In this article
Key takeaways
- Send the farewell email on your last working day or the day before, after your manager has seen it. Keep it short: the date, a thank-you, who takes over your work, and one way to stay in touch.
- Use a personal email or LinkedIn to stay in touch. Do not share client data or forward company files, and do not take a shot at anyone on your way out.
- The Code on Wages, 2019 says wages of an employee who has resigned are to be paid within two working days of resignation (section 17(2)). We could not verify how that interacts with notice periods and full-and-final settlement for every role, so read your appointment letter too.
- Under the Code on Social Security, 2020, gratuity is payable on resignation after five years of continuous service (fixed-term employees after one year, proportionately). Provident fund needs your date of exit marked before an online transfer.
- A relieving letter is not clearly mandated by law, according to HR-vendor guidance, but new employers ask for one. Request it, the experience letter and the settlement statement in writing before you leave.
Most pages for “last working day email” give you three templates and stop. Yet the email is only one task in your last two weeks. This guide covers the timeline from notice to last day, what the law says about your pay and benefits, copy-ready emails for each person who needs one, and a free generator that writes the first draft. The resignation email itself is a separate job and is not repeated here.
What happens between resignation and your last working day
Exits run in a rough order. The dates and names differ by company, so treat this as a map, then check your appointment letter and HR policy for the exact notice period, settlement window and clearance process.
| Stage | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Resignation accepted | Manager and HR acknowledge in writing and confirm your last working day | Get the date in writing; check it against your notice clause |
| 2. Handover plan | You and your manager decide who takes over what | List tasks, owners, deadlines, contacts |
| 3. Knowledge-transfer document | You write down how your work runs | Share it with manager and successor; keep it free of passwords |
| 4. Exit interview | HR asks why you are leaving and how the team can improve | Be honest and specific; stay constructive |
| 5. Asset return | Laptop, ID card, access card and other items are collected | Get a written acknowledgement |
| 6. Access revocation | Email, VPN, chat and tools are switched off, often on the last day | Forward nothing; export only your own personal data |
| 7. Full and final settlement | Pending salary, leave encashment and deductions are totalled | Ask for the statement; check every line |
| 8. Relieving and experience letters | HR issues the letters, usually once clearances are done | Ask in writing before your last day |
What the law says about your pay, gratuity and PF on exit
The four labour codes, including the Code on Wages, 2019 and the Code on Social Security, 2020, were notified as in force from 21 November 2025, according to KPMG and BDO’s summaries of the Ministry of Labour notifications. The parts below matter on your way out. This is information, not legal advice.
Wages: two working days
Section 17(2) of the Code on Wages, 2019 says: “Where an employee has been removed or dismissed from service; or retrenched or has resigned from service, or became unemployed due to closure of the establishment, the wages payable to him shall be paid within two working days of his removal, dismissal, retrenchment or, as the case may be, his resignation.”
Two cautions. First, the text says “two working days of … his resignation”, and we did not find a source explaining how that sits with a notice period, with leave encashment or notice-pay recovery, or with the company’s own full-and-final policy. Second, whether the Code covers your particular role is not something we checked. So: read your appointment letter, ask HR in writing for the settlement date, and if the answer is long or vague, raise it with the HR head.
Gratuity: five years, with one exception
Section 53 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 says gratuity is payable after “continuous service for not less than five years” on superannuation, retirement or resignation, among other events. The calculation is 15 days’ wages for every completed year of service, or part of a year in excess of six months. Gratuity can be forfeited or reduced in cases of termination for misconduct, negligence, damage to property or crimes involving moral turpitude.
The Press Information Bureau’s factsheet on the Code adds the change most pages leave out: fixed-term employees become eligible for gratuity after one year of continuous service, on a proportionate basis, instead of five. We did not verify the gratuity ceiling or the payment deadline, so ask HR for the calculation and the date.
Provident fund: mark your exit
According to EPFO’s FAQ on transfer claims, updating the date of exit of your previous job is mandatory before you can apply for an online transfer, and the exit date can be updated only after two months of leaving. The path is the member portal: log in with your UAN, go to Manage, then Mark Exit, choose the previous PF account, and enter the date and reason. Because the PDF link for that FAQ stopped working when we re-checked, confirm the current steps on the EPFO member portal itself.
Farewell email dos and don’ts
| Topic | Do | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Share a personal email or LinkedIn profile; phone number only with people you actually know | Post your phone number to the whole company |
| Client information | Introduce your successor to clients | Share client lists, contracts or contact data outside the company |
| Files | Leave documents in shared drives and the handover document | Forward company files to a personal email |
| Tone | Thank people specifically and mention one thing you learned | Complain, name names or hint at a bad exit |
| New employer | Say where you are going only if you are comfortable and your offer allows it | Announce a new job before the offer is confirmed |
| Timing | Send on the last working day or the day before, after your manager has seen it | Email “everyone” before your team and manager know |
| Length | Keep it to 4 to 8 lines | Write a speech |
Free farewell email generator
Choose the audience and tone, fill in the fields you want, and press Write the email. Switch the audience to get the version for your team, clients, manager or HR. Read the draft once and add one real detail before you send.
Subject lines that work
A clear subject line makes sure the message is opened and the date is not missed. Use one of these, with your own date.
| Tone | Subject line |
|---|---|
| Warm | Saying goodbye (last day: 16 October) |
| Warm | My last day at [Company] is 16 October |
| Formal | Notice of departure: last working day 16 October |
| Formal | Change of point of contact from 17 October |
| Short | Last day: 16 October |
| Short | Thank you, and goodbye for now |
| Client-facing | Handover of your account: [Name] is your new contact |
Copy-ready samples for every audience
Names, companies and dates in these samples are made up, to show the layout. Replace them with yours.
Sample 1: To the whole company (warm)
Subject: Saying goodbye (last day: 16 October)
Hello everyone,
Friday, 16 October 2026 will be my last working day at Northfield Systems.
I have spent four years here, and what I will remember most is the people on the support floor and the late nights we spent fixing things together. Thank you, all of you.
For anything on my reporting work after that, please contact Meera Nair (meera.nair@northfield.example).
If you would like to stay in touch, you can find me on LinkedIn or at asha.verma.mail@example.com.
Best wishes,
Asha VermaSample 2: To your team
Subject: My last day is 16 October
Hi team,
My last working day is Friday, 16 October 2026.
The best part of this job was working together on the billing migration. Thank you.
Handover: my notes are in the knowledge-transfer document on the shared drive, and Meera Nair will pick up my open work. If anything is unclear, ask me before 16 October, not after.
I would love to stay in touch: asha.verma.mail@example.com.
Warmly,
AshaSample 3: To clients and vendors (handover)
Subject: Handover of your account: Meera Nair is your new contact
Dear Mr. Rao,
I am writing to inform you that I will be leaving Northfield Systems, with Friday, 16 October 2026 as my last working day.
From the next working day, Meera Nair (meera.nair@northfield.example) will be your point of contact for all matters I have handled with you. I have briefed her on current status and open items.
Thank you for the professional relationship we have had.
Please send any requests to Meera from now on, so nothing waits on me.
Yours sincerely,
Asha Verma
Senior Analyst, Northfield SystemsSample 4: To your manager (thank-you)
Subject: Thank you, and my handover plan
Hi Karan,
As my last working day (Friday, 16 October 2026) comes closer, I wanted to thank you properly.
Thank you for the trust, the feedback and the room to grow in this role.
Handover status: the knowledge-transfer document is shared with you, and Meera is up to speed on open work. I will keep working through the list until 16 October and am happy to answer questions after I leave.
I hope we stay in touch.
With thanks,
AshaSample 5: To HR (documents checklist)
Subject: Exit documents and settlement: Asha Verma, last working day 16 October 2026
Hello,
My last working day at Northfield Systems is Friday, 16 October 2026 (designation: Senior Analyst). Please confirm the plan and dates for the following:
1. Full and final settlement statement, and the date it will be paid.
2. Relieving letter.
3. Experience letter, with my designation and dates of employment.
4. Form 16 / tax deduction certificate for the year, and my final payslip.
5. Provident fund: confirmation that my date of exit will be updated for my UAN.
6. Gratuity, if I am eligible under the policy and the law, with the calculation.
7. A copy of the signed exit and asset-return clearance.
Please tell me if anything is needed from my side before 16 October.
Thank you for your help,
Asha VermaSample 6: LinkedIn announcement
After four years at Northfield Systems, today is my last day. I am grateful to the support and analytics teams for the patience and the good arguments. Next, I will be sharing a new role soon. If we worked together, please stay in touch.Post it after you have actually left, and only after the new employer is comfortable with the announcement. Keep clients and project names out of it.
Sample 7: Out-of-office auto-reply for your last day
Subject: Automatic reply: I have left Northfield Systems
Thank you for your email. I left Northfield Systems on 16 October 2026 and this mailbox is no longer monitored.
For anything related to reporting and analytics, please write to Meera Nair at meera.nair@northfield.example.
Regards,
Asha VermaSample 8: Slack or Teams message
Hi all, today is my last day at Northfield. Thank you for everything. Meera has my open work. Stay in touch on LinkedIn: Asha Verma.Relieving letter, experience letter and what to do if they are delayed
HR-vendor guidance from Taggd says a relieving letter is not legally mandatory under Indian labour laws, though it is standard practice and many new employers ask for it for background verification. The same guidance says employers may reasonably delay it for an incomplete notice period, pending dues, unreturned assets or an ongoing disciplinary matter. We did not find a central law that requires a relieving or experience letter, and we cannot say how any court would view a particular case.
- Ask for the letters in writing, at least a week before your last day, and keep the email.
- Finish the clearances: assets, handover and exit interview. They are the usual reasons for delay.
- Check the signed letters for your name, designation, joining date, last working day and signatory.
- If a letter is delayed, follow up once on the same thread, then write to the HR head. Keep every message polite and dated.
- If a letter is refused, ask for the settlement statement, final payslip and Form 16, and check whether your new employer accepts them. For a legal remedy, speak to a lawyer or your state labour department.
Tone: warm, formal or short
| Tone | Use it when | Length | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm | Small team, long tenure, good relationships | 6 to 8 lines | Jokes that do not travel; naming some people and forgetting others |
| Formal | Large company, client-facing role, senior colleagues, regulated industries | 5 to 7 lines | Sounding cold to people you worked closely with |
| Short | Big distribution lists, a difficult exit, or when chat is the norm | 2 to 4 lines | Missing the handover contact |
Common mistakes in a farewell email
- No handover contact. Colleagues need to know who to ask after you leave.
- A wrong or missing date. Include the weekday and date, so it is not read as “today”.
- Hitting “reply all”. Replies to your goodbye email go to everyone. Use BCC for large lists if your company allows it.
- Sharing your phone number company-wide. Give it to the people you want to hear from.
- Sending before your manager has seen it. They should not learn the timing from a colleague.
- Attaching files or links to company material. Even a well-meant “here is my work” can breach confidentiality.
- Taking a shot at anyone. The email is archived; your name and the tone stay on record.
- Forgetting HR. Colleagues get a goodbye; HR needs the documents list.
Last working day and farewell email FAQs
When should I send my farewell email?
On your last working day or the day before, after your manager has read it and your handover is in motion. Sending it earlier leads to questions about work you are still doing; sending it after you lose access means it never goes.
What should I write in a last working day email?
Four things: your last working day, a specific thank-you, who takes over your work, and one way to stay in touch, such as a personal email or LinkedIn. Keep it to 4 to 8 lines.
Should I share my personal email or phone number?
Share a personal email or your LinkedIn profile. Give your phone number only to people you want to hear from. Do not put client or company information in the email.
Can I forward my work files to my personal email?
Do not. Company documents and client data usually belong to the employer, and forwarding them can breach your confidentiality obligations. Ask your manager what you may keep.
How soon must my final salary be paid after I resign?
Section 17(2) of the Code on Wages, 2019 says wages of an employee who has resigned are to be paid within two working days of resignation. We could not verify how that works with notice periods, leave encashment and company settlement policies, so ask HR in writing for the date and read your appointment letter.
Am I eligible for gratuity if I resign?
Under section 53 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, gratuity is payable on resignation after at least five years of continuous service. Fixed-term employees become eligible after one year, on a proportionate basis. Ask HR for your calculation.
Is a relieving letter mandatory?
HR-vendor guidance says it is not clearly mandated by central law, but it is standard practice and new employers often ask for it. Request it and the experience letter in writing before your last day.
What must I do for my PF account when I leave?
Note your UAN and keep a working mobile number linked to it. EPFO’s FAQ says the date of exit must be marked before an online transfer, and it can be updated only after two months of leaving. Confirm the current steps on the EPFO member portal.
Do I need to send a farewell email to clients?
Usually yes, if you worked with them directly, but agree the timing with your manager first. Use your company email and introduce your successor.
Sources
- Code on Wages, 2019, section 17: Time limit for payment of wages — Advocatekhoj (bare act text)Section 17(2): wages of a removed, dismissed, retrenched or resigned employee to be paid within two working days
- Code on Social Security, 2020, section 53: Payment of gratuity — Advocatekhoj (bare act text)Five years of continuous service, resignation as a qualifying event, 15 days’ wages per year, forfeiture grounds
- Code on Social Security, 2020: Towards Universal and Inclusive Social Protection — Press Information Bureau, Government of IndiaFixed-term employees eligible for gratuity after one year of continuous service, on a proportionate basis
- GOI notifies implementation of Labour Codes — KPMG IndiaThe four labour codes in force from 21 November 2025
- Implementation of Labour Codes: key provisions notified, effective 21 November 2025 — BDO IndiaCommencement date and the Acts the Codes replace
- Frequently asked questions: transfer claims for employees — Employees’ Provident Fund OrganisationDate of exit mandatory for an online transfer; Mark Exit path on the member portal. The PDF link returned an error when re-checked on 6 Oct 2026; confirm on the portal
- Is Relieving Letter Mandatory in India? — TaggdHR-vendor guidance: relieving letters not clearly mandated by law, common reasons for withholding