Exits that close properly
An employee leaving is the moment your records are most likely to be lost and most likely to be needed. Archive them off the roster, keep the record for six years, and find out why they left.
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Complete hours and leave history for final pay
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Access removed without the record being deleted
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Six-year retention that survives the exit
Five steps, in order
1. Notice and last day
Notice comes from the individual employment agreement — there is no award scale in New Zealand setting it for you. Record the date given and the agreed last day, because both feed the final pay.
2. Final pay
Outstanding wages, any unused entitled annual holidays, 8% of gross earnings since the last entitlement anniversary for the portion not yet entitled, and any alternative holidays not taken.
3. Access and property
App access, keys, uniforms and devices returned or revoked on the last day. Removing access is not the same as deleting the record — the record still has to exist.
4. Exit conversation
Why people leave is the one workforce dataset you can only collect once. Capture it at the exit, and it becomes a pattern you can act on rather than an anecdote.
5. Archive, do not delete
Move the employee out of the active roster while keeping their agreement, hours, leave and pay history intact for the six years the law requires.
General information, not legal advice. Final pay should be calculated in your payroll system against the employee’s actual earnings history.
The record has to outlast the job
The six-year clock in section 130 and section 81 does not stop when someone resigns, and a personal grievance can be raised after the employment has ended. Deleting a leaver to tidy up the staff list removes exactly the evidence you would need.
What you should still be able to produce three years later
- The signed employment agreement, and any variations to it
- Every shift worked, and the hours recorded against them
- Leave taken, balances at the exit, and how they were calculated
- The date notice was given and the agreed last day
This is the same obligation covered on digital HR records — offboarding is simply where it is most often broken.
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Close the exit without losing the record
Archive staff off the roster while keeping the agreement, hours and leave history the law requires you to hold.
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- All outstanding wages up to the last day, payment for any annual holidays the employee had become entitled to but not taken, 8% of gross earnings since their last entitlement anniversary to cover the period they had not yet become entitled for, and payment for any alternative holidays they had earned but not taken. Your payroll system performs the calculation; what it needs from you is complete hours and leave history.
- Six years. The wages and time record under section 130 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the holiday and leave record under section 81 of the Holidays Act 2003 both run for at least six years, and that period does not reset or stop when the employment ends. Deleting a leaver’s record at the exit is one of the most common record-keeping mistakes.
- Yes. Under section 114 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 an employee generally has 90 days from when the action occurred or came to their notice to raise a personal grievance, with a longer period for grievances involving sexual harassment. The employment ending does not close the window, which is the practical reason the record has to outlast the employment.
- No — the two obligations sit together rather than in conflict. Employment law requires the record to be retained; the Privacy Act 2020 requires it to be held securely, kept accurate, and not used beyond the purpose it was collected for. In practice that means removing access and restricting who can open the file, not erasing it.