Early Resignation Notice Incentives

Offering a payment to employees who provide notice of their intent to leave the district at the end of the school year benefits the district with respect to determining budget and staffing needs earlier than normal.

Carefully structuring an early resignation notice incentive is important to ensure the district maximizes the investment and results in encouraging employees to provide timely notice of their intent to leave the district at the end of the school year, whatever the reason. Resignation notices received in early spring (e.g., Feb. 1) allow HR to plan for upcoming vacancies, identify transfer opportunities for employees, and develop recruiting and hiring plans.

Considerations

Planning for an early resignation incentive program should be done as part of the budget cycle and adoption of the district’s compensation plan. If your district is considering offering an early notice incentive payment, it’s important the board has authorized it in advance of the school year. This ensures the district isn’t making a gift of public funds in the middle of the school year to contract employees.

Details of the program should be planned out and clearly communicated to employees, including the following:

• Eligibility criteria
• Amount of incentive
• Procedures for submitting the notice (e.g., deadline, forms required)

A Model Early Resignation Notice Incentive form including these elements can be found in the TASB School Law eSource paper Exit Incentives - Points to Consider. We recommend the district work with local counsel when implementing an early resignation notice incentive program as there are legal risks involved.

Resignation Resources

Additional information on resignations can be found in the HR Library (member login required). Details on mid-year and end-of-year procedures for contract employees are included as well as consideration for at-will employees.