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.

Terminate fairly for both your business & the employees. Our recommended approach