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AssetVow

Problem study · for HR and payroll

Full & Final in two working days: why No-Dues clearance is the bottleneck

Payroll can calculate a settlement in an afternoon. What takes weeks is the clearance: IT confirming the laptop is back, admin confirming the access card, finance confirming advances. Now that the law expects payment within two working days, that clearance has to finish before the last day, not after.

Updated 4 November 2026 · Built from the public sources listed at the end

2 days

Wages due to an employee who resigns, is removed or retrenched are payable within two working days (Code on Wages s.17(2)).

Source

21 Nov 2025

The date the Code on Wages, 2019 came into force.

Source

70 days

One of many public posts from leavers still waiting for their F&F long after exit.

Source

Where the weeks go

Ask any HR team why an F&F took a month and the answer is the No-Dues sheet. It goes from desk to desk: reporting manager, IT, admin, finance, sometimes the library and the canteen. Each signs when they get to it. IT has to check whether the laptop came back, whether it was damaged, and whether the charger and the headset are in the box. Often the leaver has already gone.

Leavers feel this. Public forums are full of posts from people waiting 60, 70 or more days for their settlement, and of employers asking whether they can hold the F&F until assets come back.

What changed with the labour codes

Section 17(2) of the Code on Wages, in force since 21 November 2025, says that when an employee is removed, dismissed, retrenched or resigns, the wages payable must be paid within two working days. Commentators read the clock as starting from the last working day, not the day the resignation was submitted. Check how your lawyer reads it for your company and state.

Two working days is not enough time to start a clearance. It is only enough time to finish one that is already done.

How to clear before the last day

Move every clearance step into the notice period.

  • Start the No-Dues on the day the resignation is accepted, not in the last week.
  • Give the leaver a list of everything they hold, with a return date a few days before their last day.
  • Let each team sign off in parallel, not one after another.
  • Record the condition of each returned item at the moment it comes back, with a photo if it is damaged.
  • Give payroll a single list: what came back, what did not, and the value of anything lost or damaged.
  • Issue the No-Dues certificate the moment the last item is resolved, so the F&F can be paid on time.

The usual way, and with AssetVow

  • Starting clearanceUsually: A No-Dues sheet in the last weekWith AssetVow: Exit case opens when the resignation is recorded, here or in Zoho People or Entra ID
  • What the leaver must returnUsually: Whatever IT remembersWith AssetVow: One task per item they hold, from the register
  • Getting things backUsually: Follow-ups on chatWith AssetVow: Checklist emailed on day 0, reminders on day 3 and 7
  • Telling payrollUsually: Emails between HR and ITWith AssetVow: Damage and losses flagged for the Full & Final
  • No-DuesUsually: Signatures collected desk by deskWith AssetVow: Certificate issued as a PDF when every task is resolved

What AssetVow does not do here

  • AssetVow does not calculate or pay the settlement; your payroll does.
  • Clearances from teams outside assets (loans, library, notice-pay recovery) are not tracked as tasks; HR handles them as today.

Exit clearance that is done before the last day

An exit case opens with the resignation, every item has an outcome, and the No-Dues certificate is issued when the last one is resolved.

See how it works

Related

Sources

Read on 4 November 2026. Laws and rules change; check the current text or ask your lawyer before acting.

  1. LiveLaw: Two working days, the Code on Wages and the employee’s final settlement
  2. Fishbowl: “Almost 70 days since my exit … still haven’t received my FnF settlement” (public post)
  3. greytHR Community: Holding back of full and final settlement (public thread)
  4. Nyaaya: What can employers deduct from employees’ wages (Code on Wages, section 18)

FAQ

Common questions

Does the two-day rule apply to people who resign?+

Yes. Section 17(2) of the Code on Wages covers employees who are removed, dismissed, retrenched or who resign, and those who become unemployed because the establishment closes.

Can we pay the F&F and recover a missing laptop later?+

You can pay on time and still demand the asset back. A deduction for loss of entrusted goods is allowed only for the actual loss, after the employee can explain, and within limits. Ask your lawyer before relying on it.

How early should asset clearance start?+

The day the resignation is accepted. Give the leaver a list and a return date a few days before their last working day, so the No-Dues is ready when they leave.

Have the No-Dues ready on the last day

Let resignations open exit cases with every item listed, and pay the F&F on time. Free for 30 days.

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