Issue of warning letter is the beginning of any disciplinary action, if the erring employee does not improve, it may necessitate taking disciplinary action (DA). As such, warning letter should be drafted in such a way that it should serve the foundation for initiation of DA.
Secondly, it should be kept in mind that most of the DAs taken get reversed in Courts due to only one basic reason that the employee was not give a proper chance to improve. Accordingly, the first warning letter may be like:
Dear ......
It has been observed that you are frequently coming to office late and remain absent from the duties which not only hampers the work/productivity but also creates unhealthy precedent amongst other employees.
You are, therefore, requested to improve.
Hope, in future, you will not give any chance for late reporting/absenteeism.
2. If the employee does not improve, the second strongly worded letter may be for improvement with reference to previous letter. here also one more chance be given to the erring employee for improvement.
3. If even after, giving two chances, the employee does not improve, DA may be initiated.
TR Chhabria