What should an employee equipment return policy include?

A good equipment return policy should answer these questions.

1. 01What equipment belongs to the company?
2. 02Who keeps the assignment record?
3. 03When does the return process start?
4. 04Where should equipment be returned?
5. 05Who provides packaging?
6. 06Who pays for shipping?
7. 07Who sends instructions to the employee?
8. 08Who follows up if the return has not started?
9. 09How is delivery recorded?
10. 10Who handles equipment after it arrives?
11. 11When is an outstanding return escalated?
12. 12Which issues require HR or legal review?

Define what has to come back.

The policy should clearly name the categories of company-owned equipment employees may be expected to return. For example:

• Laptop
• Monitor
• Phone
• Dock
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Other company-issued accessories

Your policy doesn't need to match one vendor's product list. See current ShiplyTech device-return options.

A return policy only works if you know what the employee has.

Keep an internal record that ties each piece of equipment to the person using it. Useful fields include:

• Employee
• Equipment type
• Serial number
• Asset tag
• Issue or assignment date
• Current status

Any system your team will actually keep current works. The point is that when someone leaves, nobody has to guess what they have.

Say when the return should begin.

Common events that start a return include:

• An employee departure
• A contract ending
• A device replacement
• An unused second device
• A role or location change
• A company request to recover equipment

There is no single correct deadline. Set the timing based on your own HR, security and operational process. For how returns fit into departures, see employee offboarding.

Turning off access doesn't bring the laptop back.

Account shutdown and physical equipment recovery are different workflows, and the policy should treat them that way.

Planning the technical side? Read what IT should do before a remote employee returns a company laptop.

Give the process one owner.

HR assumes IT is following up. IT assumes HR is following up. The laptop stays at the employee's home. A policy prevents that by naming who does what. One practical model:

Match the exact split to how your organization is structured. This is a starting model, not a required HR structure.

Don't write a policy that assumes everyone can walk into an office.

Distributed teams need the policy to say how a remote return actually happens:

• Who provides the box?
• Who provides packing materials?
• Is shipping prepaid?
• Where does the equipment go?
• How does the employee receive instructions?
• How is shipment status tracked?

For the step-by-step process, see how to get a company laptop back from a remote employee.

Define who provides appropriate packaging.

Don't leave this ambiguous. For remote laptops, relying on employees to find suitable packaging can create delay and unnecessary risk in transit.

The policy should specify whether the company provides packaging or what approved return method the employee should use.

As one example, ShiplyTech's standard laptop return includes padded return packaging, a printed instruction sheet and tape.

Say who pays for return shipping.

Make it explicit in the policy rather than leaving the employee or IT team to figure it out during offboarding. If you have questions about specific requirements where your employees live, ask your HR or legal team.

ShiplyTech's current laptop-return service includes prepaid shipping for the return kit and prepaid return shipping for the laptop. Who owns the overall cost of returns is a policy decision too; see what it costs to get a company laptop back from a remote employee.

Tell people exactly what to do.

The policy should establish how employees receive:

• Return instructions
• Packaging guidance
• The return destination and shipping method
• Contact information for questions
• Any company-defined deadline

Clear, plain instructions do more than strong wording. Most people return equipment when the process is easy.

Plan for the work account to stop working.

A former employee may lose access to company email before the physical return is complete. Decide, consistent with your own policy and applicable requirements, how the return process will keep reaching them.

A return process should have an appropriate contact method that remains usable after company access is removed.

Define what happens when nothing happens.

The policy should establish:

• Who follows up
• How the outstanding return is recorded
• When another reminder is appropriate
• When the issue leaves ordinary logistics and moves to internal escalation

There's no universal reminder cadence. Pick one your team will keep.

The policy should define when equipment is considered returned.

“Returned” can mean different things. Pick the point your policy uses:

1. The employee says it was sent.
2. The carrier accepts the package.
3. The shipment is in transit.
4. The carrier delivers it.
5. Your company physically inspects or checks it in.

For returns delivered to your office, ShiplyTech confirms carrier delivery. Your team handles physical inspection and internal asset check-in. Carrier delivery is not the same as a completed internal inventory reconciliation.

Define what “outstanding” means.

Equipment remains outstanding until the organization's chosen return-completion point is reached. For logistics visibility, separate these stages:

• Not started
• Return shipment started
• In transit
• Delivered

Your own internal states, such as inspection or check-in, can continue after delivery. See how outstanding devices are shown.

Know when the return stops being a shipping problem.

If packaging, instructions, shipping and reasonable follow-ups have been provided but company equipment remains unreturned, the issue may require internal HR or legal escalation. Factors include company policy, the employment agreement, applicable law, equipment value, data and security concerns, and the circumstances of the departure.

Actions such as deducting wages, charging the employee, using collections, reporting theft or withholding final pay can be regulated differently depending on jurisdiction and circumstances, so the appropriate HR or legal team should determine the next step. This guide is operational guidance, not legal advice.

More on this stage: what to do when an employee doesn't return a company laptop.

A simple employee equipment return policy framework.

Policy sets the rule. Procedure runs the return.

A well-written policy still needs someone to run the procedure every time equipment has to come back.

Your policy can define the expectation. ShiplyTech can run the return.

ShiplyTech handles the operational process for company laptop returns, so IT doesn't have to turn policy into boxes, labels, reminders and tracking by hand.

Make the return part of the offboarding checklist.

• Departure confirmed
• Company access handled
• Assigned equipment confirmed
• Return process started
• Employee has instructions
• Shipment status visible
• Delivered
• Internal inspection/check-in completed

These don't all have to happen in this exact order. See how returns fit into employee offboarding.

Frequently asked questions