Employee Warning Letter

[company_name] [company_address] Date: [letter_date] STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL To, [employee_name] Employee ID: [employee_id] [designation] Subject: [warning_level] warning Dear [employee_name], 1. THE INCIDENT [incident_details] 2. WHY THIS IS A CONCERN The conduct described above is not in keeping with the standards expected of employees of [company_name] ("the Company"), and is contrary to the Company's policies and to the terms of your employment. 3. PREVIOUS OCCASIONS [previous_warnings] 4. YOUR RESPONSE You were given an opportunity to explain the matter, and your response has been considered before issuing this letter. 5. WHAT IS EXPECTED GOING FORWARD [expected_conduct] 6. REVIEW Your conduct and performance in this respect will be reviewed after [review_days] days. We expect to see a sustained improvement within that period. 7. CONSEQUENCES Please treat this as a formal warning. Any repetition of the conduct described above, or any further breach of the Company's policies, may result in further disciplinary action, which may include a final warning, withholding of increment or promotion, or termination of employment. 8. SUPPORT Where the difficulty arises from a lack of clarity, training or resources, please raise it with your reporting manager or with the Human Resources department. The Company would rather assist you in meeting the required standard than proceed to further action. 9. This letter will be placed on your personnel file. 10. Please acknowledge receipt by signing and returning the duplicate copy. Your acknowledgment records receipt of this letter, and does not by itself signify agreement with its contents. You are at liberty to submit a written representation within seven days, which will be placed on file alongside this letter. For [company_name] Authorised Signatory Name: Designation: ACKNOWLEDGMENT Received a copy of the above letter on ______________. Employee's signature: ______________________ NOTES FOR THE EMPLOYER — WHY THE PROCESS MATTERS A warning letter is not merely a rebuke. It is the evidentiary foundation for any later disciplinary action, and it is the first document that will be examined if a termination is challenged. 1. BE SPECIFIC. "Poor attitude" or "unsatisfactory performance" proves nothing. State what happened, when, and why it fell short. A vague warning is worth little in a proceeding and is unfair to the employee, who cannot correct conduct that has not been identified. 2. HEAR THE EMPLOYEE FIRST. Issue a show-cause notice, consider the reply, and only then issue the warning. A warning issued without giving the employee an opportunity to explain is vulnerable, and the defect is difficult to cure later. 3. PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE. Where the misconduct is not grave, the ordinary sequence is counselling, first warning, final warning, and only then termination. A termination that follows a single minor warning invites the finding that the punishment was disproportionate. 4. ALLOW A REPRESENTATION and place it on file. A one-sided file is less persuasive than one showing that the employee's response was received and considered. 5. FOLLOW THE STANDING ORDERS where they apply to the establishment. Where they prescribe a procedure for misconduct, that procedure governs. 6. BE CONSISTENT. Treating similar conduct differently between employees is among the commonest grounds on which disciplinary action is successfully challenged.