Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: All Company employees.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This document states what happens when employment ends, for any reason: how separation takes effect, when access ends, what property and records are returned, what records the Company keeps, and which duties survive. This document governs the end of the employment relationship; the grounds and process for a disciplinary termination are stated in the enforcement article of the document violated and in the Employee Code of Conduct.
1.2 This document applies to every ending of employment: resignation, retirement, termination by the Company with or without cause, the end of a temporary engagement, and a separation by agreement. No provision of this document creates a right to continued employment or a promise of employment for a stated period, or limits a right either party holds under applicable law or a written agreement signed by the Company.
1.3 If a provision of this document conflicts with the Terms of Use, this document controls for the subject it governs. If a provision conflicts with the terms of a program in which the Employee participates, the program terms control for that program. Help pages explain this document; they do not amend it.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 The definitions in the Employee Code of Conduct are incorporated into this document by reference. This article defines only the additional terms used in this document, in alphabetical order.
2.2 Separation: the end of an Employee's employment, for any reason, effective on the Separation Date.
2.3 Separation Date: the last day of employment, as stated in the resignation, the notice of termination, or the agreement of the parties, and where no day is stated, the day the employment in fact ends.
Article 3: How Separation Takes Effect
3.1 An Employee who resigns shall give written notice to the Employee's Manager, stating the intended Separation Date. The Company may accept the resignation effective on an earlier date, and shall confirm the Separation Date in writing. An Employee who has given notice shall continue to perform the Employee's duties, and to comply with every Company policy, until the Separation Date.
3.2 The Company may end the employment in accordance with applicable law and the Employee's terms of employment. Where the Company ends the employment for a violation of a Company policy, the measure is imposed under the enforcement article of the document violated, with the notice, response, and appeal rights that article provides.
3.3 Until the Separation Date, the Employee's duties are unchanged: time is recorded honestly, records are made as they fall due, and incidents are reported, in accordance with the Employee Code of Conduct. An Employee shall not remove, copy, alter, or delete Company records, data, or property in anticipation of separation, and shall not solicit a customer or a coworker in the manner the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Policy and the Employee's written agreements prohibit.
Article 4: End of Access
4.1 On the Separation Date, and on the Company's direction at any earlier point in a separation the Company initiates, the Employee's access ends: the Credential is deactivated, every open Session is ended, every Grant under the Data Access and Least Privilege Policy terminates, and the Employee's staff record is deactivated. Access ends on the Separation Date itself, not at the end of a pay period or a later administrative cycle. No Credential, Session, or Grant survives separation, in accordance with the Authentication Controls Policy.
4.2 The Manager is responsible for initiating the end of access on the Separation Date and for confirming, on that date, that access has ended. Where a separation is contentious, or where the Employee held Full access to a Module that moves money or exports records, the Manager shall also arrange review of the Audit Log for the Employee's final period of access, under the Record Keeping and Audit Policy, and shall record the review.
4.3 The departing Employee shall not sign in to, or attempt to sign in to, a Company System after access ends, and shall not use a credential, a device, or a session of another person to reach a Company System after separation. A former Employee who holds information that suggests an error in the end of access shall report it to support@aapawz.com and shall not test the access personally.
Article 5: Return of Property and Records
5.1 On or before the Separation Date, the Employee shall return every item of Company Property in the Employee's possession, including keys, devices, equipment, uniforms, documents, and records in any medium, and shall deliver to the Manager every Business Record the Employee holds outside a designated Company System, in accordance with the Record Keeping and Audit Policy.
5.2 The Employee shall delete Confidential Information from any personal device or account the Employee was permitted to use for work, as the Company directs in writing, and shall confirm the deletion in writing where the Company requires confirmation. The Employee shall not retain copies of Confidential Information, of customer or pet records, or of personnel records after separation, as the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Policy states.
5.3 The Company shall record what property was returned and what remains outstanding. Amounts owed for unreturned property are dealt with as applicable law and the Employee's written agreements permit, and no deduction is made from final pay except as applicable law permits or a written authorization the law recognizes provides.
Article 6: Records After Separation
6.1 The records of the employment: the employment record, time entries, pay and commission records, Training Records, incident reports the Employee filed or that concern the Employee, and the Audit Log entries for the Employee's acts: are Business Records. The Company retains them for the periods the Regulatory Record Retention states, whether or not the employment has ended, and the ending of employment is not a ground for the deletion of a record.
6.2 The shared surface of the employment record in the employee portal ends with access on the Separation Date. A former Employee who requires a record of the former Employee's own employment, such as evidence of earnings or of a Certification the Company recorded, requests it in writing to support@aapawz.com, and the Company provides the record as applicable law requires and the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Policy permits. Personnel Information of other Employees is not provided under this clause.
6.3 A former Employee shall not alter, or seek the alteration of, a record of the former employment except by a Correction requested in writing that states the fact alleged to be wrong and the evidence for it; a Correction is considered and, where made, recorded as the Record Keeping and Audit Policy provides.
Article 7: Final Pay, Handover, and References
7.1 Final pay, accrued amounts, and the treatment of commissions earned but not yet approved or paid at separation are dealt with under the Employee's terms of employment and applicable law. The records on which those amounts depend: time entries, appointment records, and the commission ledger: are preserved under Article 6 and are not altered after separation except by Correction under the Record Keeping and Audit Policy.
7.2 Before the Separation Date, the departing Employee shall hand over the state of the Employee's work: open appointments and their notes, pending tickets and tasks, and the location of every record the Employee's successor or Manager requires. The Manager shall record the handover. A failure to hand over is a violation of this document and is recorded in the employment record.
7.3 The Company gives references for a former Employee through the channel the Company designates, on the facts of the employment record. No Employee shall give a reference in the Company's name outside that channel. Nothing in this clause permits a reference, adverse or otherwise, given in retaliation for a report protected by the Whistleblower and Internal Reporting Policy.
Article 8: Liability
8.1 The Employee is responsible for the Employee's own conduct and shall bear the loss that the Employee's violation of this document causes, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in this document makes the Company responsible for a loss caused by an act taken in violation of this document or outside the scope of employment.
8.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party is liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to this document, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
8.3 To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this document shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100). This clause does not limit (a) final pay, wages, commissions, benefits, or other compensation owed under applicable law or a written agreement; (b) indemnification obligations under this document; (c) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
8.4 The parties agree that this article allocates risk between them, that it is an essential part of the basis of their bargain, and that it applies even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Article 9: Indemnification
9.1 The Company shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Employee from and against a claim, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) brought by a third party and arising out of an act the Employee took within the scope of employment and in compliance with this document and applicable law. Separation does not end indemnification for an act taken during the employment that this clause covers.
9.2 The Company does not indemnify an Employee for the Employee's own unlawful acts. No indemnification is owed under this article for a claim arising out of (a) the Employee's willful misconduct or fraud; (b) an act outside the scope of employment; or (c) an act taken in violation of this document, including an act taken through a Company System after access ended.
9.3 The Employee shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against every claim, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (a) the Employee's breach of this document; (b) the Employee's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; and (c) an act outside the scope of employment.
9.4 The party seeking indemnification shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this article. The indemnifying party shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the other party; the indemnified party may participate at its own expense. The indemnifying party shall not settle a claim in a manner that imposes an obligation on the other party, or that does not release the other party fully, without the other party's prior written consent. This article survives separation.
Article 10: Enforcement and Appeals
10.1 The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this document, including a violation discovered after separation. The Employee shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this document requires the Employee to keep.
10.2 If the Company determines that the Employee has violated this document, the Company shall give written notice stating the provision violated and the facts relied on, except where notice would compromise an investigation of fraud, a safety risk, or a legal obligation. The Employee may submit a written response within ten (10) business days, and the person deciding the matter shall consider the response before a measure is imposed. Where a violation is capable of cure, including the return of property or records outstanding, the Employee has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing; no cure period applies to fraud, to an unauthorized use of access after separation, or to a violation that cannot be cured.
10.3 If a violation is established, the Company may, proportionate to the violation: (a) issue a written warning, recorded in the employment record; (b) require the return of property and records and the deletion of retained Confidential Information; (c) record the violation in the employment record for the purposes of a reference and of any later re-employment decision; (d) where the employment has not yet ended, suspend or terminate the employment; and (e) exercise any other right or remedy available at law.
10.4 The Employee, including a former Employee, may appeal a measure under this article by written notice to the Employee's Manager within thirty (30) days of the measure, stating the grounds and attaching the records relied on. A former Employee sends the appeal to support@aapawz.com, or, where the measure arises out of a legal matter, to legal@aapawz.com. Where the Manager made the decision appealed from, the appeal is made to the Manager's manager. The appeal is decided by a person who did not make the original decision, and the Company's decision on appeal is final. A measure remains in effect during an appeal unless the Company directs otherwise in writing.
10.5 No measure under this article may be imposed in retaliation for a report made in good faith under the Whistleblower and Internal Reporting Policy or for the exercise of a right protected by applicable law. The Company's delay in acting on a violation is not a waiver of the violation or of any later violation of the same kind.
Article 11: Term and Termination
11.1 This document applies from the commencement of employment and takes its principal effect at separation. The duties in Articles 4, 5, and 6 continue to bind a former Employee after the Separation Date as those articles state.
11.2 Articles 8, 9, 10 (for measures taken under this document), 12, and 13 survive separation without limit by the ending of the employment, together with the confidentiality duties in the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Policy and the record duties in the Record Keeping and Audit Policy.
Article 12: Dispute Resolution
12.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this document, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this document by reference.
12.2 Nothing in this document limits an Employee's right to file a charge or complaint with a government agency, to participate in a proceeding of a government agency, or to engage in concerted activity protected by applicable law, and no provision of this document requires the Employee to give the Company notice of, or to obtain the Company's consent to, the exercise of such a right.
Article 13: General Provisions
13.1 The Company may amend this document by posting the amended document in the Document Center and giving notice to the Employee at the email address in the Employee's employment record. An amendment that materially increases the Employee's obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. No amendment shortens a duty that has already accrued at a separation that has occurred.
13.2 Legal notices under this document shall be sent to legal@aapawz.com; operational notices and all other communications shall be sent to support@aapawz.com. A notice to the Company is effective when the Company acknowledges receipt or, for email, one business day after sending, whichever is earlier. Notices to the Employee are effective when sent to the email address in the Employee's employment record or posted in the employee portal, whichever occurs first; after separation, notices are effective when sent to the last email or postal address the Employee recorded with the Company. The Employee shall keep that contact information current through the Separation Date. Notices under the DMCA and Copyright Policy are given as provided in that policy, to the designated agent at legal@aapawz.com.
13.3 This document is governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution Policy, any proceeding arising out of this document shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there.
13.4 If any provision of this document is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
13.5 This document, together with the documents it incorporates by reference, is the entire agreement between the Company and the Employee for the subject it governs and supersedes every prior statement or agreement on that subject. This clause does not supersede an offer letter or a written employment agreement signed by the Company.
13.6 The Employee shall not assign this document or any right or obligation under it, and an assignment without the Company's prior written consent is void. The Company may assign this document to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the Employee. A waiver of any provision of this document is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated; no waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
13.7 Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This document shall not be construed against a party on the ground that the party prepared this document. The English-language text controls over any translation.
Related articles