Letter of First/Second Warning Template

Letter of first/second warning template

There is no legal requirement to provide formal written warnings or a certain number of warnings. However, to determine whether an employee was unfairly dismissed, the Fair Work Commission will consider if the employee was adequately warned about performance or conduct issues, that these issues may result in their termination if unresolved, and was provided a reasonable opportunity to improve their performance and conduct.

You can find more information on this topic in the Work Practice Guide on managing underperformance. If you are unsure how to manage a performance or conduct issue, seek advice from one of our HR Consultants. .

Step by step process

Step 1:Assess and determine if the issue warrants investigation

The initial step is to assess if this is a performance or conduct issue, how serious the problem is, how long it has been taking place and what should be done to resolve it. For example, can the issue be resolved by a simply making the employee aware of their action and the impact, does it warrant a verbal rather than a formal warning, or is it a more serious issue.

Step 2:Meet with the employee

Meet with the employee to gain a better understanding of the issue, and what happened from the employee’s perspective. This may result in agreeing on a way to improve the situation. You should outline your concerns to the employee, stating clearly why you believe there is an issue that needs to be discussed

Step 3:Ensure due process is provided during the discussion

To ensure that warnings are not viewed as unfair, the following recommendations should be adhered too. It is important to ensure that the employee is given an opportunity to respond to your claims during this meeting, and that you take appropriate time to consider the response before deciding on issuing a written warning.

In some cases you may decide that a verbal warning is enough to resolve the issue. In this case we would still recommend completing the Recordings of a meeting template (also available on the site), to ensure a record is kept of the discussion and agreement moving forward.

We also recommend that the employee is notified of the purpose of the meeting in advance so they can adequately prepare for the meeting. Importantly this includes offering the employee the opportunity to have a support person to the meeting. This could be a friend or work colleague, but not a lawyer acting in that capacity. The support person is not permitted to make any contribution to the discussion, and is solely there as a support for the employee. The Fair Work Commission may consider whether an employer unreasonably refused to allow an employee to have a support person at any discussion relating to their dismissal.

Step 4:Draft the letter

The letter of warning should only be drafted after you have completed Steps 2 and 3 and above, and have decided that after listening to the employee’s response, you believe that a written warning is still warranted. Therefore the letter needs to be provided in a separate meeting to the one conducted in steps 2 and 3. You can use the template provide to assist in this process.

Step 5:Provide the employee with the letter

This step also needs to happen face to face, and that the employee must be offered the opportunity to have a support person present. Ensure that the employee receives the warning letter and document the details of providing the letter (e.g. the time, date, who was there, what was said, etc.). You may wish to use the Recording details of a meeting template (also available on this site) to do this.

We recommend that you give the employee a chance to read the letter in the meeting. It is important that the employee understands the content of the letter. You could ask the employee to sign a copy of the letter and return it to you as acknowledgement that they have received it, however employees are not required by law to sign a copy of the letter. We recommend that you keep a copy of the letter for your records.

The warning letter template has been colour coded to assist you to complete it accurately. You simply need to replace the red < > writing with what applies to your employee and situation. Explanatory information / alternatives are shown in blue italics to assist you and should be deleted once you have finished the letter.

An employee may choose to submit a complaint or claim against you (e.g. unfair dismissal, discrimination) even if you follow these steps.

The information contained in this document is general in nature. You must not rely on the information in this document as an alternative to legal advice from an appropriately qualified professional. If you have any specific questions you should consult one of our HR Professionals.

Print on your business letterhead

insert date

Private and confidential

Insert employee’s full name
Insert employee’s residential address

Dear insert name

<First / second> warning letter

I am writing to you about your <performance/conduct> during your employment with <insert company name (the employer).

On <insert date> you met with <insert name of others at the meeting>. At this meeting you were advised that your <performance/conduct> has been unsatisfactory, and that immediate improvement is required. In particular you were advised that:

• <insert explanation of unsatisfactory performance or conduct
• <insert explanation of unsatisfactory performance or conduct
• <insert explanation of unsatisfactory performance or conduct

In the meeting you were given an opportunity to respond, and you stated:

• <insert details of the employee’s response or if no response was provided you can note here that the employee ‘did not respond’>.

After considering the situation it is expected that your <conduct/performance> improves and specifically that you:

• <insert advice given to employee regarding improvement of performance or conduct.

This is your <first/second> warning letter. Your employment may be terminated if your <conduct/performance> does not improve by <insert date that is reasonable in this situation>. If there is anything further either I of the company can do to assist you in improving, please let me know.

A follow up meeting will occur on <insert date> to review your progress. Please let me know if this time is convenient to you. If you wish to respond to this formal warning letter please do so by contacting me on <insert phone number> or by replying in writing.

Yours sincerely,

<insert name>

<insert position>

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