Resignation letter NZ: how to resign well, with two templates

Do not hand in anything until these are sorted.

1. You have the new offer in writing. A verbal offer, an email saying "we would love to have you" or a recruiter’s assurance is not a signed employment agreement. Wait for the document, read it, sign it, then resign. We have seen people resign on a handshake and watch the role disappear in a restructure two weeks later.
2. You know your notice period. New Zealand has no statutory minimum notice. It is whatever your employment agreement says, and it works both ways. Four weeks is common for professional roles, two weeks in some smaller businesses, and one to three months for senior, executive and specialist positions. If your agreement is silent, "reasonable notice" applies, which for a senior role is usually taken to be around four weeks. Check the actual document, not your memory of it.
3. You have read the rest of the agreement. Look for restraint of trade or non-compete clauses, confidentiality obligations, garden leave provisions (your employer can keep you on pay but away from work during notice), clawback of training or relocation costs, and anything about bonuses or incentives that vest after a certain date. If you are joining a competitor, this matters. If you are unsure what a clause means, get advice before you resign, not after.

Two practical notes. Unused annual leave is paid out in your final pay. And the start date in your new agreement should sit after your notice period ends; if it does not, talk to your new employer before you resign, not your current one.

The order matters: tell your manager in person first, then confirm it in writing. Nobody should learn you are leaving from an email, a colleague or LinkedIn.

• Book a short meeting. Fifteen minutes, face to face if you can, video if you cannot. Not a corridor conversation, and not a Friday 4.55pm ambush.
• Say it plainly. "I have accepted another role and I am resigning. My last day will be [date], which is my four weeks’ notice. I wanted to tell you in person before you saw the letter." Then stop talking.
• Keep the reasons short and positive. You do not owe a full explanation. "It is a step up I could not turn down" or "it is a better fit for where I want to take my career" is enough. This is not the moment to list everything wrong with the place.
• Hand over the letter. Bring it with you or send it straight after the meeting so there is a dated record.
• Agree on the announcement. Ask how your manager would like the team told, and when. Then stick to it.

Expect surprise, disappointment and possibly a pitch to stay. All three are normal. Stay warm, stay firm.

For most roles this is all you need. The letter is a formal record, not a speech.

[Date]

Dear [Manager’s name],

Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from my position as [job title] at [company]. In line with my employment agreement, my final day of employment will be [date].

Thank you for the opportunities I have had here. I will do everything I can to make the handover smooth over the coming weeks.

Kind regards,
[Your name]

Use this version for senior roles, where you have a longer notice period, or where you want the handover and any leave arrangements recorded in the same letter.

[Date]

[Manager’s name]
[Title]
[Company]
[Address]

Dear [Manager’s name],

Re: Resignation, [job title]

I am writing to give formal notice of my resignation from my position as [job title] with [company]. My employment agreement provides for a notice period of [X weeks], so my final day of employment will be [date].

I have valued my time with [company], in particular [one specific thing: the site upgrade, the team, the support through a hard year]. I am grateful for the opportunities and the trust you have shown me.

During my notice period I will prioritise a full handover of my responsibilities, including [key projects, reporting, supplier or customer relationships, direct reports]. I would welcome the chance to discuss how you would like this managed and who you would like me to work with.

I understand I have [X days] of accrued annual leave and would appreciate confirmation of how this will be handled in my final pay.

Thank you again. I wish you and the team every success.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Phone] | [Personal email]

Keep a copy. Send it from or to your personal email as well as your work one, because your work inbox will not follow you.

If you are good at your job, there is a fair chance your employer will try to keep you. More money, a new title, the flexibility you asked for a year ago. It is flattering, and it is worth thinking about carefully.

Here is what we have seen over twenty years of placing people. Most of the reasons you started looking are still there the morning after you accept a counter-offer. The pay rise often comes out of next year’s increase. The trust has shifted: you have shown you will leave, and some managers never quite forget that. And when the next restructure comes, the person who was going to go anyway is not always the safest.

That does not mean never accept one. It means decide before you resign what you would do if they asked you to stay, so you are not making the call under pressure in the meeting. If the only thing wrong was money, say so before you go looking, and give them the chance to fix it honestly. If it was the role, the manager, the commute or the direction of the business, a counter-offer rarely fixes any of that.

And if you do accept the counter-offer, tell the other employer and your recruiter promptly and graciously. New Zealand is a small place.

How you spend your last few weeks is what people remember. Aim to leave the role in better shape than you found it.

• Write a handover document. What you do, how you do it, where things live, who to call, what is due when, and what is half-finished. Dates, system access (handed over properly, through IT), supplier contacts, the quirks nobody else knows.
• Close what you can and flag what you cannot. Be honest about what will not be done by the time you leave.
• Introduce your replacement or your cover to the people they need to know, inside and outside the business.
• Keep working. Turning up late and coasting for four weeks undoes years of goodwill. Your future referees are watching.
• Do the exit interview properly. Constructive and specific, not a venting session. It may be read by the people you want a reference from.
• Return everything. Laptop, phone, keys, fuel card, vehicle, PPE. Get a receipt if you can.

The Waikato manufacturing and engineering community is not large. The manager you resign from this year may be the hiring manager, the customer, the supplier or the referee in five years. We have placed people back into companies they left, and we have seen people ruled out of roles because of how they left somewhere else.

So: thank people individually. Send a short farewell note. Connect on LinkedIn. Do not post anything about your old employer that you would not say to their face. And ask your manager, before you go, whether they are happy to be a referee. Most will say yes if you have handled the exit well.

If the reason you are thinking about resigning is that you do not yet have somewhere to go, have a look at our current senior roles first, or send us your CV and book a confidential conversation before you hand anything in. Resigning with a signed offer in hand is a very different experience from resigning without one. Our guide on negotiating the offer covers what to sort out before you sign.