What a company with a remote team needs to have figured out to recover an offboarding employee's laptop, what the law says (and what it doesn't resolve), and what to do with the equipment once it's returned.
When a remote worker leaves a company, system access can be revoked on the same day. The laptop, however, remains at their home. Sometimes in another city, sometimes in another country, and almost always with company information.
The problem has been measured. In a survey published by Capterra in 2023 of nearly 300 Human Resources professionals in the United States, 71% said that at least one employee had failed to return company equipment. Remote and hybrid workers were 17% more likely than on-site workers not to return it.
It's not about distrusting the person who is leaving. Most of the time, the equipment isn't returned because nobody defined how it was supposed to be returned. When there is no established process or clear agreements from the beginning, room is left for this to happen.
This article answers what agreements you should have signed, how to recover equipment remotely, what changes when there is a border involved, and what to do with the hardware once it's returned.
What happens if an employee does not return the company laptop?
If an employee does not return the laptop at the end of the employment relationship, the equipment remains the property of the company and the obligation to return it still exists. But what the company can do to recover it depends almost entirely on what has been documented beforehand: who received the equipment, in what condition, with what serial number, and under what return agreement.
In practice, most unreturned equipment is not a matter of theft; it is friction. The person moved, doesn't know how to ship it, no one explained the process, they are waiting for someone to pick it up, or they are keeping it while resolving a pending dispute. Each of these situations has an operational solution, and almost none of them are resolved with threats.
The cost of not resolving it goes beyond the value of the equipment. In the same Capterra survey, each case of unreturned equipment represented an average loss of about USD 1,963 in hardware. Added to that is the data that remains on the drive, the laptop that needs to be purchased for the next hire, and the hours that IT and Human Resources spend chasing down a response.
Is keeping a company laptop a crime?
It depends on the country and the case. Each country in the region, and around the world, has its own legislation, and for the withholding of equipment to be considered a crime, there generally must be an intent to keep it permanently. In practice, most of these situations never reach that point: they are prevented with clear agreements and a well-structured return process.
For the company, the useful question is not what it can do if the equipment does not return, but how to make sure it does. If the laptop was delivered with a signed agreement, the person knows from day one that they have to return it, and someone coordinates the pickup, there is very little room for conflict. If none of that is in place, any delay or misunderstanding can escalate.
What several remote work laws in the region do share is the starting point: the employer provides the work tools, and those tools remain the employer's property.
This section is for informational purposes and does not replace legal advice. Before defining a return policy, it is advisable to validate it with an employment lawyer in each country where you have employees.
What documentation does the company need before someone leaves?
Equipment recovery is determined the day it is handed over, not the day the person resigns. A company with a remote team needs, at a minimum, an equipment handover agreement (a bailment agreement, loan for use, or the equivalent legal structure in each country), a signed delivery receipt with serial number, a known return policy, and an up-to-date inventory.
Loan for use contract or handover agreement. It puts in writing that the equipment is provided on loan for work, that it remains the property of the company, and that it must be returned when the relationship ends. It should include the return timeframe and who is responsible for the collection.
Handover report or signed delivery receipt. Model, serial number, accessories (charger, adapters, peripherals), and the condition of the equipment at the time of delivery. Without this document, when the laptop is returned there is nothing to compare it against.
Return policy. What happens to the equipment upon departure, who coordinates the collection, within what timeframe, and what happens if it is returned damaged. It works best if the person knows it from onboarding rather than discovering it on their last day.
Up-to-date inventory. Knowing at all times what equipment each person has, where it is, and what condition it is in. We delve deeper into this topic in an article on our blog.
Equipment enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) tool. It's not a document, but it's what allows you to remotely lock and wipe the equipment if things don't go as planned. Read more about this here.
None of these documents guarantees that the equipment will be returned. What they do is turn a word-against-word dispute into a fully documented process.
How to retrieve a remote employee's laptop, step by step?
Retrieving a remote employee's laptop works best when the company arranges the pickup instead of asking the person to ship it. The process consists of six steps: initiate the notification, secure the data, coordinate the pickup, ensure proper packaging, inspect the equipment upon receipt, and decide its destination.
Initiate the process as soon as the departure is confirmed. HR and IT must be notified at the same time. The person should receive in writing what needs to be returned, when, and how.
Secure data before the equipment is moved. Revoke access and, if the device is managed by MDM, set it up for remote locking. This is not a trivial detail: according to Capterra, 59% of unreturned devices contained sensitive information, and only 55% of those companies managed to block access completely.
Coordinate pickup at their home address. Asking someone who no longer works for the company to find a box, go to a post office, and pay for shipping is the fastest way to ensure the equipment stays where it is. A pickup with an agreed-upon date and time slot eliminates almost all excuses.
Ensure proper packaging. A poorly packed laptop can arrive with a broken screen, turning a reassignable device into one that needs repairs. Ideally, the courier should bring the packaging or pack it on the spot.
Receive and inspect against the handover agreement. Serial number, accessories, physical condition, and functionality. Any discrepancy is documented right then, not weeks later.
Log the check-in and decide its destination. The device returns to the inventory with its updated status, and from there, it is determined what to do with it.
There are cases where the person does not respond. In those situations, order matters: first, execute a remote wipe/lock so the device ceases to be a security risk; then, issue the formal demand, backed by the documentation mentioned in the previous section.
How do we solve it at First Plug?
At First Plug, hardware offboarding begins with a notification: the company informs us of the employee's departure and which device needs to be retrieved. From there, we take care of the rest.
Retrieval. We coordinate the device pick-up regardless of the country, with tracking and traceability at every step.
Security. We deregister the device from the MDM and perform certified data wiping if the company requires it.
Decision. The company chooses what to do with the equipment: relocate it to another employee, store it in our warehouses until the next onboarding, or sell it via BuyBack to recover cash or credit for future purchases.
In LATAM, pick-up, storage, and resale are handled through our own operations, without intermediaries. That is what allows us to take responsibility for every step of the process and manage the equipment in the country where it is located, rather than moving it back and forth. From the platform, the company can see the status, location, and assignment of each device all in one place.
You can see the service details on our offboarding page.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for the laptop return shipping?
The most effective approach is for the company to pay for it and coordinate the pickup, rather than the departing employee. Asking a former team member to pay for and arrange a shipment creates friction precisely when they have the least incentive to do so. The cost of a coordinated pickup is usually much lower than that of replacing unreturned equipment.
What happens if the laptop is returned damaged?
This is why a signed equipment handover receipt is essential: it allows you to compare the current condition with the condition in which the device was originally provided, and distinguish normal wear and tear from actual damage. What can be claimed depends on what the handover agreement states and the local laws of each country. In any case, the damage must be documented at the moment of receipt.
Does the laptop need to be wiped if it will be reassigned within the company?
Yes. Even if the equipment stays within the company, the next user should not have access to the previous user's files, active sessions, or credentials. A secure wipe before each reassignment protects company data, prepares the device to be configured from scratch, and, if certified, provides proof that the process was carried out correctly.
Can a laptop be remotely locked if the employee does not return it?
Yes, as long as the device is enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) tool and connects to the internet. From there, access can be locked and, in many cases, data can be wiped remotely. If the device was never enrolled, this option is not available, which is why it is best to do so from the day it is issued.
Can the laptop be deducted from the final settlement or severance pay?
It depends on the labor laws of each country, and in many cases deductions from final pay are restricted by law. Before applying any deduction, it is advisable to consult with a local labor attorney. In practice, investing in a well-coordinated retrieval usually yields better results than opening a dispute over deductions with someone who has already left.
What gets resolved on day one
Retrieving a laptop is not just a last-day task. It is the result of what the company resolved on day one: what was provided, to whom, under what agreement, and with which tools to protect it remotely. When those elements are in order, an employee's departure is just another standard process. When they are not, every offboarding turns into a negotiation.
With a team distributed across multiple countries, there is also a decision that many companies make too late: where each device should ideally end up. Handling it within the country where it is located is almost always cheaper than shipping it back.
If you want to streamline this process in your company, you can learn how our offboarding service works or request a quote at quotes.firstplug.co.
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