What is this disciplinary letter template?
The basics: This disciplinary letter template formally informs an employee that their employment with the company is terminated as a result of disciplinary proceedings and a decision made during a disciplinary hearing. It serves as an official communication of the employment termination, outlining the reasons for the dismissal and providing relevant details regarding the notice period, final payments, ongoing legal obligations, and the employee’s right to appeal.
Dismissal letter: There will be instances whereby your disciplinary procedure fails to provide you or the employee with any available routes to move forward. Whether that’s a consequence of the employee’s irredeemable behaviour, or an inability on their part to improve their performance, there will be occasions where a dismissal letter will need to be used. This disciplinary letter template can be used for the dismissal procedure.
Content of the letter: This disciplinary letter template confirms that the employer's findings regarding the behaviour or performance of the employee fell below their expectations, and this is so serious that the employment relationship is terminated.
Benefits of using this disciplinary (invite) letter template
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Formal and clear communication: This disciplinary letter template provides a structured and formal way to communicate the decision to terminate the employee's employment, ensuring that the message is clear.
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Transparency: The letter promotes transparency by detailing the reasons for termination and referring to prior warnings or disciplinary actions, making it clear why the decision was reached.
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Provides a process for post-termination actions: This disciplinary letter template reminds the employee of their responsibility to return company property, promoting accountability. It also sets out how final payments will be dealt with and informs the employee about their ongoing legal obligations post-termination, such as non-compete obligations.
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Accommodates employee needs: The template includes a provision for the employee to request any necessary accommodations, such as adjustments due to disabilities or language difficulties, promoting inclusivity and fairness.
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Legal compliance: It helps ensure compliance with employment laws by clearly outlining the reasons for dismissal, the notice period, final payments, and the employee's right to appeal, which should be well-documented in case of future legal disputes.
Key sections within this disciplinary (invite) letter template
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Purpose of this letter: The introductory section provides an overview of the letter's purpose, which is to communicate the decision to terminate the employee's employment following a disciplinary hearing.
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The hearing: This section sets out details of the disciplinary hearing that has already taken place and highlights that the employee had the opportunity to make submissions during the hearing, thus promoting a fair procedure.
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The outcome: This section states the reasons for terminating the employee's employment, referring to any prior warnings or disciplinary actions to provide context for the decision.
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The hearing: This section requests the employee to provide the names of any witnesses they plan to call and any relevant documents they wish to submit, promoting preparation and fairness.
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Notice period and final payments: This section specifies the notice period and the employee's final day of employment, as well as details regarding final salary payment, outstanding holiday entitlement, and expense claims.
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Company property: This section reminds the employee to return any company property.
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Ongoing legal obligations: This section reminds the employee of their ongoing legal obligations post-termination, such as confidentiality or non-compete obligations.
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Appealing against the outcome: This section affirms the employee's right to appeal the decision and provides information on how to initiate the appeal process, ensuring fairness and transparency.
The ACAS Code of Practice and its impact
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (known as Acas for short) Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures sets the minimum standard of fairness that workplaces should follow.
If an employee brings a case to the employment tribunal, the employment tribunal will consider if the employer followed Acas' Code of Practice and can adjust awards by up to 25% if either party unreasonably fails to comply with the Code of Practice. For this reason, an employer should always ensure that its disciplinary process aligns with the minimum standard of fairness set out by the Acas Code of Practice.
Disciplinary process in short
While your business is likely to benefit from the hard work and talent of your team, there will be instances when a disciplinary process is required. In this instance, you’ll need a series of letters: a disciplinary letter invite, a disciplinary written warning letter, and a dismissal letter (i.e. this disciplinary letter template). These letters should be used where an employer has begun a formal disciplinary process (in accordance with its disciplinary policy).
For more information about disciplinary processes, check out this helpful blog).
Why choose Docue?
Created by lawyers: Docue’s disciplinary letter invite template is lawyer-made, lawyer-maintained, and has lawyer-crafted guidelines to steer you through every stage of drafting your document.
Easy to use: To create your disciplinary letter invite with confidence and speed, simply click through the tick box options and text box answers in Docue's disciplinary letter template and you’ll have a ready-to-use letter in no time.
Affordable: At Docue, we believe in transparent and cost-effective pricing without any hidden fees. You can check out our pricing here.
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