How to write a professional resignation letter

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Before you resign, know your rights and responsibilities

At its heart, a resignation is a termination of your employment contract with your company. As such, it’s important to know your rights and responsibilities under Australian law, and under your individual work contract.

Under Australian law

All employment contracts within Australia should include a notice period. This is usually a short paragraph outlining employees’ contractual obligation to provide a notice period, how long the notice period needs to be, and how employees need to provide this.

It may also outline how employees should go about handing in their resignation.

Note that under Australian law, resignation periods begin the day after employees hand in their notice until their last day on the job.

Employers cannot legally reject a resignation, nor are they required to accept or approve it.

Under your employment contract

If you do not provide adequate notice, your employer may be able to withhold your final pay.

If your employment contract sets out the conditions you need to submit your resignation, it’s important you follow it.

If they seem unreasonable, it may be worth getting in touch with a solicitor to review the legalities of your contract and what your options may be.

However, if your contract does not set out any expectations, it is worth getting in touch with the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman to confirm the minimum required notice you must provide in order to ensure smooth transition.

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How to write a resignation letter

Learning how to write a resignation letter is an important skill.

A resignation letter does not have to be a complicated document. In fact, the more succinct, the better.

Be sure to include:

• The date you’re writing your letter
• Address to the appropriate person
• Explain your intent to resign and the last day of employment
• Offer your assistance to train your replacement
• Finish on a positive note

The key to writing a professional resignation letter is to remain diplomatic.

Don’t turn your resignation letter into a list of grievances. You may want to work for the company again at some stage, and at the very least, you may need your employer to provide a reference for you. Keep your letter positive and tactful.

Bear in mind, your resignation letter should follow up to a face-to-face meeting with your manager. So, draft the main points of your letter in advance but wait until you have had a conversation with your manager to fine-tune the wording so that it reflects the main points of your conversation.

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When and how to submit your resignation letter

It’s not always easy to have this conversation to let your supervisor know you’re moving on, but it’s important to do so in a professional manner. You never know who they know, if you’ll want them to provide a reference, or when you’ll run into them again down the line, so keep it as positive as you can.

It may feel awkward, but if you can, it’s best to tell your supervisor the news in person.

We recommend organising a one-on-one sit-down meeting with your manager. If you feel that they may not take the news well, perhaps schedule it for a Friday afternoon so they have the weekend to reflect.

How to tell your boss you’re quitting

There are certain things you should mention when discussing your resignation with your manager or supervisor.

Remember to keep the conversation positive if you can, or neutral at the very least. You don’t want to burn any bridges.

1. Tell them you’re resigning and the date you intend to be your final day.
2. If you feel it’s appropriate, tell them why you’re leaving.
3. Thank them for the opportunities they provided.
4. Offer to help with the transition.

Once you’ve had your conversation, it’s good practice to follow it up with an email summarising the points you discussed in your meeting. If you did choose to hand in the physical copy of your letter, you may want to provide an electronic copy also.