Layoffs
Offboarding during a layoff: a checklist for HR and IT
Updated · 8 min read
A layoff turns a process built for one departure at a time into dozens or hundreds on the same day. The usual weak points, like access removed late or a laptop never returned, multiply, and the timing of access removal becomes a sensitive decision in its own right.
This checklist covers planning, the day itself, and the weeks after. It is operational guidance, not legal advice: layoff obligations vary by country, state, and company size, so involve employment counsel early.
Plan before the announcement
- Confirm the final list of affected people and their exit dates, including contractors whose engagements are ending.
- Check notice and consultation obligations with counsel. In the United States, for example, the WARN Act can require advance notice for mass layoffs at covered employers, and age discrimination rules affect release agreements for group terminations.
- Decide when access will be removed for each group, and who approves exceptions.
- Prepare equipment return logistics, especially for remote employees.
- Prepare what people will still be able to reach, such as pay, benefits, and personal documents, so access removal does not cut them off from those.
Time access removal carefully
Removing access too early reveals the layoff before people are told. Removing it too late leaves a window where upset employees still hold system access. Most companies aim to remove access at, or immediately after, the notification.
- Prepare the full list of systems for each person in advance, so removal is one action per group rather than a scramble.
- Prioritise privileged and production access, which should be removed first.
- Confirm every removal succeeded, since at this volume a single failed call is easy to miss.
The day of the layoff
- 1
Notify
Deliver the news in the planned order, with managers and HR prepared.
- 2
Remove access
Revoke identity provider and application access for each group as notifications complete.
- 3
Verify
Check results per person and per system, and follow up on any failures the same day.
- 4
Start equipment return
Send return instructions or prepaid shipping labels to remote employees.
- 5
Communicate next steps
Tell affected people how final pay, benefits, and personal data requests will be handled.
The weeks after
- Track outstanding equipment by how overdue it is, and follow up.
- Handle knowledge transfer for work that was in progress.
- Reassign ownership of documents, repositories, and recurring meetings.
- Review access for anyone whose role changed as a result of the reorganisation.
- Keep a complete record of each offboarding for audits and any later disputes.
How PurpletGo handles layoffs
PurpletGo is built to run many offboardings as one batch while keeping a separate, complete record for each person.
- Bulk-create up to 200 offboardings at a time from a CSV file or a directory selection, each with its own exit date and separation type, on every plan.
- Bulk actions to move many cases forward at once, and a dashboard for the whole batch.
- Access revocation with a result per system (revoked, failed, or needs manual action), so failures stand out at volume.
- Return tracking numbers recorded on each offboarding, plus overdue reporting, on every plan.
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