Purpose

An employee (faculty, staff, or student) is terminating from the university or from one of multiple university positions.

Termination vs. Transfer Form

Choosing the correct form is the first step to ensure accurate processing of the employee’s job action. Review guidance on using the Termination form versus the Transfer form.

Termination Reason Code

Termination Codes are frequently used in institutional reports. Therefore, correct selection of the Termination Code is critical for accurately tracking employment patterns and trends.

Review a comprehensive list of Termination Codes and guidance for correct code selection.

Termination Date

The termination date indicates the last date of service by a faculty/staff member.

There is no institutional requirement that employees notify their department in writing in advance of their last day; however, many departments have policies that require such notification.

In the event that an employee is on a paid or unpaid leave and will not return to work, please contact your HR unit representative to determine the appropriate termination date to be used.

Non-Academic Terminations

For non-academic terminations, use the last day physically worked by the employee for the termination date. According to UI policy, accrued vacation cannot be used to extend the last date of service.

Academic Terminations

For academic appointments of faculty and staff use this table to identify the correct termination date.

Timing of Submission

The Effective Date listed on the Termination form drives a number of things that are impactful both to the employee and the University such as, employee pay, benefit eligibility, charging privileges as well as access to buildings, laboratories, parking lots, system access, and other assigned accesses.

For shift employees in units where last minute coverage is common, the department should:

• Create a draft of the termination form and;
• Finalize the draft as soon as practicable after the last shift worked.
  • For example, if the last shift was scheduled for Friday, 3 to 11 p.m., but the employee worked an additional 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, finalize the draft form on the following Monday morning.

University policy directs that termination transactions be completed through Workflow by the close of the last day of employment.  The Policy Manual (Part III, Chapter 12) states “Departmental executive officers should be aware that under the law they are personally responsible for all non-recoverable overpayments which occur because of failure to make the necessary reports promptly.” 

Late submission of termination information creates adverse effects to both employees and to the University. Examples of these adverse effects are:

• Overpayments that may be difficult for the department to recover from the former employee
• Inaccurate W2 information
• Delayed COBRA notification
• Continued access to buildings, laboratories, facilities, databases, programs, discount purchasing, etc.
• Extended benefits liabilities – it may be difficult to recover payments made for insurance and Healthcare Spending Account claims made by the employee after actual end date.

All termination forms should be submitted into the Workflow system prior to payroll cutoff in the month of the termination. Departments are responsible for removing employee access to local databases and programs.

Insurance Benefits Following Termination

• Fiscal appointment benefits end on the last day of the month in which the last day of work occurred.
• Academic appointment benefits end on the last day of the month in which the last day of work occurred if the appointment ends mid semester. If the full academic session is worked, the benefits end as follows:
  • Fall semester only appointment – December 31
  • Full academic year appointment – June 30
  • Spring semester only appointment – June 30
• Graduate Assistant academic appointments
  • Fall semester only appointment – December 31
  • Full academic year appointment or spring semester – August 31

End Dates – Temporary Appointments

Sometimes the End Date field from a Temporary Appointment Form will automatically terminate an appointment in the HR system; other times it does not.

If a department does not intend to renew an appointment, use the following guidance to determine how to remove the appointment from "active" status.

Employee Signature

Certain circumstances surrounding termination of employment require employee acknowledgement. For guidance on when an employee signature is required, see the table listed below:

*If a letter or electronic signature cannot be obtained, due to unforeseen circumstances, the reason and the form of correspondence used to receive the requested resignation should be clearly noted in the comments section of the Termination form.  

Employee Death

The employing department should submit an employment termination form within 72 hours (Reason code = Death) or as soon as the death becomes known.

For deceased employees, the date of death should be used as the effective date.

For complete information, please review death of a current university employee or contact University Benefits at benefits@uiowa.edu or 319-335-2676.

Procedure to Revise a Termination

• If the termination transaction is still in Workflow, it can be changed at any approval point along its routing path.  Check its status and contact whoever has it in their inbox.
• If the transaction has completed routing through Workflow, contact the HR Transactions team in University Workforce Operations at hr-transaction@uiowa.edu to request the form to be returned. Please include the Transaction number and the reason for revision.
  • The form will be rerouted through Workflow for changes.
  • When rerouting is complete, the termination action will be processed and take effect at the close of the last day of work as indicated on the form.
  • Benefits will be notified.

Post Workflow Processing

Once posted to the HR system, a termination sets into motion several processes throughout the university including payroll, benefits, charging privileges, access to buildings, laboratories, parking lots, computer databases and programs, and other access and privileges. Due to the impact these processes can create, the below provides the processing steps and timing that should be considered once the termination form has been initiated.

Support

If a form needs to be returned for any reason (i.e. editing, voiding), please contact University Workforce Operations at hr-transaction@uiowa.edu or 319-335-2381 or for any questions about the HR Transaction System.