Is employee misconduct driving you crazy? Read this
before taking action.
Sample Employee Discipline Letter
Have you had difficulty crafting a discipline letter for staff?
Do you wish to find help to create an appropriate letter? We
believe we can help you. The letter has to do several things,
but most of all it must clearly define the infraction, and
how the company plans to respond.
Discipline Letter Sample
Date
Employee Name
Address
City, State, Zip
RE: Infraction Detail
This letter serves as written notice to [name]. We have made
the decision to take disciplinary action regarding [this situation].
At this point in the letter, it is good to explain what action
management has taken previously. This sample discipline letter
should clearly define the prior issues with the employee and
then spell out the disciplinary action taken in the second
paragraph.
We have decided to suspend [name] without pay for the period
of one week. The suspension will go into effect immediately.
Our sincere hope is that this suspension is met with reconciliation
on the part of the employee. We should not have to warn the
next step of action will be termination.
You have the right to appeal this decision. If you have questions
about this disciplinary action, please contact the Human Resources
Department.
Sincerely,
(Manager’s Signature)
Drafting Sample Employee Discipline Letter
It is important to remember a court can use the letter as
legal evidence in the future, so it is important to draft a
copy and have someone else in the human resource department
review it. It is helpful to have templates ready ahead of time
that management has drafted and reviewed with the help of legal
counsel.
The sample employee discipline letter we provided is a guide.
The idea behind the discipline letter is to provide a paper
trail for future reference. If the employee’s behavior
does not improve, then managers can use this invaluable documentation
to clarify the procedures taken to warn the employee that they
may lose their job if they did not change.
The manager should mail the sample employee discipline letter
to an employee or hand it to them directly. If you choose to
mail the letter to the employee, then be certain you use certified
mail. You do not want the employee claiming they did not receive
the letter, in case further action has to be done. It may even
be wise to include a receipt notice that they have to sign
and return to the human resource office. In this way, a business
owner or manager eliminates liability on their part and can
hold the employee solely responsibility for any future missteps.
Our
recommended termination procedures for misconduct and poor
performance
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