Exit management for media and advertising agencies

Notice, garden leave and moving to a competitor

Once a resignation is handed in, log it in ZeniaHR that day; the notice period then follows your work terms policy, commonly 30 to 60 days in agencies, with longer notice for senior roles through per-grade overrides. When someone is joining a rival agency or a competitor of a key client, some agencies place them on garden leave for part of the notice: paid, but away from client work and files. Non-solicitation clauses on clients and staff are common in senior contracts; get legal advice on how far they can be applied.

Handing over accounts, not just tasks

An account handover is a relationship transfer as much as a task list. Start it within the first two weeks of notice, with a joint meeting or call where the leaver introduces the successor to the client, and let the successor lead the next status call while the leaver is still around. The last day should only confirm what has already moved.

• Client introductions to the successor, in person or on a call
• Status of every live brief, with dates and pending approvals
• Open design, edit and project files in the shared drive, properly named
• Admin access to client social handles and ad accounts moved to the successor
• Vendor and freelancer contacts for ongoing jobs

Access on the last day

Agencies hold access to things the client owns: social media handles, ad accounts, website back ends and shared drives. Move admin roles to the successor through each platform's own settings, never by sharing passwords, and remove the leaver's access at the end of the last day. Collect the laptop and any shoot equipment. Work through ZeniaHR's 8-item exit checklist and record why the person left, using the structured reasons, so patterns such as exits after lost pitches become visible.

Final settlement and a door left open

The final settlement covers salary to the last day, leave encashment where the policy allows, any bonus the bonus policy says is owed, a recovery if notice was cut short, and gratuity once five years of continuous service are complete. Because wages fall due within two working days of leaving, pay through an off-cycle run. Creatives often return as freelancers or rejoin later, and ZeniaHR keeps former employees' records and history, which makes a return simple.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Set notice days by grade in the work terms policy, with longer periods for senior account and creative roles.
2. Log each resignation the day it is handed in, so the notice clock and the last working day are set straight away.
3. Plan the client handover in the first two weeks of notice and track it alongside the 8-item exit checklist.
4. Remove the leaver's access to client handles, ad accounts and drives on the last working day.
5. Pay the settlement, with leave encashment and any bonus due, in an off-cycle run inside the two-working-day limit.

Read more about employee records and exits in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions