Employee Death
Purpose
To provide guidance on steps to take in the event you are notified that a current or former Liberal Arts employee or contingent worker has died.
Relevant Definitions
Former Employee: Generally refers to staff or faculty member who has retired from the university.
Process
General Note: It may go without saying, but please maintain a respectful and polite tone when communicating with a deceased employee’s friends, relatives, and/or co-workers, and offer information or resources when possible and/or applicable. (Details follow.)
Notifications:
For the purposes of this article, assuming that the “you” is a department staff member responsible for HR matters. If you are not, please notify the person who has this role for your department (or the deceased person’s department, if different).
When you are notified that a current or former employee has died, first, record the employee’s name, EID (if possible), date of death, and contact information of the informant (if possible).
If the informant is the deceased person’s family member or estate representative, please put them in touch with central HR, HRSC. (If you have sufficient details and/or the family/estate contact information, you can pass this information to HRSC on their behalf.)
If you receive the information secondhand, please try to verify the information before sharing with others, e.g., an obituary.
If the deceased was retired, notify the Chair and/or senior staff person first, if they don’t already know. The Chair will probably be the most appropriate person to notify the department (especially the faculty) of the passing of the retiree, and/or determine the most appropriate people to notify internally, probably depending on how long ago the person retired and/or how long the individual worked there.
If the deceased is a current employee or contingent worker (c.w.), you will want to notify the people who worked with the employee/c.w. of the death without sharing details. Please also notify COLA HR with the information you have.
It would be a good idea to share information about EAP w/co-workers when sharing the news:
HealthPoint Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Free counseling available via phone and in person (via Zoom, remotely). The website also includes helpful exercises and resources that do not require a call in to the service. The EAP can assist employees and managers in addressing stressors and other conflicts in their personal and professional lives.
• Phone: 512-471-3366
• Email: eap@austin.utexas.edu
• website
If the deceased is or was a COLA faculty member, please email the Provost’s Office (APS and Faculty Affairs) and COLA HR with the name, UT EID, title (or former title), and department, along with the date of death (if known) and any obituary or announcement (if you have that).
If you receive a copy of the obituary later, please send that along as well.
The Provost’s Office will take care of ending Emeritus academic appointments in Workday.
If the employee is a current employee or contingent worker, and you (HR contact for unit) have solid evidence of the person’s death (especially date), you need to process their separation in Workday.
If the employee was benefits-eligible, you will need to process their Leave Payout as well. (please see our wiki page).
If you have notified EVPP and/or Central HR about the death, I believe they will automatically add the person’s name to UT Remembers, but if you have any questions about this, you can visit the UT Remembers website.
Other Related Links:
Surviving Dependents (HR Benefits page)