Proforma Letter of Contract

TEMPLATE DISCIPLINE AND TERMINATION LETTERS KIT

User Directions

TheAHA (NT)’s template Discipline and Termination lettersrepresent best practice letters to address discipline and termination matters for staff employed in hospitality workplaces.

This Template Discipline and Termination Letters Kitcontains templates for

Discipline letters – 1st, 2nd, and final warning templates
Termination letters – to cover a range of circumstances such as serious misconduct, mutual separation, redundancy and resignation

Each and every discipline and termination circumstance will be different, therefore, there is a need to complete each letter by adding detail that is specific to each circumstance, for example, a first and final warning may be sufficient in some circumstances, where in others, 3 warnings will be appropriate before termination is considered and if warranted, actioned.

Individual employment circumstances must be taken into account when personalising the template. At any stage, employers who are current, financial members of the AHA (NT) may forward a completed discipline and termination letter to r review and feedback.

The AHA (NT) recommends doing so given the complex nature of the legislation, the Fair Work Act 2009 (the “Act”), that provides remedies for employees who are terminated in certain circumstances. Those circumstances may include:

Termination that is unfair, harsh or unreasonable
Termination for an unlawful reason (this is defined in the Act)
Adverse Action in contravention of the General Protection provisions of the Act.

Employees may also lodge a dispute where they are aggrieved with a discipline action that is not a termination of employment.

Please note that reasonable management action, which will include the process for handling poor performance and other disciplinary matters, is a defence to a stress leave claim – made via the workers’ compensation legislation.

Therefore, it is important to seek advice from theAHA (NT) on following a genuine and fair process and to document this process. File notes of all warning meetings and other discussions must be kept.

NOTE: Once any of the templates in the Kit have been amended, it no longer represents anAHA (NT) best practice template, as it represents a letter for your workplace.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill in the applicable text where requested via the “<” and “>” sections.

TEMPLATE – 1ST LETTER OF WARNING

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

As advised at the counselling session held on <insert date>, it hascome to the attention of management that <insert details of the performance, conduct or capacity concerns>.

At our meeting <insert date of meeting this letter relates to> to discuss our continued concerns, you did not provide a satisfactory explanation to the concerns we hold. This is despite you being given the opportunity to provide an explanation to those concerns.

I find this unsatisfactoryand as discussed at our meeting of <insert date of meeting this letter relates to>,I hereby formally advise that you are in receipt of your first written warning.

In future you are expected to <insert details of how exactly the work standard or policy which is to be adhered to.We will review your performance and assess whether you have improved sufficiently over the next <insert review period>.

Failure to improve and rectify the concerns held about you will result with further disciplinary action.

A copy of this letter will be placed on your personnel file as a record of this warning and may be used in further disciplinary action if required.

If you require any further clarification or assistance regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience.

Your immediate attention to this issue/these issues is required.

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

I acknowledge receipt of this letter of warning.

______/____/_____

<insert the name of the employee>Date

TEMPLATE – 2nd LETTER OF WARNING

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

Further to the counselling session held on <insert date>, and your first written warning of <insert date>,it has again come to the attention of management that <insert details of the performance, conduct or capacity concerns>.

I find your failure to address the concerns held with reasonable explanation unacceptable and as discussed at our meeting of <insert date of meeting this letter relates to> I hereby formally advise that you are in receipt of your second written warning.

We will review your performance and assess whether you have improved sufficiently over the next <insert review period>. To reiterate, our expectation is that you <insert details of expected outcomes>.

Failure to improve and rectify the concerns held about you will result with further disciplinary action which may lead to the termination of your employment.

A copy of this letter will be placed on your personnel file as a record of this warning and may be used in further disciplinary action if required.

If you require any further clarification or assistance regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience.

Your immediate attention to this issue/these issues is required.

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

I acknowledge receipt of this letter of warning.

______/____/_____

<insert the name of the employee>Date

TEMPLATE – FINAL LETTER OF WARNING

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

Further to the counselling and warning sessions held on <insert dates, <insert details of the performance, conduct or capacity concerns> remains of concern due to your lack of improvement.

At our meeting <insert date of meeting this letter relates to> to discuss our continued concerns, despite being given the opportunity to provide a satisfactory explanation to the concerns we hold, you did not.

Your continued failure to address the concerns raised with you on previous occasions remains unacceptable as discussed at our meeting of <insert date of meeting this letter relates to>.I hereby formally advise that you are in receipt of your final warning.

Failure to improve and rectify the concerns held about you will result with the termination of your employment.

A copy of this letter will be placed on your personnel file as a record of this warning and may be used in further disciplinary action if required.

If you require any further clarification or assistance regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience.

Your immediate attention to this issue/these issues is required.

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

I acknowledge receipt of this letter of warning.

______/____/_____

<insert the name of the employee>Date

TEMPLATE – TERMINATION DUE TO SERIOUS MISCONDUCT

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

As advised at our meeting on <insert date> management became aware of the following issue or incident: <insert details including what happened, when it happened, and the result of what happened>.

You were advised that management had investigated the issue / incident as, due to the serious nature of the issue / incident, the matter is considered serious misconduct. Serious misconduct is defined in the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

At our meeting, the circumstances were put to you for your response. Despite being given the opportunity to provide a satisfactory explanation to the concerns, you did not provide a satisfactory explanation to explain your conduct.

We do not tolerate serious misconduct and as discussed at the meeting, your employment will be terminated effective from <insert date of the meeting. This letter confirms the termination of your employment due to serious misconduct.

Please find your final pay and termination entitlements attached.

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

I acknowledge receipt of this letter of termination.

______/____/_____

<insert the name of the employee>Date

TEMPLATE – TERMINATION DURING MINIMUM EMPLOYMENT PERIOD

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

As discussed with you on the following occasion/s: <insert date/s you are hereby advised that your performance has not been of a satisfactory standard and despite our discussionsyou have shown no real improvement. As a result we have decided not to confirm your ongoing employment.

This letter serves as notice of your termination of employment with<insert employer name> effective from <insert date>.

You will be paid all outstanding wages and entitlements and you must return any venue property immediately.

Please find your final pay attached.

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

I acknowledge receipt of this letter.

______/____/_____

<insert the name of the employee> Date

TEMPLATE – CONFIRMATION OF THE EMPLOYEE’S RESIGNATION

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

The <insert name of the employer> is in receipt of your resignation, dated<insert date>.This letter confirms receipt and acceptance of your resignation, and confirms the final date of your employment to be <insert date>.

*You are not required to attend for work or perform work during your notice period; however you will continue to receive payment for your ordinary hours of work in line with the ordinary pay cycle during your notice period. Your final payment will be made on <insert date>.

*You will be required to work out your notice period.

* As you have not provided the required notice period, the value of the notice period not given will be withheld from your final pay, as provided for in the relevant industrial instrument covering your employment.

*Delete if not applicable

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

TEMPLATE – TERMINATION BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT

Private and Confidential

The parties to this mutual agreement shall be:

Employee: <insert employee’s name>

And the

Employer: <insert the EMPLOYER ENTITY AND TRADING NAME>

The parties to this Agreement hereby mutually agree to terminate the contract of employment regarding the position of <insert position titleeffective from <insert last date of employment.

The parties agree that this mutual agreement has been freely made without duress or undue influence.

Signed

______Dated this day of 201_.

______Dated this day of 201_.

TEMPLATE – TERMINATION DUE TO REDUNDANCY*

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

As advised at our meeting of <insert date>, due to <insert details of the reasons for the redundancy – ie operational reasons, economic downturn that has lead to financial reasons> it is with regret that I confirm that your position of<insert position title> has been made redundant.

As a result of this, your contract of employment for this position will be terminated.

As has been discussed prior to the decision being made, we thoroughly examined options for your redeployment to another area of the workplace. The outcome of exploring redeployment options is <insert Option A, Option Bor Option C below>.

OPTION A

that a position was found to be suitable for you and was offered to you so that you can remain in employment with the employer. You rejected this offer knowing that the implication of doing so was the termination of your employment.

OPTION B

that a position that was found to be suitable for you and was offered to you so that you can remain in employment with the employer. I am pleased that you have accepted this offer and confirm that you shall commence in the position of <insert position title> on <insert date of commencement>.

OPTION C

that a suitable position was not found within the workplace.

*INSTRUCTIONS ONLY (delete once read):

The below part of the letter provides five options relating to notice of termination and redundancy pay. The appropriate option should be amended to reflect the individual circumstances and the remaining four options should be deleted.

OPTION 1 (delete once read) – this option should be used where the employer is required to provide redundancy pay and the employer requires the employee to work the notice period.

Based on your length of service of <insert number of years> years, your notice period is <insert number of weeks> weeks. You will be required to work your notice period with your last day of employment being on <insert date>.

As your position has become redundant you will be entitled to <insert number of weeks of redundancy pay> weeks of redundancy pay in accordance with the National Employment Standards. This amount is based on your <insert number of weeks of redundancy pay> years of service.

OPTION 2(delete once read) – this option should be used where the employer is required to provide redundancy pay and the employer does not want the employee to work out their notice.

Your employment will be terminatedwith your last day of employment being on<insert date>. Based on your length of service, your notice period is <insert number> weeks. You are not required to attend for work or perform work during your notice period; however you will continue to receive payment for your ordinary hours of work in line with the ordinary pay cycle during your notice period.

Additionally, as your position has become redundant you will be entitled to <insert number of weeks of redundancy pay> weeks of redundancy pay in accordance with the National Employment Standards. This amount is based on your <insert number of weeks of redundancy pay> years of service.

OPTION 3 – this option should be used where the employer is not required to provide redundancy pay and the employer requires the employee to work the notice period.

You are not entitled to redundancy pay because <insert one of the following reasons: your period of continuous service with the employer is less than 12 months; the employer is a small business employer; or any other reasons as appropriate>.

OPTION 4 – this option should be used where the employer is not required to provide redundancy pay and the employer does not want the employee to work out their notice.

OPTION 5 – this option should be used where the employer is not required to provide redundancy pay and the employee is not entitled to notice of termination. This Option will most commonly apply to casual employees.

Your employment will be terminatedwith your last day of employment being on<insert date>.

You are not entitled to redundancy pay because you are a casual employee.

We thank you for your valuable contributions in the position during your employment with us. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

______/____/_____

<insert name of the Employer’s representative>Date

NOTE

There is a process an employer must follow where a redundancy is likely and to not do so can leave the employer open to a claim of Unfair Dismissal (due to the redundancy not being viewed as genuine – for not following the process, or for not exploring redeployment as an option to unemployment).

Please seek advice from the AHA (NT) onRedundancy prior to commencing discussions.

TEMPLATE – TERMINATION DUE TO UNSATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE

Private and Confidential

Dear <insert employee’s name>

As advised at the counselling and warning sessions held on <insert dates, it has again come to the attention of management that <insert details of the performance, conduct or capacity concerns>.

This has continued to occur despite being given a final warning on <insert date of final warning>where you were advised that failure to improve would result with the termination of your employment.

It is considered that your <performance/conduct> is still unsatisfactory and a decision has been made to terminate your employment for the following reasons:

<Insert reasons relating to performance or conduct>
<Insert reasons relating to performance or conduct>

OPTION A

I hereby formally advise you that your employment will be terminated effective <insert date>. You will be required to work your notice period, with your termination being effective on <insert date>.