Managing licences for joiners, movers and leavers

Joiners

• Confirm the required Microsoft 365 base licence before the user starts.
• Add any role-specific add-ons, such as Copilot, Teams Phone, Visio, Project, Power Platform, security or compliance licences.
• Check whether licence assignment is complete before the user needs access.

Movers

• Review whether the user’s current licence still matches their new role.
• Remove add-ons that are no longer needed, subject to subscription and term rules.
• Add any new role-specific licences required for the new team or responsibilities.

Leavers

• Reassign eligible seats where possible rather than buying additional seats unnecessarily.
• Consider mailbox, archive, retention and data-access requirements before removing Exchange-related licences.
• Plan permanent reductions for renewal if the subscription term prevents immediate seat reduction.