# Handing over work before your holiday: a checklist

What to hand a colleague before your holiday so nothing stalls: a 10-point checklist, an email template and how to do it in minutes with your AI assistant.

## The short answer

Before your holiday, hand each open piece of work to one named colleague, with its deadline, the facts and the final files, rather than sending one email to the whole team. Write down what your cover can decide alone, arrange the access they need and agree when they may call you. Below are a 10-point checklist and an email template.

Start the handover two or three days before you leave, not on your last day. That gives your colleague time to take the work on and ask about anything missing while you are still around.

## The 10-point checklist

Go through the list for each open piece of work. If a point does not apply, skip it, but do so on purpose.

- [ ] List every open piece of work and where it stands: what is done and what is left.
- [ ] Give each piece of work to one named colleague, not to "the team".
- [ ] Mark every deadline that falls during your holiday with an actual date.
- [ ] Hand over or move the meetings and calls booked while you are away.
- [ ] Tell clients and partners who is covering for you and until when.
- [ ] Write down the facts: amounts, terms and decisions already made.
- [ ] Attach the final versions of files and say where they are kept.
- [ ] Check that your cover has access to the systems they will need.
- [ ] Spell out what your colleague can decide alone and what waits for your return.
- [ ] Switch on your out-of-office reply and mark the holiday in your calendar.

### One piece of work, one person

The most common mistake is one long email to three colleagues covering everything. Each of them reads it, and each assumes someone else has picked up a given task. When every piece of work has one owner and its own deadline, nobody has to ask "who is doing this?".

### What your colleague can decide alone

A colleague covering for you often hesitates to make even a small decision and waits for you instead. Say it plainly: "Agree meeting times and small wording changes yourself. Do not change the price or sign the contract; that can wait until 5 January 2027." The work keeps moving, and the important decisions stay with you.

### Access without passwords

Do not send passwords by email or chat. If your colleague needs access to a client folder, the accounts system or another tool, ask your administrator to grant it in advance and, where possible, say how long it is needed for. Check that the access works before you leave.

### Can they call you?

Agree this in advance and write it into the handover. For example: "Call me only if the client cancels the order; for anything else, ask Tom." A clear rule protects your holiday and saves your colleague from wondering whether it is all right to disturb you.

## Handover email template

If you hand over work by email, this template will help you not to forget anything. One email per colleague, containing only the work meant for them. Fill in the parts in square brackets.

Subject: Holiday cover: [project or client], until 4 January 2027

Hi James,

I'm on holiday from 21 December 2026 to 4 January 2027. While I'm
away, could you please take over [project or client]?

What needs doing:
- [task], due [28 December 2026]
- [task], due [date]

What's already done:
- [briefly]

Key facts:
- Amount: [e.g. €12,400, excluding VAT]
- Contract number: [number]
- Client contact: [name, role, phone]

Decisions already made:
- [what was agreed and why]

Open questions:
- [what we're waiting for, and from whom]

Files (final versions):
- [name], [where it's kept]

You can decide yourself: [e.g. meeting times, small changes]
Waits until I'm back: [e.g. price changes, signing the contract]

Access: [system] — I've asked [administrator] to give you
access until [date].
If it's urgent: [who to call; whether you can call me, and when]

Thanks!
[Name]

Before you send it, read the email as your colleague would: could you start work from it alone, without asking anything? If not, something is missing.

## What to do when you get back

Your first day back decides whether the handover worked all the way through. The work should come back to you as clearly as it left.

1. **Talk to the colleague who covered for you first**, and only then open your inbox. A short conversation explains what changed faster than a string of emails.
2. **Review the state of each piece of work you handed over:** what is done, what is late and what is waiting for you.
3. **Take the work back explicitly.** Say which pieces return to you and from when, and which stay with your colleague.
4. **Update the facts.** If a deadline or an amount changed while you were away, write it down where you will keep working.
5. **Switch off your out-of-office reply** and let clients know you are reachable again.
6. **Note what was missing from the handover,** and add it to your list for next time.

## How to do it with Colle

With Colle you can hand over work before your holiday straight from your own Claude or ChatGPT. Your assistant already sees what you have been working on, so you only need to say who gets what:

> Send James the Nordlit launch work: deadline 28 December 2026, client contact Emma, attach the final launch brief.

Your assistant writes the summary, records the facts (the deadline and the contact person) and attaches the file. James gets a notification straight away and accepts the work with one click, and you can see it has been taken over before you leave. You send the next piece of work to Rachel the same way, and a third to Tom. Each of them gets only what is meant for them, with its own deadline.

If you do not know who in the team will have time, send the work to the team's space: every member except you is notified, and one of them picks it up.

While you are away, your colleagues work in their own assistant with the full summary, facts and files, so they should have fewer questions for you. If a colleague notices something is missing, they can send the work back with a reason, such as "the contract annex is missing". That is another reason to hand over in good time: you will still be able to fill the gap. If a deadline passes, the handoff is marked as overdue, and you both see it.

When you are back, you can see which pieces of work were accepted, completed, sent back or are overdue, and the case holds the full history: who did what and which facts changed.

People who only receive notifications do not pay for Colle. It costs €15 per active person per month, or €12.50 billed yearly, excluding VAT, and the first 7 days are free. See [how Colle works](/how-it-works/) and [pricing](/pricing/).

[Join the Colle pilot](https://www.trycolle.com/#pilot)

More on handovers in general: the [project handover checklist](/blog/project-handover-checklist/) and the guide on [how to hand off work to a colleague when you both use Claude or ChatGPT](/blog/hand-off-work-to-a-colleague-with-claude-and-chatgpt/).

## Frequently asked questions

### When should I start handing over work before a holiday?

Two or three working days before you leave. Urgent things tend to crop up on your last day, and your colleague needs time to read the handover and ask about anything missing.

### What if there is nobody to cover for me?

Decide with your manager which work can wait, and give clients a new date. A clear "I will reply on 5 January 2027" is better than work nobody is doing.

### Should I hand over my passwords?

No. Ask your administrator to give your colleague access to the systems they need, and to remove it when you are back.

### Does Colle work if I use Claude and my colleague uses ChatGPT?

Yes. Handoffs travel between Claude and ChatGPT. Sending from ChatGPT needs a ChatGPT Business or Enterprise plan.

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Canonical page: https://www.trycolle.com/blog/handover-before-holiday-checklist/ · Last updated: 2026-10-15