Leaving job, work email registered on everything

I use my work email for loads of things to but realised it probably wasn’t a good idea and so am slowly moving everything over.

Echoing posters above, I’d not bring this to your employers attention. It’s not a huge deal if you’ve signed up for a say, a clothing retailer mailing list, using their email- just unsubscribe and nobody will ever be any the wiser.

It’s more of a problem around social media and credit checking, as theoretically both of those could open up your employer to liability, by virtue of you using their email address.

In 2000 55 percent of homes had access to the Internet. It was up to 75 perc by 2010 in UK. If you have been in a job for 25 plus years you could easily had no home access for first 10 years. I set up my first home email 6 years after starting my current job. Never had a home computer separate from work laptop which I got in 2003. The changes have been dramatic.

My Dh has this issue - however, he was allowed to keep his phone number

It was quite common to do this 10 to 20 years ago when people didn't have their own mobile access

I'm surprised. Would they not have had a PC or laptop at home instead?
I have always had my own email address even when we were on dial up internet access before broadband.

Don't do this going forward.
In jobs I have had, the email account will be quickly deleted by the account admin once you have left. If they are slow about doing this, there are GDPR and security implications that they should be well aware of, so your address will disappear anyway.
If your payslips and P60 etc are done through an online system where you log in to download, also make very sure you have done this while you are still on the books, as this too will not keep going. Pension information can be important for a long time and only really provable by these documents. Been there myself.

Head of IT here. I wouldn't encourage it, but for longstanding staff, I'd probably let them take the phone number.
Email is trickier. Most sites won't let you change your address. Go to each site and see if you can. If you can't, shut the account down. Once you leave, you have no control over the email and they may well give someone access to check for new messages

My employer is fine with people taking their work number with them.....

It really isn't. It's just something that needs sorting. It was quite common to do this 10 to 20 years ago when people didn't have their own mobile access and in the scheme of dumb things it is no where near 'one of the dumbest things anyone has ever done' I can promise you that.

Ryanair doesn't let you change so you have to set up a new account. Others can be the same and you will lose any loyalty.

Back in the day people did use their work email addresses for things. The only reason I don't/didn't is because I've moved jobs quite frequently, so I used my personal email.

I know one of my colleagues has used his work email for decades! However, he's one of the bosses. Hopefully not for things like banking but definitely for things like booking flights.

I am astounded at the naivety and lack of IT literacy shown on this thread, and how many companies seem to have lax IT security.

The company I work for blocked access to social media platforms, eBay, Amazon etc many years ago, not that it matters these days as everyone just uses their phone.

Do people really not understand how important it is to not use public Wi-Fi (that includes the workplace) when making financial transactions or accessing personal and confidential data?

It's no wonder that so many people get their Facebook accounts hacked.

People do it though don’t they, DW is just the same, uses work email and phone for everything from bank to HMRC to Facebook, lost track of how often I’ve asked her to set up a personal email, sometimes you might as well talk to yourself, she’s going to have as much fun as OP sorting it all out one day

Check with your IT team what happens to your work email address when you leave. My employer archives the email address and the associated Google drive space, but then transfers them to their line manager who can access both. Delete any personal emails.

Depends how long OP has been there. 15-20 years ago this was normal.

I have colleagues who went through the pain last summer of moving all their personal stuff to personal email. They did it ahead of a short sabbatical when they should not have been looking at their work inbox.

it’s a big job. Be methodical.

sort important stuff like tax. Insurances. Pension. Bank. Car. Mortgage. Key shopping destinations. Friends. Family. Etc

make sure your out of office is set with a personal email address (if that is allowed)

then as emails come in over the next few weeks - either unsubscribe or update contact details.
go back at least 3 months of emails to review ones to unsubscribe from or to move contact details.

Forward yourself any receipts or quotes that you will need.

or (assuming your workplace know already) go to IT and ask their advice. To avoid security stopping your emails you may need to explain you are not stealing your employer’s data but your own personal life. They may advise what others have done.

but start now. You do not want to be in a rush in the last 48h.

best of luck.

Sorry if duplicating but not read all the replies. Google came up with the following checklist:

🏦 Financial & Legal

• Online banking, credit cards, and savings accounts
• PayPal, Wise, Revolut, Monzo, etc.
• Investment platforms (e.g., Vanguard, Nutmeg, AJ Bell)
• Accounting/tax software (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, HMRC login, Companies House)
• Insurance providers (home, car, health, pet, travel)
• Pension services or retirement accounts

🛒 Shopping & Subscriptions

• Amazon, eBay, Etsy
• Supermarket accounts (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, etc.)
• Delivery services (DPD, Royal Mail, Evri, etc.)
• Food delivery (Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats)
• Clothing/retail stores (Zara, H&M, etc.)
• Beauty or lifestyle subscriptions (Birchbox, Glossybox)
• Magazines or newspapers (digital/print)
• Monthly box subscriptions (HelloFresh, Gousto, etc.)

💼 Work & Professional

• LinkedIn
• Job boards (Indeed, CharityJob, Guardian Jobs)
• Freelance platforms (Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour)
• Payroll/HR portals (Workday, BrightHR, etc.)
• Professional associations or memberships (IoF, CMI, etc.)
• Business registration and banking (Companies House, Stripe, Square)
• Domain registrar and website host (GoDaddy, Squarespace, Wix, etc.)
• Cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive)

🧾 Utilities & Services

• Energy providers (Octopus, EDF, British Gas, etc.)
• Broadband and mobile contracts
• Streaming services (Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Disney+)
• TV licence or council tax accounts
• Transport accounts (Oyster, Trainline, National Rail)

📱 Apps & Devices

• Apple ID / iCloud
• Google account / Gmail
• Microsoft account
• Social media logins tied to phone (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, TikTok, Threads)
• App store subscriptions (Apple, Google Play)
• Smart home accounts (Alexa, Ring, Nest, etc.)

💌 Communications & Tools

• Zoom, Teams, Slack, or other meeting software
• Newsletter subscriptions
• Mailing lists or fundraising networks
• Survey tools (SurveyMonkey, Typeform)
• File-sharing or e-signature tools (DocuSign, Adobe, WeTransfer)

❤️ Health & Lifestyle

• NHS login
• GP surgery, dentist, or optician portals
• Gym memberships or fitness apps (PureGym, Fitbit, Strava, etc.)
• Meditation/wellbeing apps (Headspace, Calm)
• Charitable giving platforms (JustGiving, CAF, etc.)

✈️ Travel & Leisure

• Airline accounts (British Airways, Ryanair, etc.)
• Hotel and booking sites (Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia)
• Car hire services
• Loyalty or rewards schemes (Nectar, Tesco Clubcard, Avios, etc.)
• Ticketing sites (Eventbrite, Ticketmaster, See Tickets)

💻 Security & Authentication

• Password manager (1Password, LastPass)
• Two-factor authentication apps (Authy, Google Authenticator)
• Backup/recovery emails
• Antivirus or VPN accounts

🧑‍🎓 Learning & Training

• Online course platforms (Coursera, Udemy, FutureLearn)
• University or alumni portals
• Webinar/event sites (Zoom Events, Eventbrite)

OP - don't beat yourself up. I am similar, been a job for 25 years and this stuff was not so important back then. I have transtioned everthing over as I get emails. I get so much junk to work that I am heppy to leave behind 😀Much of mine gets caught by a fire wall so I get a once a day email that I review and update if I want to keep in touch. This will be freeing for you!! Just make sure you change the important stuff - remember car insurance. car tax, HMRC, bank, council tax etc.....

We've done it before.. Phone was due to be replaced anyway, they'd had the number 20 years.

Bonkers! I'm really amazed that your wlp didn't tell you not to do this - although it ought to be obvious!

Why on earth have you done this?

Time to change all your passwords and email addresses OP

I had to do that when I changed my broadband provider and associated email. I did it over a period of about 3 months, prioritised financial/pension etc and then did the rest as and when I received emails from them or wanted to access the website. But it sounds like you will potentially have to do this within a month - get started now!
IME you're unlikely to be able to take your work phone number.
Lesson: never tie yourself down to a particular email address/phone number that you are not in full control of

But you still have to change all the email addresses, including on Google.

There's a password manager on Google, you can still access this if you change your email on Google and then work your way through the list of sites.