How to Write a Termination Letter to Fire Employee

Before assuming some roles in a company, the employees will often sign an employment contract that among others specifies how long they are to work for that organization. However, some circumstances may arise that demand that the employee’s contract is terminated prematurely. If and when such circumstances do arise, an employee termination letter has to be drafted.

This is a letter that basically seeks to notify the employee of an untimely termination from employment. It basically confirms the finer details of the firing and summarizes the pieces of information your employee needs to know before stepping out of a job.

We now get to the core of the letter. By core, we mean the contents and issues that a letter of this kind has to contain. They are the following:

• The date from which the termination is to take effect
• The core reasons why the termination is inevitable or has been settled on
• An explanation of how the compensation and the resultant benefits are going to be handled
• A listing of the pieces of property that the company owns that have to be refunded
• A reminder of any separate agreements or treaties that the employee entered with the employer if applicable.
• The contact details of the human resource representatives

The timing of the employee termination letter is just as good as the contents of the letter itself. This is necessary to avoid unnecessary litigation and other challenges that may arise in the event that an employee opts to take some legal actions. Below are the factors that inform the timing of the employee termination letter:

• Incapacitation. If and when an employee is no longer capable of performing the duties that he is assigned or expected to, the most logical thing to do is fire him from employment. Retaining him in the company might only lead to financial losses as you will be paying for work not done.
• Inability to Integrate to the Organizational Culture and Ethos. Before one can perform the duties and responsibilities that come along with his job description, he must integrate well with the organizational cultures and ethos. These are rules and principles that given the day-to-day tasks and activities of the firms. The failure to integrate fully might also warrant a dismissal.
• Violation of the Company Code of Conduct. Integrating, in and of itself, is not enough, the employee must also adhere to the codes of conduct that govern the tasks and activities that the company engages in on a daily basis. The violations of these codes of conduct are yet another strong point for a dismissal.
• Thefts and Corporate Malpractices. Employees who engage in thefts and other corporate malpractices no doubt have to be shown the door. Such practices are no doubt an abomination as they eat away some company profits not to mention portraying the same in a bad light. Do not take any chances to terminate the employee who engages in such.
• Failure to Honor Commitments. Apart from the core business of working for the firm, an employee has to honor some commitments. These include showing up to work in time, honoring appointments, handling tasks within the allotted timeframes, and being there when needed. Any failures to do these may also warrant an untimely dismissal.

Our long and laborious look into how to write a termination letter to fire an employee comes to an end there. We now trust that you have the insight you need to do a good job. Why not proceed now and implement the findings we have generously furnished? We wish you all the best!