What to do if…
you lose access to your work email and systems without warning

What to do now

1. Write down the basics before you make more attempts. Note the time access stopped, what you cannot access, such as email, VPN, HR portal, shared drives, or your work device, and any exact error message. Take a photo or screenshot if you can do that without bypassing security.

2. Contact your line manager through a neutral channel you already use. Use your personal phone, text message, or a known non-work contact route. Send: “I’ve suddenly lost access to my work email and systems. Can you confirm whether this is an IT or security issue, or whether there is another instruction I need to follow?”

3. Contact IT, the service desk, or security through an official route. Say: “My account appears inaccessible. Please confirm whether it is locked for security and tell me the official reset or verification steps.” Do not use reset links from unexpected emails or texts.

4. Treat it as a possible security issue until IT says otherwise. If you recently clicked a link, approved a sign-in, entered a password somewhere unusual, lost a work device, or saw an unexpected multi-factor prompt, tell IT or security plainly. If you reused the same or a very similar password on personal accounts, change those personal passwords from a trusted device.

5. Report suspicious messages only through official channels. If the suspicious message was in a personal email account, you can forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. If it was a suspicious text message, you can forward it to 7726. If the suspicious message is inside a work account you cannot access, tell IT rather than trying to get back in by unsafe routes.

6. If you are told you are suspended or under investigation, switch to simple paper-trail mode. Ask for written confirmation, if they can provide it, of whether you are suspended, when it started, whether pay and benefits continue, who your HR contact is, and what you are allowed to do while locked out. Ask whether you may contact colleagues about work, support, or the issue itself.

7. If you are told your employment has ended, keep it practical. Ask HR for a short written statement of your employment status, how you will receive any pay owed, how holiday pay will be handled if relevant, whether a P45 will be issued, and how to return company property with a record.

8. Do not agree to anything important on a rushed call. If someone asks you to accept blame, confirm resignation, sign something, or hand over property informally, say: “I’m not able to agree to anything right now. Please send it to me in writing and I’ll respond.”