Termination letter for poor performance during probationary period

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An employee that fails to live up to productivity expectations is bad for a company’s bottom line. No matter how careful and detailed the employee selection process, occasionally, an employee with no desire to work can slip through the hiring cracks. A termination letter, along with an exit interview, is the proper way to end the unproductive relationship.

Format and Content

Draft a termination letter due to poor performance very carefully. Mention only the examples you can back with documented proof. Allegations that amount to little more than suspicion should be left out entirely.Use straightforward language and wording that leaves no room for doubt as to the purpose of the letter or the justifications for the termination decision. The letter should include the date of the termination and information about how the employee will receive his or her final paycheck.Include any other information that is relevant to your company and the specific employee.

Sample

This sample termination letter is written to an employee who has failed to meet any of the performance goals he agreed to when hired. He is reminded of the measures the company took to help him improve his performance over the course of a 6-month period. The Executive Director discourages the employee from filing a wrongful termination lawsuit by reminding him that he signed all performance expectations, the PIP and the letters of reprimand in his file.

Dear Steven,

This letter is to inform you that, effective today May 30, 2013;you are being dismissed from Star Marketing Services. Your dismissal is due to poor performance over a 6-month period. The specifics that led to this decision are detailed below.

When you were hired,your manager discussed the company’s performance expectations with you. These expectations were presented to you again during your orientation, at which time, you signed a confirmation stating you read and understood these expectations.

During your time with Star Marketing Services, you have failed to meet every performance measure. After 4 weeks of employment, you were offered additional coaching which you turn down. At the 8-week mark of your employment with this company, you were performing at a rate of less than 50% of your coworkers in a similar position and in the same department.

To prevent this final step your manager developed a performance improvement plan (PIP) that included your input and was approved by you in writing. During the term of this plan, your performance declined further and was documented by 3 letters of reprimand. You were apprised of and signed each letter. Over the course of your employment with our company, we have received 7 customer complaints about your handling of their accounts, including missed appointments, a failure to follow through on promises, and incorrect billing.

You will be paid for any unused vacation or sick days that you have accrued. This payment, if any, will be included with your final paycheck. You may choose to have this paycheck mailed to your home address or you may call me at (555)-555-5555 to arrange to pick the check up at our security desk.

We are enclosing information concerning your eligibility under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for continued coverage by group health insurance. Please make sure we had your current address on file so that we may send you your W-2 form.

Sincerely,

Lisa White

Ms. Lisa White, Executive Director

Star Marketing Services

If you need to terminate an employee for poor performance, you'll need to create a simple termination letter that protects you as an employer. Since disgruntled former employees can and often do use anything you put in writing to take legal action, keep the letter simple and straightforward. The time for detailing any historical data, the content of interventions, and any other official long term documentation is during the termination meeting. the employment termination letter is, at most, a summary of the data you have shared with the employee along the way.

Check Your Documentation Before Employee Dismissal

If the employee's manager has kept performance documentation, have your human resources staff check the documentation to make sure it is dated and will pass legal muster. You don't want to terminate for cause thinking that you have solid documentation—only to find out later that you did not.

Additionally, the Society for Human Resource Management recommends that if a manager wants to fire an employee, HR must make sure several red flags do not appear. These are:

• "The employee has an established record of satisfactory performance.
• "The supervisor's recommendation is based on subjective reasons that are not substantiated by written documentation.
• "The reason for the recommendation is based solely on 'he said/she said' evidence and there is no clear indication of what really occurred."

The proper documentation can protect you in court if a terminated employee files an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit that charges you with discrimination.

Before You Send an Employment Dismissal Letter

Under most circumstances, the only recommended way to dismiss an employee is for the employee's manager and a representative from the human resources department to tell the employee about the dismissal during an in-person meeting.

Hold this meeting as soon as you have the information, documentation, and proof necessary to fire the employee. Obviously, this won't apply in cases of ​no-show, no-call job abandonment.

The dismissal letter documents the meeting for the employee and becomes part of the employee's personnel file. Send a dismissal letter to the employee after the termination meeting with return receipt requested, or hand the dismissal letter to the employee at the end of the meeting. Print the letter on company stationery and have it signed by the employee's manager or the company owner.

Please note that laws regarding the final paycheck may vary from state to state and country to country.

Sample Employee Letter of Dismissal

You can use this termination letter sample as a model. Download the template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online), or read the text version below.

Sample Employee Letter of Dismissal (Text Version)

If the case for dismissal for cause is solid and documented well, use this letter as a sample.

Date

Ms. Margaret O'Malley
18361 Cliff Street
Sparta, NJ 07871

Dear Margaret,

This letter confirms your dismissal from the Ernesto Company for poor performance, effective immediately.

You are dismissed because, despite repeated feedback and performance coaching from your manager, your work performance has not improved. Your performance has been documented in three letters of reprimand which you read and signed. Additionally, the performance improvement plan (PIP) you were participating in put forth specific goals and targets that you agreed to meet by their due date.

You failed to meet the target dates in any of the areas specified within the plan that you and your manager wrote and agreed to together. You were offered resources and additional support that you refused. As a consequence, your dismissal is the result of your refusal to meet the core requirements of your job.

Payment for your accrued vacation days and sick days will be included in your final paycheck* which you will receive on your regular payday, Friday. We can mail your final paycheck to your home, or you can make arrangements with your manager to pick it up.

You will also receive a letter that outlines the status of your benefits upon your dismissal. The letter will include information about your eligibility for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) continuation of group health coverage.

You turned in your company badge and smartphone at the time of your dismissal, so we have accounted for all company-owned items.

You will need to keep the company informed of your contact information so that we are able to provide the information you may need in the future such as your W-2 form.

Regards,

[Name of Manager or Company Owner]

Conclusions and Final Thoughts About a Dismissal Letter

The dismissal letter, while never easy or fun to write, is an important component of an employee termination. It documents the information you need for the employee's file and answers the employee's most obvious questions. Finally, the dismissal letter provides formal documentation in the event of a lawsuit or when the HR function ceases to exist in its current format.

Managers and HR staff often move on and the excellent documentation and the dismissal letter serve as your formal record and historical perspective.

Use this sample dismissal letter as a guide, but as in all situations that can result in legal action or other events that are not in an employer's best interests, run your letter by your employment law attorney before you send it to the employee.

Please note that the information provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. The site is read by a world-wide audience and ​employment laws and regulations vary from state to state and country to country. Please seek legal assistance, or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your location. This information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance.

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