Office Closure Checklist

When to use this

For permanent office closures (consolidations, downsizing). Far more involved than a move. This list is the master; legal and HR own large parts of it but the EA / office manager runs the workflow.

# Office Closure Checklist

## Decision and announcement
- [ ] Legal review of lease termination options
- [ ] HR plan for affected staff (consultation, redeployment, notice)
- [ ] Customer / supplier communication plan
- [ ] Internal announcement plan (sequence, channels)
- [ ] Press / external if relevant

## Staff
- [ ] Consultation period started (per local law)
- [ ] Individual notice letters issued
- [ ] Redundancy calculations completed and approved
- [ ] Outplacement support arranged
- [ ] Exit interviews scheduled

## IT and data
- [ ] Equipment audit (what comes back, what's destroyed, what's reused)
- [ ] Data migration plan (to remaining offices or cloud)
- [ ] Secure shredding of paper records
- [ ] Certificates of secure data destruction obtained
- [ ] Access revocation calendar (per individual exit date)
- [ ] Domain / DNS changes for any office-specific systems

## Premises
- [ ] Dilapidations assessment by surveyor
- [ ] Schedule of works for return-to-landlord state
- [ ] Final building inspection booked
- [ ] Lease termination notice served
- [ ] Final utilities readings and account closures

## Finance and statutory
- [ ] Final supplier payments
- [ ] Insurance termination dates
- [ ] Council tax / business rates closure
- [ ] Companies House registered office change (if applicable)

## After closure
- [ ] Final lease handover with landlord, signed
- [ ] Final HR cases closed
- [ ] Post-closure register of legal liabilities reviewed by legal
- [ ] Archive of records stored per retention policy