Best Practices for Drafting Termination Letters and Ensuring Legal Compliance in Employee Terminatio

Dear All,

Please guide me in devising a good termination letter format. Although termination is not a favorable factor in itself, as an HR Manager, this duty also falls on his/her shoulders.

Looking forward to your replies.

Hi Saba,

The following is a sample that you may customize to suit your requirements. Please be very careful to check out the labor legislations in your country and finally get it vetted by a lawyer before you issue the same.

Personal & Confidential

March 30, 2004

Mr/Ms

Address

Dear [Sir/Madam]:

Further to our discussion, this letter confirms that your employment with our company is being terminated effective immediately. We sincerely regret this action and can assure you that we have only done so after considering all alternatives.

Under the circumstances, we will be implementing the following severance arrangements:

1. Your employment will end effective immediately.
2. You will be paid any unpaid base salary accruing from the effective date of our last payroll to today, subject to the usual source deductions.

We thank you for your valued contributions thus far to (company name) and wish you well in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Designation, Human Resources

Hi Shaba & Sherine,

While drafting a termination letter, you must remember it is a legal document that can be challenged in a court of law.

It is very important to know the level of the employee for whom the letter is required. What Sherine drafted is okay for employees beyond the purview of the ID Act. But for employees within the purview of the ID Act, the letter should be something like:

Dear........,

This is in reference to the charge sheet dated...... issued to you on......, which has been duly received by you* on......and subsequent disciplinary enquiry.

I have reviewed the report of the Enquiry Officer and agree with him that the charges leveled against you under cl...... of the Standing Orders, as applicable to you, are proven beyond doubt.

Considering the gravity of the misconduct, it has been decided to terminate your services, as your presence in the company will be subversive to the discipline of the company and against the morale of the employees. Accordingly, your service is being terminated forthwith with effect from.... .

You may collect your legal dues on any working day after.... from the... department.

Thank you,

Yours truly,

Signature**

*if not received by him/her, the proper procedure should be mentioned here

**It has to be signed by anybody not holding a rank below the designation of the Appointing authority.

Hi Saba,

Format of Termination Letter:

December 16, 2008

To,

Mr. Employee's Name,
Address,
Nr. Park,
Rajkot-360013.

Gentleman,

We refer to our appointment letter dated 22nd September 2008 issued in your favor.

We appreciate the services provided by you during the tenure starting from 25th September 2008.

We regret to inform you that due to non-compliance with several terms mentioned in the above appointment letter, we may not be able to continue your services as per the said appointment letter.

As a result, we would like to relieve you with immediate effect. You are hereby instructed to return all the company's belongings to the Rajkot office and obtain a No Due Clearance. Additionally, please secure financial clearance promptly from the Rajkot Office.

Thank you,

Yours sincerely,

For XYZ Pvt. Ltd.,
Authorized Signatory,
Vijay

Hi,

We wanted to terminate the Zonal Sales Manager due to poor performance. On September 18, we sent him a notice that if we do not receive a satisfactory explanation, your services would be terminated with effect from October 1.

Can this September 14th letter be considered as one month's notice, resulting in the services being stopped from October 1, in lieu of 15 days' salary?

Please email me the solution at [link removed].

Thanks & Regards,
Devika