FAQs About Terminations in Zenefits

Admins can cancel a scheduled termination until one day before the termination date. If it is less than one day, admins should contact Zenefits Support.   

To cancel a scheduled termination, go to the employee's profile and select "Cancel Termination" in the top notification bar. 

Administrators can terminate workers even if they are still setting up benefits. If someone is terminated before benefits are set up in Zenefits, the administrator will need to provide additional information about the following items:

• The types of coverage (medical, dental, and vision) that the worker is currently enrolled in
• Whether or not the company will have COBRA Complete administer COBRA benefits (if eligible)

If the worker is enrolled in medical, dental, or vision coverage, the administrator will need to specify when they want the benefits to end. Administrators who choose to manage COBRA coverage will also need to provide some additional information to complete the termination process.

Zenefits does not administer unemployment benefits and is not involved in the unemployment benefits application process.

• Unemployment insurance premiums are paid to the state as payroll taxes. Employers should register for unemployment account numbers with the appropriate agency in each state where employees live, and provide these numbers to payroll providers.
• Upon termination, employees can contact their state's Department of Labor (or equivalent state organization) for more information on their eligibility and to apply for UI benefits.

Contact Support to determine which administrator or manager terminated a particular employee.

Workers who have been terminated in Zenefits can still access the Personal Information app in their dashboard. The Personal Information app will include any signed employment documents, agreements with the company, bank info, tax forms, benefits agreements, and basic contact information. If the company had payroll with Zenefits, then the worker can view paystubs and W2's. 

If a worker has logged work hours, but has not completed the onboarding process, regardless of the hire date, you will have the option to Terminate them from the Actions drop down menu on their profile.

In Zenefits, you should terminate a worker if they have worked at least one day with the company. You will also have the option to revoke the offer up until 30 days after the start date.

After an employee is terminated in Zenefits, in most cases, the employee's benefits coverage will extend to the end of the month in which they were terminated. Some companies may have same-day or mid-month termination policies.

Upon termination, two types of insurance become available to terminated employees.

• COBRA (Continuation of Health Coverage), which continues to provide health insurance to the terminated employee.
• Unemployment Insurance (UI), which provides temporary financial assistance to the employee while they look for work. UI benefits are based on the employee's previous wages/salary and the duration of previous employment.

When an employee who was enrolled in coverage is terminated, they may be eligible for Federal or State COBRA, which is an extension of their current benefits for a certain amount of time. Federal COBRA lasts up to 18 months, while State Continuation varies from state to state. An employee can elect to enroll in and pay the whole cost for medical, dental, and vision policies that they were enrolled in at the time of termination. State COBRA, however, may allow continuation for only medical insurance policies. 

For life and disability insurance, some carriers allow for group policies to be switched to individual policies. Contact your broker for more information.

Termination types are a commonly used tool for HR administrators to track the nature of historical terminations, e.g., in the event that a previously terminated employee reapplies to the same company.

There are two main termination types: Voluntary (Regretted or Non-Regretted)  and Involuntary:

• Involuntary: the company elects to end the employment relationship; fired or laid off
• Voluntary (Regretted or Non-Regretted): employee elects to end employment; resignation 
• If Voluntary is selected you will be asked, Would you hire this employee again?
  

There is no legal requirement for reporting termination types, but some states have specific requirements for furnishing an employee's final paycheck according to the type of termination.

Federal law states that terminated employees must be paid within their regular pay period, but states have their own individual laws for furnishing employees with their last paycheck. Employers should check with their legal counsel about compliance with the proper state law, especially for remote employees (governed by the employee's work state, not the employer's state).

For example:

• CA Law: If the termination is involuntary, the last paycheck must be provided as a 'live" (paper, not direct deposit) check to the employee on their last day of work.
  • If the termination was voluntary and the employee gave more than 72 hours of notice, the paycheck must be provided on the last day of work.
  • If the employee gave fewer than 72 hours of notice before their last day, the employer is granted 72 hours from the time the employee resigned to produce their final paycheck.
• NY Law - Same as Federal. If the employee asks that their check be mailed to them, the employer must abide by this request.

If an employee is terminated, their deductions or other payroll information will stop being pushed to payroll on their termination date.

In Zenefits, administrators can terminate any worker, including managers. Managers can submit a termination request for their direct reports, and subordinates of those reports. The request is sent to the appropriate approver for review and approval. Aside from this approval step, the termination process in Zenefits is essentially the same for both managers and administrators.

Administrators can edit termination classification and reason after the termination date has passed.

1. Select the Directory app 
2. Click on the terminated worker's name
3. Select Termination Details
4. Click on the edit icon and update the details

Why wasn't this terminated worker removed from payroll?