What is the Termination Letter?
The termination letter is an official letter and can be written for many reasons. It can be written to:
- End an employment
- End a contract
- End an agreement
- End any services
- End a lease
The reasons can be many and it is important for you to make use of the business letter format in order to write such a letter. The most common reason to write such a letter is an employee termination.
Have you heard about the contract termination letter? It is the common type of termination letter that is written to end a business relationship with the contracting party. The termination letter is moreover like the cancellation letter because the objective of both the letters is same. The word termination sounds more offensive in comparison to the term cancellation.
Many times, people also get confuse with the termination letter and the resignation letter. The resignation letter is written in order to voluntarily leave the job or a particular post. On the other hand, the termination letter is more like a penalty given to an individual is he or she is guilty of anything. If the employment relationship is not based on any kind of contract, then the termination letter can be issued without providing any adequate reason.
Giving the termination letter is the most daunting task. It is not always easy to say to an employee that he or she is terminated. Ending a contractual agreement is a painful task but an employer should do it in a most convincing way.
In other words, you are trying to say a goodbye and it is never easy to express it by means of words. You have to take care of the integrity of an individual and also maintain the sensitivity factor while drafting such a letter. You can consider writing such a letter with the sensitive mind and heart. Don’t make use of the rude words in the termination letter, if you want to ease out the pain of termination.
Tips to follow while writing a termination letter
Following are the few tips that you need to follow while writing a termination letter:
- Don’t make use of words that can hamper the reputation of an individual. Termination letter, if written in a bold and rude language, can make the life of the reader hell.
- The reader should not get hurt and so it is important for you to make use of the soft and good words.
- Write the letter, in such a way that the reader can find it easy to digest the difficult truth of the life.
- Don’t try to show your aggressive tone in such a letter.
- Try to be polite while being straightforward.
- Strictly say no to the open criticism.
- Give the reason for termination, because the reader has right to know the true reason.
- Add all the termination related information related to date, timeline, final decision etc.
- Make use of the words that can show some professionalism and courtesy.
How to draft a termination letter?
Are you writing such a letter for the first time? If yes, then drafting it can prove to be the difficult task for you. For the recipient, it is an embarrassing situation and sees to it that you don’t make it more embarrassing by drafting a wrong letter or by using bad words or by showing aggressive behavior.
For the unresponsive and irresponsible behavior of an employee, you can terminate him or her but in an ethical way. There have been many instances when it has been observed that the applicants take some wrong step after receiving the termination letter. If you don’t want this to happen, then don’t try to lash your anger on the recipient. Below are the few points that can help you to draft a successful termination letter:
Follow the proper procedure
In certain situations, you may have all possible reasons to terminate an employee but before doing so ensure that you know the right termination procedure. Go through your company policies, before drafting such a letter. If you hamper the company policies, then it can leave a loophole in your termination letter and employee can take benefit out of it. Go by law!
Examine your decision
Are you sure about the termination? Analyse the entire situation once again, before taking the termination decision. Is the termination fair? Are you following the employment policies? Draft the termination letter, only when you have a full proof reason to do so.
Roughly draft your letter
Directly, don’t start drafting a termination letter on the letterhead of the company. First, draft a rough letter and let the management team or a manager review the letter. Try to find the mistakes, if any. While roughly drafting this letter, it is important for you to pour out your anger and frustration. The rough draft can make it easy for you to find mistakes and this can help you to successfully draft a final letter.
Write to the point
It is important to write such a letter in a straightforward manner but that does not mean you are allowed to be blunt. Write a letter to the point and in a concise manner. While mentioning the reason for termination, don’t try to add brief details. Mention the reason in a short and simple manner, without hurting the ego of a reader.
Don’t get emotional
While writing such a letter, you don’t have to get emotional. Being sensitive towards the reader is considerable but getting emotional is not done. Understand, that it is a formal letter and should be drafted in a professional manner. Don’t allow the recipient, to take advantage of your emotions.
Make use of the positive approach
Make your employee or recipient, realize his or her mistake in a positive manner. Let the reader know that you don’t have any kind of grudges against him or her. Don’t write such a letter, in any kind of wrong influence.