Termination Letter Templates

Terminating somebody’s employment is never pleasant. In fact it is often considered one of the most unpleasant aspects of moving up the corporate ladder. As your career progresses, you will often find yourself in a position where handling layoffs may become part of your job description. Terminations are especially challenging as you need to be both tactful and sympathetic without leaving yourself or your company vulnerable to potential legal ramifications or PR fiascoes.Writing a termination letter for this purpose is as delicate a task as the actual hands on process of letting go of an employee. It is important to incorporate the right words into this letter and if you find yourself unequal to the task, your easiest option is to make use of a Termination Letter template.

What is a Termination Letter?

A termination letter is an official written notice that formally terminates the employment of an individual from a particular career post. If you take a look at our Termination Letter sample you will find that while this is the primary use of a termination letter, it may also be used as Discontinuation of Services letter, a Termination of Lease letter or for other such purposes. It is a formal notice that signifies a discontinuation of any official relationship and need not be limited to that of an employer and employee.Our free Termination Letter template is specially designed in keeping with optimal business standards. It is a simple way to save time and effort if you need a professional, well formatted termination letter.

Importance of a Termination Letter

Just like a letter of appointment or Employment letter, which operates as a confirmative proof of employment in a specific business capacity; the letter of termination does the exact opposite. It serves as an official Termination of employment and is more for the benefit of the employer than the employee as it protects the company in the event of further litigation.Check out our free Termination Letter sample in order to understand the kind of formal language and format required in a termination letter. You can use it a basic guideline when you need to construct a termination letter for your own purposes.

Components of a Termination Letter

Your Termination letter must include the following components:

• Begin with basic details and identification like the name and rank of the recipient of the letter.
• Clearly detail the reasons for termination.
• If it is a termination with cause, it must include details of warnings, counselling and disciplinary action taken against the recipient.
• If it is a termination without cause, it should ideally offer references and thank the recipient for his services.
• It must include details of any company property that must be returned.
• The Termination letter should end with details of the recipient’s severance package and include details like severance pay and other benefits.

Uses of a Termination Letter

A termination letter is an important document that serves the following purposes:

• It is a safeguard that protects the company or the employer from future litigation or PR hassles.
• It serves as a legal document that ensures that there is no breach of contract or laws as it details many important particulars like the duration of the notice period or the specifics of the severance package provided to the recipient.  However these details differ depending on the circumstances of the employee’s termination.
• The most important part of a termination letter is the fact that it gives the recipient a concrete reason for his termination. The letter of termination operates as a legal document in case the recipient is dissatisfied with this reason and chooses to pursue a wrongful termination suit.
• In the event of large scale layoffs due to changes in company policy, new processes or company takeovers, a Termination letter may even serve as exoneration for the recipient which would make it easier for him/her to find another job.
• It serves as a formal Termination of employment that gives the recipient closure and no room for confusion.

We have a versatile range of Termination of employment templates to suit these aforementioned purposes. They are completely free of cost and very easy to download.  Depending upon your purpose, you may download different Termination letter templates or a Simple termination letter template and customize it to your requirements. Our templates are specially designed to accommodate a variety of customization without a glitch.

How to write a Termination letter

The easiest solution to the question- How to write a Termination letter is making use of some of the online professional Termination letter sample. You will find a wide range of templates to help you write not just a Termination Letter but even an Employment letter.  So make it a point to check them out.Just follow these simple guidelines to write a Termination letter:

• Understand the reason behind the termination.
• Construct a Termination letter for that specific reason. Don’t use the same letter for different kinds of terminations.
• Use a Termination Letter template to ensure you have a professionally formatted letter.
• Ensure you letter follows a logical flow with a clear introduction, body and conclusion. It should not be abrupt.
• You may use synonyms for “termination” depending upon the nature of the letter. Other words like “release” or “discontinuation of employment” maybe more appropriate.
• Consult HR and along with legal advisors for help with the particulars of the letter to ensure that you don’t leave yourself vulnerable to litigation.
• In case of a no cause termination, be sincere and compassionate. If possible, offer to furnish the recipient with references to help him/her find another job.
• In case of a termination with cause, explain the reason behind the termination in detail with quantifiable and reviewable proof.
• Remember to include any details of past warnings, counselling and disciplinary action to ensure that it is clear that the recipient has been given a fair chance to reform his behavior.
• Never make the tone of the letter personal. Keep it neutral and professional to ensure it contains no trace of personal bias or discrimination.
• Include pertinent information. Do not clutter the letter with unnecessary detail. Make it brief and to the point.
• Do not be disrespectful to the recipient even if he is a poor worker or guilty of misconduct.
• Do not be ambiguous.

Types of Termination Letters:

Now that you know How to write a Termination letter, you need to understand that there are various formats for writing a termination letter. To know about those different formats, you can check out the online professional samples. There are good, easy to follow and are downloadable in EXCEL, WORD and PDF.

Business contract termination letter

A Contract termination letter is ideal to serve as a legal notice to officially conclude a business contract. While the nature of the contract may differ depending upon one’s reasons for terminating the contract, these letter require an appropriate Termination letter format.Referring to online templates prove to be a good call. These termination letters are perfectly suitable for companies, individuals, vendors and service providers. These letters may signify an amicable conclusion of a contract or a termination due to a breach of contract or dissatisfactory performance and services.

Termination of employment

Employment Termination letter format proves to be the hardest to write because you need to be firm, but tactful. These are issued by the company or the employer and addressed to an employee. Employee terminations may take place for a variety of reasons.An Employee termination letter can be of two basic kinds:

Termination letter with cause

These letters are issued under circumstances where employees are fired due to their own actions:

Termination letter for misconduct

A termination letter for misconduct is issued to employees guilty of misconduct in the workplace. Misconduct could include everything from insubordination, harassment, bullying and abuse of authority or unprofessional behavior.Employees are usually issued warnings for misbehavior, so a termination letter citing misbehavior is usually issued to a repeat offender or somebody guilty of gross misconduct. This letter should also detail the particulars of the offense and include any steps taken by the employer to counsel and warn the offender.

Termination letter for non performance

Employee performance is often reviewed in order to discourage non performance and ensure optimum productivity. The failure to perform well in these appraisals can often lead to a cessation of employment. Sometimes terms like these are also included as part of the contract of employment and any failure to deliver on this front may be regarded as a breach of contract. So you may also download a Contract termination letter template for this purpose.

Termination letter for job abandonment or absenteeism

Regular attendance at work is an obvious requirement for any field of work. An employee who is absent from work without official leave is liable to have his employment terminated for job abandonment or absenteeism. Termination is a last resort when the employee refuses to reform his behavior and turn up for work despite repeated warnings.

Termination notice for theft or falsifying information

Employees found guilty of theft maybe prosecuted by the law. However, within the workplace, it can serve as grounds for dismissal. Similarly, falsifying information on CVs, important documents or sales receipts all suffice as cause for dismissal as employees maybe hired, promoted or retained on the basis of these documents.

Termination letter for policy violation

An Employee termination letter is usually issued to an employee who routinely flouts rules and policies or is found guilty of a major policy violation. Policies and rules in the workplace must be enforced strictly to ensure that they are respected by employees.

Termination letter without cause

No cause Termination letters are usually cordial and often offer to furnish the recipient with references and sometimes encourage them to seek employment with other offices under the same company. These letters are issued when employees are laid off due to circumstances beyond their control.

Termination letter due to layoffs

Sometimes employers are forced to lay off employees on a large scale due to various reasons. Sometimes there can be a large scale change of company personnel in the event of a corporate merger or takeover. Hostile market conditions can result in the withdrawal of certain services and processes in an effort to cut losses. In these conditions numerous employees are fired because their employers are unable to retain them.

Employment termination letter because of redundancy

Sometimes companies and businesses update their processes to make them more effective. Sometimes they adopt mechanized processes, computers or outsource processes in an effort to retain their economic viability under bad market conditions and in the process a lot of jobs are rendered redundant. Our templates are ideal even for such delicate scenarios. So download our no cause Termination letter templates today!Just check out some of the professional samples which are available online. They are prepared by experts and hence will give you an ample idea about their actual format.

Termination of services letter

A Termination of services letter can be used by a company or an individual to intimate its inability to continue to provide certain services to the recipient. This exchange may take place between a service provider and a customer, a vendor and a company and in other similar situations. For this purpose you may download a Simple termination letter template and customize it to your requirements or find a readymade template that suits your needs.

Lease Termination Letter

Our user friendly templates are perfect for constructing a Lease Termination Letter. Just go through our templates, find the Termination Letter format for your needs, download it and fill in your relevant details. This letter officially confirms the end of a Lease agreement. It may be sent from a Landlord to a tenant or vice versa.The tone of this termination letter depends largely on the circumstances related to it. If the lease is terminated on amicable terms then the letter will reflect it. Otherwise it may include details of issues due to which the lease is being terminated, like a lack of promised facilities, rent hike, failure to pay rent on time and other such grievances.

So no matter what kind of Termination letter you need to write, variety of template formats and that too in MS Word, MS Excel and PDF are available to suit your needs. So what are you waiting for? Download a template and save time and effort when you need to write a Termination Letter.