How to resign properly

To resign, give your employer written notice, state the date your employment will end, and check that the date allows for the full notice in your contract. The legal minimum is one week once you have been employed for a month. Most public sector contracts ask for more, and teachers can only leave at the end of a term. A short, plain letter and a tidy exit keep your reference and pension straightforward.

Step 1: find your notice period

Your contract or written statement of employment particulars should state the notice you must give. If it does not, check the staff handbook or the national terms your contract refers to.

In the NHS, notice is set locally and is usually longer for higher bands. Councils and the Civil Service set their own, often scaled by grade. Teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales have fixed resignation deadlines of 31 October, 28 or 29 February and 31 May; see the teacher resignation deadlines guide.

If you cannot find any notice term, the statutory minimum of one week applies. The notice periods guide explains how statutory and contractual notice fit together.

Step 2: work out your leaving date

Notice counts from the day after your employer receives the letter, unless your contract says otherwise. If the contract says “one month”, your last day is normally the same date in the following month. If it gives a number of weeks, count whole weeks.

You can ask to use leftover holiday to finish earlier, but your employer can refuse or ask you to take it at a different time. Any statutory holiday you have built up and not taken by your leaving date must be paid.

Step 3: write the letter

A resignation letter can be very short. It should include:

1. your name and job title
2. a clear statement that you are resigning
3. the date your employment will end
4. the date of the letter

Something like this is enough:

Dear [manager’s name],

I am writing to resign from my post as [job title] in [team or department]. In line with my contractual notice period of [length], my last working day will be [date].

Yours sincerely, [Your name]

A line of thanks is optional. Leave out complaints and your reasons for going, and raise any concerns about how you were treated separately.

Send the letter to the person your contract names, usually your line manager, with a copy to HR if your employer uses an online system. In a school it needs to reach the headteacher, or the chair of governors if you are the head. Email is acceptable for most employers. Keep a copy and ask for a reply confirming receipt and your leaving date.

Step 4: tell your manager in person first

Speak to your manager face to face or on a call before the letter arrives. They will need to plan cover and may want to talk about your leaving date, a handover or a counter-offer. Public sector pay is set by band and spine point, so a counter-offer on salary is uncommon. A regrading, a change of hours or a different role is more likely.

Step 5: sort out the practical points

Before you leave, check:

• your final pay date and whether it includes holiday pay or deductions for leave taken in advance
• any money you owe, such as a season ticket loan, a lease car, course fees with a repayment clause or a salary overpayment
• your P45, which your employer must give you after your last pay and your new employer needs for your tax code
• your pension: whether your new job is in the same scheme, and whether a break in membership matters for you
• returning equipment, ID badges and smartcards
• your reference: who will give it and whether your employer has a policy on what it says

When you move between NHS employers, continuous service for annual leave, sick pay and redundancy can carry over under Agenda for Change if there is no long gap between jobs. The moving between NHS trusts guide has the detail. The P45, P60 and P11D guide explains the tax side.

Leaving because of a problem at work

If you are resigning because of bullying, discrimination or a serious breach of contract by your employer, talk to your union or ACAS before you hand in the letter. Resigning in response to a fundamental breach can sometimes count as constructive dismissal, and the way and timing of your resignation affects that claim. Raising a grievance first is usually part of the process, and tribunal claims need ACAS early conciliation. The time limit for most claims is six months since 1 October 2026.

Exit interviews

Many public sector employers offer an exit interview or survey, and you do not have to take part. If you do, keep comments factual. NHS exit feedback is often used to look at why staff leave particular teams, so it can be a reasonable place to raise concerns you did not want to pursue formally.