Time and Approvals
  • Mandatory Training
  • Performance Management
  • Personal Information

Other UW Madison Services

You will still be able to log into the MyUW portal and access non-Human Resource apps (such as Canvas, My Bookmarks, and WisCard Balance) for 24 months after your date of termination.

Please see Leaving the University of Wisconsin Madison for deactivation information for other common services such as Office 365, Zoom, and Google Drive. The deactivation timeline for these specific tools is 90 days long, should you need to backup or transfer ownership of any data.

Request Retirement/Recognition Certificates (if applicable)

 

Division of Extension Years of Service Certificate

Background

Retiring employees or employees with 10 or more years of service may receive a retirement/recognition years of service certificate signed by the Dean of Extension. The supervisor will initiate the process.  

Instructions

  1. The supervisor will email the Dean’s Executive Assistant Lisa Brennan (lisa.brennan@wisc.edu), the request for a retirement/recognition certificate.  If possible, please allow at least two weeks prior to the retirement/end date for processing.
  2. Lisa will email the supervisor a retirement/recognition template to be completed and returned to her. If there is a retirement celebration event, please include in your email request the date along with the address for the physical mailing of the certificate.
  3. Lisa will mail a framed retirement/recognition certificate signed by the Dean.

Get Help

  • For question related to the retirement/recognition years of service certificate contact Lisa Brennan via email lisa.brennan@wisc.edu or call 608.263.2775.

UW-Madison Retirement Certificate & Governor's Certificate of Appreciation

  • The Administrative Services Unit (ASU) will request a UW-Madison retirement certificate for employees after their last day on payroll and requests take up to 30 days to process.
  • This also includes requesting a certificate of appreciation from the governor's office for employees who have 15 or more years of service.
  • If you would like to request this early, please contact hr@extension.wisc.edu.
 

Set out of Office Reply

4) Tasks to Complete After Departing

Review Benefit Program Eligibility

Review the benefit program eligibility letter sent to you approximately one week after separation of employment. If you have any questions please contact hr@extension.wisc.edu.