Employee Dismissal Letter

This letter should be used by an employer and issued to an employee at the end of a disciplinary process where the decision has been taken to dismiss the employee from their position of employment. Before issuing a dismissal letter to an employee, an employer should make sure that they have followed procedures which are fair and reasonable in line with the Acas Code of Practice (England, Wales and Scotland) or the LRA Code of Practice (Northern Ireland).

How to use the document

1. Who should issue this document?

This letter should be issued by an employer to an employee where the employee has been found guilty of gross misconduct or poor conduct and/or poor performance while carrying out their duties at work. It should be signed by the employer or by an authorised person on behalf of the employer, such as a human resources employee. This letter should be delivered directly to the employee. It should not shown to any employees who have not been involved in the disciplinary process of the employee who is being dismissed in this letter.

2. What steps should be taken before issuing the document?

Before the employee is issued with this letter, the employer should have carried out a stringent disciplinary process and, where the employee is accused of gross misconduct, the employer should have conducted an investigation into the conduct the employee is accused of. The employee should have been given relevant and reasonable opportunities to improve and/or explain their behaviour to the employer before the decision to dismiss them is taken. Where the employee is being dismissed on grounds of poor performance and/or poor conduct, the employee should have been issued with relevant warning letters before dismissal of the employee is carried out.

It is common practice to issue at least three disciplinary meetings and written warnings before dismissal of the employee can be considered. For guidance on issuing a written warning, use our Employee Warning Letter. It should be noted that where an employer has included its disciplinary procedure within their contracts of employment, they could breach the terms of the contract if that disciplinary procedure is not followed.

3. What information should be included within the document?

Within this letter dismissing the employee from their position with the employer, details of any disciplinary meetings, warning letters, conduct and/or performance the employee has failed to rectify and other relevant information regarding the employee's dismissal should be included. The employee should also be given the opportunity to appeal against the employer's decision to dismiss them.

Information of the employee's notice period should be given also. If the employer does not have a written contract of employment with the employee or if there is no expressly stated period of notice under the terms of employment, the employee will be entitled to statutory periods of notice. If the employee has been employed continuously by the employer for 1 month or more, they will be entitled to 1 week's notice. If the employee has been employed continuously by the employer for 2 years, they will be entitled to 2 week's notice. If the employee has been employed continuously with the employer for more than 2 years, they will be entitled to a week's notice for every year that they have been employed up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Applicable Law

Employment Rights Act 1996

Employment Act 2002

Acas Code of Practice

LRA Code of Practice

UK Government Guidance on Dismissal

Help from a lawyer

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