Termination Letter Template

Letting go of an employee is one of the most trying situations. It doesn't matter if you don't like the employee, or if that person was absolutely rubbish at work or a bad influence on the peers. It takes a really heartless chap to prepare and sign the termination letters, bung them in the face of that employee and tell him/her to take off. The first time, as they say, is the hardest. You might find it unnaturally hard to take the decision of terminating the employment contract of the bad employee. So to help you write 'that' letter any employee would hate to read, here is an article on how to write a termination letter followed by the template.

Termination Letter Format

A termination letter is a formal letter of business communication, so you need to keep it as short and as formal as you can. You might find yourself tempted to write a nice long letter about how the employee practically sucked at the job, but that's not the way it's done. The thing to keep in mind is that the termination letter is business writing and not creative writing. Like a bad personal relationship, a bad professional relationship too ought to be broken off with as few, yet hard-hitting words as possible. So here are a few termination letter writing tips.

A termination letter should be written on the letterhead of the company as it an official document related to the affairs of the company. The letter should start with the name of the employee and the subject of the letter. The first sentence itself is the most heartbreaking one-that the company has decided to end the services of this employee. The second sentence of the letter should talk about the reasons why the company felt that the performance of the employee was not up to the mark.

The second paragraph should have the details about the full and final compensation owed to the employee on account of the days worked in the current month and the compensation for paid leaves which the employee had not availed, if any. Depending on the type of job, you may also have to ask the employee to hand in any transportation, or office materials given to him/her required for doing the work. The letter may be ended wishing the employee good luck for his/her future endeavors.

The Template

Mr. (name of the employee) Subject: Termination of Employment With great regret I have to inform you that your employment agreement with (name of company) as of (date of agreement) stands terminated as of today on account of the following reasons:(pick the one relevant to the employee in question) Substandard work: After reaching an agreement with the (number) superiors related to your field, (number) Warnings against your poor performance, it has been determined that your work quality does not meet the standards of our company. Disobedience: After receiving (number) of complaints/warnings about your conduct within the company premises, we have decided to terminate your status as an employee at (company name). ( this will also include absenteeism) Downsizing: Upon receiving the report from the Quality Management team along with the (company name) HR reports, we have decided to terminate your status as an employee at (company name). Your employment was still in a probationary state, with the current rate of company growth, we no longer need your services. This is in no way a direct reflection of your work. But as you have not shown the required growth as a probationary employee, this decision was taken as recommended by the Quality Task Force. The severance package and the full and final settlement of any outstanding benefits can be discussed with the HR, Mr (name). At the same time, you are requested to hand in any company property given to you on account of company work. (name of company) wishes you the best for all your future endeavors. Regards, (Authorized signature)

And so we come to the end of this article on termination letter template and format. Firing an employee is not a very happy experience, irrespective of whether the employee was good or not, hence, I hope I could take one of the problems involved in firing an employee off your shoulders! Facing the remonstrations and arguments from the employee, I leave to you.