What should an out-of-office message for a ter­mi­nat­ed employee include?

Ter­mi­na­tion or the end of an em­ploy­ment re­la­tion­ship is part of everyday pro­fes­sion­al life. One thing is often over­looked. An out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts helps ensure that email inquiries don’t go unan­swered and prevents mis­un­der­stand­ings. Clear rules for email com­mu­ni­ca­tion make the tran­si­tion easier for everyone involved.

Why should you set up an out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts?

A large part of business com­mu­ni­ca­tion now happens by email. That makes it important to handle an employee’s work inbox carefully after they leave the company.

Without an out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts, several problems can arise:

• Customers do not receive a response
• Important inquiries may be missed
• Data pro­tec­tion issues can occur
• The company may appear un­pro­fes­sion­al

A phone line can usually be redi­rect­ed with little effort, but an email account is more sensitive to manage. Whether incoming messages may be forwarded, accessed, or shared depends on company policy and ap­plic­a­ble privacy or com­pli­ance rules.

Typical pro­ce­dures after ter­mi­na­tion:

An out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts is therefore often the most practical and legally secure solution at the end of an em­ploy­ment re­la­tion­ship. It informs senders that the person no longer works for the company and gives them a new point of contact.

What should an out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts include?

The purpose of an out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts is to ensure that incoming emails can still be handled after the em­ploy­ment re­la­tion­ship has ended. A well-written out-of-office message should therefore include the following in­for­ma­tion:

• A note that the em­ploy­ment re­la­tion­ship has ended
• A clear reference to the new point of contact
• An al­ter­na­tive contact option, such as an email address and, op­tion­al­ly, a phone number
• A note that the message will not be forwarded au­to­mat­i­cal­ly
• An objective, pro­fes­sion­al tone that matches the company style

Important: An out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts is not a personal message, but or­ga­ni­za­tion­al in­for­ma­tion. Make sure the contact details are up to date so customer inquiries can be handled promptly.

What should you leave out of an out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts?

Even if a ter­mi­na­tion is sensitive, the out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts should remain objective. Avoid including the following:

• Reasons for the ter­mi­na­tion
• Personal comments or opinions
• Criticism of the company or former col­leagues
• Ref­er­ences to the new employer
• Private or new pro­fes­sion­al email addresses

Contact details for the period after the em­ploy­ment re­la­tion­ship ends should only be included in a separate farewell email, not in the automatic out-of-office message for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts.

Out-of-office message templates for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts

Depending on the situation, the out-of-office message is set up either by the former employee or by an au­tho­rized third party. We have created examples of out-of-office messages for ter­mi­nat­ed employee accounts for both scenarios:

Out-of-office message set by you

Hello,

Thank you for your message. I am no longer with [name of company] as of [date] and unfortunately, I can no longer answer your email. Please direct all future inquiries to [first name, last name] at [email] or [phone]. He/she will be happy to assist you. Please note that your email will not be forwarded automatically.

Sincerely,
[first and last name]

Out-of-office message set by man­age­ment

Dear sender,

Thank you for your email. [first name, last name] is no longer with [name of company] as of [date] and unfortunately can no longer answer your email. Please direct your inquiries to [first name, last name] at [email] or [phone]. He/she will be happy to assist you. Please note that your email will not be forwarded automatically.

Sincerely,
[company name]

What else should you consider for email addresses after ter­mi­na­tion?

Have you mainly used your business email account for work-related com­mu­ni­ca­tion? Before your em­ploy­ment re­la­tion­ship ends, you should arrange a private al­ter­na­tive in good time, such as a secure email address for job ap­pli­ca­tions or pro­fes­sion­al networks.

Your own secure email address gives you more in­de­pen­dence and control in the long term. Pro­fes­sion­al solutions such as Hosted Microsoft Exchange also provide struc­tured access to emails, calendars, and contacts across devices.