Leaving a Job: Personal Accounts to Update
Before your last day, move personal accounts off your work email, update recovery details, and remove work access from personal devices, so you do not get locked out or leave data behind.
When you leave a job, your work email and accounts are switched off. If any personal accounts depend on them, you can lose access overnight. A short checklist in your last week avoids that, and keeps work and personal data where they belong.
Before your last day
- Search your work inbox for sign-ups and newsletters to find personal accounts registered with your work email.
- Move those accounts to your personal email.
- Update recovery details that point to your work email or work phone.
- Move two-step verification off any work phone to your own device.
- Collect your personal records with HR's permission: payslips, tax forms, pension details.
- Update your contact details with HR and your pension provider.
On your devices
- Remove work email, apps and accounts from personal devices as your employer instructs.
- Return work devices after signing out of any personal accounts on them.
- Remove your personal accounts from shared work computers.
Do not take company data without permission. It can breach your contract and data protection law.
After you leave
- Watch for phishing that uses your old job, such as fake "final pay" or "pension transfer" emails.
- Update your professional profiles.
- Be careful with new job offers that ask for ID too early. See verifying a job offer.
Got an email about final pay or a pension transfer? Paste it into CyberWatch AI Scan for a free check.
Related: keeping work and personal email separate. For more, read our guide to identity theft and account security.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my work email after I leave?
It is usually disabled. Any personal accounts registered to it, or using it for recovery, may become impossible to reset.
Can I forward my work emails to personal email before I go?
Usually not without permission. Ask HR what personal information you may take, such as payslips or tax documents.
Should I remove work apps from my personal phone?
Yes, following your employer's instructions. Your employer may also remove work data remotely.
Sources
- Top tips for staying secure online, UK National Cyber Security Centre
- Cybersecurity for Small Business, US Federal Trade Commission
- Protect Your Personal Information From Hackers and Scammers, US Federal Trade Commission
