What is a good leaving gift for a colleague?

Something that fits who they are and where they're going: a first-day survival kit or a notebook full of the team's advice for a new job, a taste-of-home box for a move abroad, afternoon tea for two or a National Trust membership for a retirement. From the whole team, a signed framed photo or a comic book about their time with you is remembered long after the leaving do.

How much should you put in a leaving collection?

Whatever you're comfortable with. A whip-round works because nobody knows who gave what, so there's no set amount, and the organiser shouldn't ask anyone for a fixed sum. Many people put in a few pounds; those who worked closely with the person often give more, or add a small present of their own.

What do you write in a leaving card for a colleague?

One specific memory or thank-you beats a list of compliments: the time they covered for you, the tea they always made, the advice you still use. Add a wish for what comes next, and sign with your name and team so they know which colleague you are.

What do you get a boss who is leaving?

A gift from the whole team rather than from one person, so it reads as a thank-you: a framed print of their best-known sayings, a plant for their new office, a book on their favourite subject, plus a leaving card where everyone writes a line about what they were like to work for.

What is a good gift for a colleague going on maternity leave?

Think of the parent as well as the baby: a box for the long nights with one-handed snacks, a good hand cream and a takeaway voucher, plus a children's book with a message from each colleague inside. Check with someone close to them first, as some people prefer to wait until the baby has arrived.

Can you give a leaving gift at the last minute?

Yes, as long as it doesn't need posting: their tea order in a jar, a tin of biscuits for their new team, flowers picked up on the way in, an e-voucher printed and put in the card, or their photo turned into a comic panel with a free online tool and printed in the office. Make sure the card gets round everyone in time.

Leaving Gifts for Colleagues: 25 Ideas They'll Keep (2026)

Someone is leaving. The card has started its secret tour of the office, a brown envelope in somebody's drawer is slowly filling with coins and fivers, and someone (possibly you) has to decide what to buy before Friday. The right leaving gift ends up on a shelf at home; the wrong one in a bag for the charity shop.

Here are 25 leaving gifts for colleagues who are changing jobs, relocating, going on maternity leave or retiring, sorted by budget in pounds, then gifts from the whole team, for a boss, and for a move abroad. After the list: how to run the whip-round, what to write in the leaving card, and leaving gift ideas for when the last day is tomorrow.

Leaving gifts for colleagues: small wrapped presents, a mug and a plant cutting on an office desk

Our picks at a glance

Idea	Who it suits	Budget
A first-day survival kit	a colleague starting a new job	£5–10
Their tea order, in a jar	the one who always put the kettle on	under £8
A notebook full of the team's advice	anyone moving on	£10–20
Afternoon tea for two	a colleague you're close to	£30–50
A taste-of-home box	a colleague moving abroad	£15–30
A National Trust membership	the whole team, for a retirement	split between you
A comic book starring your colleague	a team gift	from £39.90
A print of the boss's best sayings	a manager who's leaving	split between you

Leaving gift etiquette in a British office

Someone close to them organises, usually a work friend or their line manager.
People give what they like. A whip-round works because nobody knows who put in what. Never ask for a fixed amount in front of others, and never keep a list.
Think about the journey home. They'll carry it out with a bag of desk clutter, quite possibly on a packed train: light beats enormous.
Keep it fit for an audience. It will probably be opened at the leaving do. No jokes about age for someone retiring.
A personal gift on top is optional, for the colleague you sat next to for years.

Leaving gifts under £10, a little extra from you

On top of what you put in the envelope, for the colleague you'll genuinely miss.

1. A first-day survival kit for the new job

A small box for their first Monday somewhere new: their favourite teabags, a packet of chocolate digestives, a highlighter, plasters for the new shoes, and a label saying "Open at 11 a.m., before anyone's offered you a cuppa". Who it suits: a colleague starting a new job, nervous or not. Budget: £5–10.

2. Their tea-round order, in a jar

Everyone knows how they take it, because they've made a thousand rounds for the rest of you. Fill a jar with their teabags (or coffee) and sugar cubes, and write their order on the label exactly as they'd say it: "Builder's, splash of milk, one sugar, bag left in." Who it suits: the person who always put the kettle on. Budget: under £8.

3. A cutting of the office plant

Root a cutting from the plant they kept alive by the window (or a spider plant from home) in a small glass jar, so a bit of the old place goes with them to the new desk. It outlives most leaving presents. Who it suits: the colleague who watered everything on a Monday. Budget: under £5.

4. A proper pen for the new contract

A smooth rollerball or a refillable ballpoint in a colour that isn't office-issue blue, with a tag tied on: "For signing the new contract. And the one after that." Who it suits: a colleague leaving for a promotion elsewhere. Budget: £6–10.

5. Their photo as a signed comic panel

Pick a photo of them from the Christmas do or the last team lunch, turn it into a comic panel with our free photo to comic tool, print it on card and add a speech bubble with the thing they always say ("Has anyone seen my stapler?"). Everyone signs the border. Who it suits: a colleague with a good sense of humour. Budget: free, plus £5–8 for a frame.

6. A bake for the leaving do

A tray of millionaire's shortbread, a lemon drizzle or a Victoria sponge with their name piped on top, brought out on the last afternoon. Check allergies first. Who it suits: any office where cake marks every occasion. Budget: under £10 in ingredients.

Leaving gifts under £10: a jar of homemade biscuits, a plant cutting and a bar of chocolate

Leaving gifts under £25

A present from one or two of you, or the collection from a small team.

7. A travel mug for the new commute

A new job often means a new commute. A leak-proof insulated mug that keeps tea hot from the platform to the desk gets used from day one. Who it suits: a colleague swapping a ten-minute walk for a proper commute. Budget: £15–25.

8. A notebook for the new job, with the team's advice inside

Buy a good hardback notebook, then pass it round before the last day so everyone writes one piece of advice on the first pages: "Learn the IT person's name in week one." "Never volunteer to take the minutes." Who it suits: anyone moving on, especially a junior colleague you trained. Budget: £10–20.

9. A tin of biscuits for their new team

The quickest way to make friends in a new office is to turn up with biscuits. Give them a good tin (shortbread, ginger nuts or a chocolate assortment) with a note on the lid: "For your new lot. They'll never be as good as us." Who it suits: someone worried about starting again from scratch. Budget: £8–15.

10. A paperback for the gap between jobs

Plenty of people take a week or two off between jobs. A novel chosen by whoever knows their taste, with a few lines from the team inside the cover, gives that week a plan. Who it suits: the reader with a book always open beside their sandwich. Budget: £9–15.

11. A personalised mug with an office in-joke

The classic personalised leaving gift, and it works when it's specific: their famous line from a meeting, the team's nickname for them, or a drawing of the printer that never once worked. Who it suits: the colleague whose mug lived on the draining rack. Budget: £10–20.

12. A map print of where you all worked

A print centred on the office, the street with your Friday lunch spot, or the town they're leaving behind. Several printers make maps centred on any address you choose. Who it suits: a colleague relocating, or one who's been at the same site for years. Budget: £15–25 for the print, frame extra.

Leaving gifts under £25: an insulated travel mug, a hardback notebook and a small wooden puzzle

Leaving gifts under £50

For a colleague you're close to, or a gift split between three or four of you.

13. Afternoon tea for two

Sandwiches with the crusts off, scones with jam and clotted cream (which goes first is their call) and a proper pot of tea, at a tearoom or hotel near them. A voucher lets them take their mum or a friend whenever suits. Who it suits: a colleague you're close to, and anyone leaving to retire. Budget: £30–50 for two, more at a smart hotel.

14. A properly good umbrella

Theirs is probably the broken one in the office stand. A sturdy, windproof umbrella that survives the gust on the walk from the station means they'll think of you every time it rains, which in Britain is often. Who it suits: anyone, especially a colleague moving somewhere wetter. Budget: £20–40.

15. A hamper from the town they're leaving

Chutney and jam from the farm shop, a cheese from a nearby dairy, a bottle from the local brewery or a cordial if they don't drink, packed in a box that fits in a rucksack. Who it suits: a colleague moving to another part of the country. Budget: £30–50.

16. A garden centre voucher

For the colleague who spent every Monday morning telling you about their tomatoes: a voucher for their local garden centre buys a new rose, a bag of compost and a slice of cake in the café. Who it suits: the keen gardener, retiring or between jobs. Budget: £20–50.

17. A farewell lunch, or a last pint

Take them out in their last week, just the two of you or with the people they worked with most: a long lunch at their favourite place, or a pint after work at the pub round the corner. Who it suits: a mentor, or the colleague who showed you the ropes. Budget: £25–50.

A leaving gift under £50: a hamper of local treats and a potted basil plant

Leaving gifts from the whole team

Once the envelope has done its rounds, the collection can stretch to something nobody would buy alone.

18. A framed team photo, signed by everyone

The best photo of the team (the summer social, Christmas jumper day), printed big in a frame with a wide mount, with every colleague's signature and a word or two around the edge. It goes on a wall instead of in a drawer. Who it suits: a long-serving colleague, or a team that's been through a lot together. Budget: £25–50.

19. An experience from everyone

Theatre tickets, a spa day, a cookery class, a hot-air balloon flight: with twenty people chipping in, the gift can be the thing they'd talk themselves out of buying. Pick a voucher with a long expiry. Who it suits: a colleague leaving after many years, or a big send-off. Budget: split between you.

20. A National Trust or English Heritage membership

A year of days out at historic houses, gardens, castles and stretches of coast, for a colleague about to have more weekends to themselves. Both offer gift memberships, including joint ones for two; north of the border, the National Trust for Scotland does the same. Who it suits: a retiring colleague, a new parent with a year off and a pram to push, anyone who loves a walk. Budget: split between you.

21. A comic book starring your colleague

The printer they waged war on, the Friday biscuit run they never once forgot: our personalised comic book turns a colleague's working life into a 24-page comic, with their photo turned into the comic character so they're the star of the book. One of you makes it in about ten minutes by chatting with our AI scriptwriter, with no form to fill in, and you see the cover and the first page for free before ordering. You choose the tone and the topics to avoid, so it's safe to open at the leaving do. To see how one reads, page through the sample on the book's page: "The Whistle Sets Sail", about Bernard, a PE teacher retiring after 30 years, whose fellow teachers told the scriptwriter all his habits. Who it suits: a team gift for a colleague who's leaving, retiring or moving abroad. Budget: from £39.90 printed (£43.29 in hardback), £24.90 as a PDF, split between you.

Leaving gifts for a boss

When a manager leaves, the gift comes from the whole team, never from one person: it's a thank-you, not a bid for a glowing reference.

22. A framed print of their best sayings

Collect the phrases the team will remember them by ("Let's take this offline", the "quick question" that never was, the pep talk before every audit) and have them set as a typographic print, or written out by whoever has the neatest handwriting. Frame it and tuck the leaving card behind it. Who it suits: a manager moving on, or a head of department retiring. Budget: £20–60 in total, split across the team.

For a story-length version of the same idea, see our page on a gift for your boss.

A leaving gift for a colleague moving abroad

For someone emigrating or taking a posting overseas, the gift has two tests to pass: it has to fit in a suitcase, and it has to still mean something in a flat on the other side of the world.

23. A taste-of-home box

Everything they'll miss and won't easily find where they're going: their brand of teabags, a jar of Marmite, a packet of Hobnobs, a tin of Colman's mustard powder, their favourite sweets. Choose things that travel and keep, and check the rules of their new country: the EU, for one, doesn't let meat or dairy products from the UK in through personal luggage. Tuck in a few printed photos of the team. Who it suits: a colleague emigrating or heading off on an overseas posting. Budget: £15–30.

A gift for a colleague going on maternity leave

Maternity leave in the UK can last up to a year, so this is a leaving gift too, just one with a return date. Some people would rather celebrate once the baby has arrived, so have a quiet word with the colleague closest to them first.

24. A box for the parent, not just the baby

Babies are showered with presents; the person looking after them rarely is. Fill a box for the long nights ahead: one-handed snacks, a good hand cream, a takeaway voucher, a paperback with short chapters. Add one children's book with a message from each colleague written inside the cover, so the baby gets something from the office too. Who it suits: a colleague going on maternity, paternity or adoption leave. Budget: £25–50 from the team.

A leaving gift for a colleague who's retiring

After decades in one place, a retirement deserves more than a card and a cake. We have a whole guide to retirement gifts, and a page on a retirement gift from the team; here's the classic, brought up to date.

25. The carriage clock, updated

The carriage clock was long the traditional British gift for retirement and long service. The modern version: a good clock for the kitchen wall, or a watch engraved with their years of service and a line from the team. Or turn the tradition round and give them time well spent, like the experience or the National Trust membership above. Who it suits: a colleague retiring after many years. Budget: split between you.

How to organise the whip-round and the leaving card

The collection envelope

One person holds it. Pass round a sealed envelope with a slot in the top, or set up an online collection for colleagues who work from home or at another site, and say clearly that any amount is welcome. Start about two weeks before the last day.

The leaving card

Buy a big card early and keep it moving, desk by desk, with a sticky note on the envelope saying who has it next and when it must be back. Keep it well away from the person leaving: the classic way to get caught is leaving it on the photocopier.

Presenting it at the leaving do

Hand it over at the last-day drinks or the afternoon cake in the staff room, after a short speech: one funny story, one real thank-you. Something that tells stories about them, like the comic book or the notebook of advice, gets passed round the room after it's opened. See also our page on a gift for a colleague who's leaving.

What to write in a leaving card

Writing a leaving card for a colleague: a takeaway coffee, a blank card and a small wrapped present

The space under "Good luck!" is the part people reread years later. One specific memory beats three superlatives. A few lines to borrow or adapt:

For a colleague moving on: "The tea round is doomed without you. Your new team has no idea how lucky they are."
For someone you worked closely with: "Thank you for talking me down before the March presentation. I'll miss sitting next to you more than I'll admit in a card."
For a boss: "Thank you for backing us in every meeting, even the ones where we were wrong."
For a colleague moving abroad: "Don't forget us when you're having lunch in the sunshine. The spare desk is yours whenever you're home."
For maternity leave: "Wishing you a lovely (if slightly sleepless) year. We'll keep your chair warm and your mug clean."
For a retirement: "Thirty years, and nobody ever knew the building better. Enjoy the lie-ins: you've earned every one."

Sign with your name and your team: in a big organisation, they may not know which Sarah you are.

Last-minute leaving gifts

Found out at lunchtime that it's their last day? Skip anything that needs posting. Their tea order in a jar from the corner shop, a tin of biscuits for the new team, a bunch of flowers picked up on the way in, an afternoon tea or experience e-voucher printed out and put in the card, or their photo as a comic panel made with our free photo to comic tool and printed before the leaving drinks.

Gifts for colleagues on other occasions

Not a leaving present? For the office Christmas swap, our Secret Santa gift guide has ideas for the usual price limits. For a birthday, a cake in the staff room and a card that goes round are the standard, plus a paperback or their favourite chocolate if you're close. For a big one, see our 50th birthday gift ideas.

The best leaving gift for a colleague doesn't have to be expensive. It just has to show that the people they're leaving behind were paying attention.