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As a manager, you’d rather think about hiring instead of firing. We all do. However, sometimes, the decision to terminate an employee must be made to improve the efficiency of your company and the employees working there. To make matters more complicated, how you end an employee could have significant legal implications later. That’s why the termination letter notice is crucial.
Even if you fire employees verbally (which you should), It’s best to give notice in writing. If you send an employee a letter of termination (be sure to save the original to keep in your documents), it protects you and your business in legal case questions come to light in the future.
However, writing a termination letter can be a difficult job. If you’ve never had to write an official letter before, then you might be wondering:
• What kind of language can I choose to use?
• What should I put init?
• What should I not leave out?
• How do I start?
The experts from Sling Sling are available to assist. We’ll be able to answer your concerns and more. We’ll even send you an example of a termination letter to help you start.
Before we can get into the template, it’s essential to start by looking at the type of language you’ll need to employ across the documents. Following that, we’ll examine the details you must include in the notice of termination and the things you shouldn’t have.
The Appropriate Wording for a Termination Letter
When you draft the letter of termination, remember that the information you write on the paper could later be used for evidence during a court process. Due to this, the language you choose to use must focus on the work you are attempting to accomplish.
That’s right; there are no jokes, no sarcasm, and nothing that could be taken to mean taking advantage of the situation.
If your letter is required to include the reasons behind the cancellation (which we’ll go over in the next section), make sure to state the facts clearly and in a factual manner. In addition, make sure you provide evidence that has influenced your decision.
If you can, you can mention specific business policies violated. Of course, how you present the details in your letter will differ according to your writing skills. However, here’s an example to help determine the appropriate language you should utilize in a termination letter.
Particularly, your disparaging comments about a colleague directly violated the company policy. This was after you were given a written warning and additional instruction regarding an incident similar to that in March this year.
The above example is professional, accurate, and focused on conveying all relevant details relevant to the specific circumstance. However, if, upon writing your letter of termination and you’re not certain of the language you used, you should consult an attorney in the field who can guide you.
Items to Include In a Termination Letter
No matter the reason behind the decision to terminate, it’s a sensible idea to include the following information, if relevant.
Based on the scale of your business, the reason for termination, and a range of other factors, you might require more information on the termination letter. If you are unsure, speak to an experienced attorney.
Names And All Employee InformationIt’s a given (but we’ll add it anyway) that you must mention the name of the individual who was let go and your company’s name, along with the terms of the person responsible for the termination.
Also, you should mention any pertinent information about the company to that employee. Things to keep in mind:
• Employee ID number
• Position
• Department
• Immediate supervisors
This makes a complete record of being used in the future. If you want to refer back to the letter in the future, you won’t need to search through other documents to figure out what the worker’s duties were — they’re included inside the email.
Dates
The dates are essential in establishing a timeline. In addition, they are specific proof of reasons for terminating an employee and serve as proof that legal action is required.
At a minimum, include the date on which the letter was sent to the employee and when the termination is effective (if there is a difference).
Reason for Termination
The reasons for firing may range from reductions to poor performance and in between. Whatever the reason behind dismissing the employee, you can give him the security of knowing why they’re removed from their job.
Receipt of Company Property
It could be like laptops, tablets, or even a company vehicle. It could, however, be as small as a key to the door of your home. If its company property and you’d like to get it back, you must confirm receipt of the items in the termination letter to establish evidence of possession.
Severance, Benefits, and Other Compensation Information
Certain employees could have the right to the compensation package for severance, unused benefits, or any other form of compensation. Include the steps an employee needs to follow to qualify for these benefits.
The instructions should be precise so that the employee will have no difficulty executing the procedure. In this instance is better than having too little. On the other hand, certain benefits packages are useful, and you don’t want employees to feel like you’re trying to defraud them of the benefits they’re entitled to.
Important information includes:
• Whom do I contact?
• Contact information for the person
• Contact them when you need to
• The benefits that an employee could expect
If everything is done for them, note the date they will get the benefits. If you provide a specific date, complete the transaction before the date. In the event of a delay, the delivery may result in further issues.
Legal Agreements
Legal agreements, such as the confidentiality agreement (NDA) and the non-compete clause (NCA and NCC), must be signed and completed when an employee starts employment. It is not recommended to force the employee to sign these documents during termination. It might be seen as a type of discipline.
Instead, you can use the termination letter to remind employees of the contract’s binding nature. Make copies of all relevant documents, but make the key elements so that employees can quickly determine what they can and aren’t able to do.
Details about Their Final Paycheck
If you can, it will make things simpler if you pay your employee the last payment when the termination letter is completed. If this isn’t possible, you can include details in the letter concerning:
• The day they’ll receive their compensation by
• Then, their check will be released
There are a variety of options to get that last paycheque (pick up, post, or direct transfer)
If you include this information in your termination letter, there won’t be any issues about unpaid compensation, which could result in negative feelings and legal action.
Items to Exclude From a Termination Letter
You should exclude the following items from your letter of termination. However, recognize that this isn’t an exhaustive list. Always consult with a qualified lawyer to confirm.
Severance to Waive Legal Claims
Employees might view this as an indication of insecurity. They might be concerned that they were wrongly fired, which is the company’s strategy to avoid legal problems. Suppose you can negotiate severance as a company policy. In that case, you can arrange it following the date that the termination notice is delivered without the possibility of legal issues on the employee’s mind.
Protected Characteristics
What are the protected features? Anything that can be discriminated against. Health disabilities, sex, disability pregnancy, and age are covered characteristics. It is not advisable to consider them in hiring or firing, and you shouldn’t be considering them when you’re firing.
Familiar Language
This refers to the correct language we spoke about at the start of the article. Be sure to keep everything professional and truthful. In particular, avoid words like:
• This is the ideal time to retire, but it’s not the best
• Now is the time to spend more time with your sick child.
You’d likely prefer to work in a more relaxed environment due to your heart condition.
In one way, these statements diminish the severity of the circumstance (the employee has just lost their job). However, another reason is that they may be perceived as discriminatory due to protected particulars.
Everything That Supports or Justifies the Firing
It may seem counterintuitive to the second section; however, it’s not. To justify your decision to terminate employees, it might be tempting to record every mistake or error committed.
The issue is that, should the matter get to the court, the employee could be able to provide the evidence which disqualifies them from just one or two minor allegations. This could be used to challenge the validity of ALL of the motives for the dismissal (including the primary reason).
You can avoid this by focusing on only pertinent discipline, performance issues, or incidents that contributed to the decision to terminate.
After we’ve discussed what you should include in your termination letter and what you should take out, let’s shift our focus to the termination letter template. This template can be used to get a base from which you can create your personalized letter.
To read more: thetimesproject
