Employment

This pack contains a range of letters for employers to use when dealing with employment disciplinary matters. The pack includes a range of letters including Employee disciplinary appeal hearing letter, Employee disciplinary appeal hearing letter, Employee disciplinary meeting letter, Employee disciplinary meeting outcome letter, Employee dismissal letter after previous disciplinary action and an appeal hearing, Employee dismissal letter following previous disciplinary action, Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct, Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct after an appeal hearing, Employee formal appeal hearing outcome letter and an Employee suspension letter pending investigations of allegations. See the individual information associated with each document in this pack for a full description of their use.

This document creates a letter to an employee asking him or her to attend a formal disciplinary appeal meeting after the employee has appealed a decision taken at a disciplinary meeting to take disciplinary action against him or her. It is designed for general use. The employee is invited to attend the appeal meeting to reconsider or review the allegations made against the employee and/or the disciplinary action taken.

Use this document to create a letter to an employee asking them to attend a formal disciplinary meeting. The letter is designed for general use. At the meeting the employee will be able to explain his or her conduct. After the meeting you should formally notify the employee of the decision that was made.

Use this document to create a letter to notify your employee of the outcome of a disciplinary meeting. The decision can be that no disciplinary action be taken, or that an oral warning be given, or that a written warning or a final written warning be given. If the decision of the disciplinary meeting was to dismiss the employee following repeated disciplinary action, then you should use the Rapidocs document 'Employee dismissal letter following previous disciplinary action' rather than this document. If the decision is to summarily dismiss the employee on account of their gross misconduct, you should use the Rapidocs document 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct'.

Use this letter to dismiss an employee after he/she has appealed a decision to dismiss made at a disciplinary meeting, but the decision following the appeal hearing is still to dismiss. If the decision after the appeal hearing is not to dismiss, use our document ‘Employee formal appeal hearing letter’ instead of this one. If the decision following this meeting is to summarily dismiss on account of their gross misconduct, you will have to use our document 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct after an appeal hearing'. Please note that in order to use this letter, the employee must have been the subject of repeated disciplinary action due to their poor performance and/or professional misconduct and must have been dismissed using a valid disciplinary and dismissal procedure.

Use this document to create a dismissal letter to an employee following previous disciplinary action and a final disciplinary meeting. This letter is the final step in the disciplinary process where the employee has previously been given at least two written warnings and has had previous meetings to discuss the matter and to give excuses and reasons. If, on the other hand, you are summarily dismissing on account of gross misconduct, you should use the 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct' document instead of this one.

In cases where an employer needs to immediately dismiss an employee on account of gross misconduct, this letter should be used. Gross misconduct might include such actions as physical violence, extremely serious insubordination, or serious incapacity through an excess of alcohol or drugs. This letter must be used in accordance with a valid disciplinary and dismissal procedure.

This letter should be used when an employee has appealed a decision to dismiss on account of gross misconduct and the decision of the meeting is still to dismiss. At this appeal hearing the employee should have been given the opportunity to explain his/her conduct and why the disciplinary action taken should not have been implemented. Please note that if the employee has been successful in appealing against a dismissal, you should use our 'Employee formal appeal hearing letter' instead of this letter to formally notify the employee of the result of the appeal hearing. If the decision following this meeting is to dismiss but not on account of gross misconduct, you will have to use our document 'Employee dismissal letter after previous disciplinary action and an appeal hearing', rather than this one.

Use this document to send a letter to your employee following a formal appeal hearing. The letter will inform them of the outcome of the meeting, which can include that no disciplinary action be taken, that your employee receive an oral warning, a written warning or a final written warning. If the decision following this meeting is to dismiss, you will have to use the 'Employee dismissal letter after previous disciplinary action and an appeal hearing' document, rather than this one. If the decision following this meeting is to summarily dismiss on account of their gross misconduct, you will have to use the 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct after an appeal hearing' document.

Use this letter to formally suspend an employee while you conduct an investigation into allegations made against him or her. It is designed to temporarily remove an employee from his or her post when that employee's continued presence in the workplace may involve risk, danger or embarrassment or may be prejudicial to good discipline. Note that suspension is not a punishment and, as such, there should be no loss of normal pay or pension entitlement.

If an employer and employee are in dispute then they may formally settle that dispute by entering into a legally binding contract called a settlement agreement (previously known as a compromise agreement). A settlement agreement can be used to settle any disputes which would otherwise have to be settled by the employment tribunal or court. A settlement agreement will usually provide an employee with compensation. In return, the employee will agree not to pursue any legal claim that they have against the employer (as well as agreeing to any further conditions that the employer may impose). This document is suitable for use in the UK only.

Use this agreement when a consultant is hired by a client to provide consultancy services (in the UK only).

It can be used by the client or the consultant - it'll be drafted according to which party you are.

It offers clauses covering a wide range of issues, including remuneration, obligations, termination notice periods and intellectual property.

It's not a contract of employment, but if either party fails to honour the terms of the agreement, they could face claims of breach of contract or negligence.

This agreement is not suitable if the consultant works in the public sector or the health care industry or may have contact with children or vulnerable adults.

Use this agreement to create an employment contract for a new employee. It includes options for part-time and shift working, probation, working hours, breaks, overtime, workplace locations (including working abroad), salary, bonuses, benefits, annual leave, sick leave, pensions, training, data protection, termination (including post-termination restrictions), and more.

It also includes detailed disciplinary and grievance procedures as optional attachments.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new employees. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of hours they work varies all or most of the time).

By law, all employers must give certain information to new staff. This document doesn't offer all of the provisions that you might expect in a full contract. Instead, it just provides the essential elements to ensure you comply with the law.

If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information contained in this document to all of your workers and employees by the time they start working for you. If you're an employer in Northern Ireland, you must give the information contained in this document to your employees within 2 months after they start working for you.

You don't need to use this document if you plan to use our Employment agreement, Fixed-term employment agreement or Zero-hours worker agreement, as these documents also contain the necessary information.

Use this statement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures around grievances, disciplinary and dismissal, and paid leave.

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of hours they work varies all or most of the time).

Use this agreement to create a contract for an executive director joining a UK company's board of directors, giving them the same rights as an employee. It includes options for working hours, workplace locations (including working abroad), salary, bonuses, share options, benefits, annual leave, sick leave, pensions, training, data protection, restrictions, and more.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new employees. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of paid hours they work varies all or most of the time).

Use this agreement to create a fixed-term employment contract for a new employee. You can set the employment to end on a particular date, when a particular event occurs or when a particular task is complete.

It includes options for part-time and shift working, probation, working hours, breaks, overtime, workplace locations (including working abroad), salary, bonuses, benefits, annual leave, sick leave, pensions, data protection, termination (including post-termination restrictions), and more.

It also includes detailed disciplinary and grievance procedures as optional attachments.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new employees. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of hours they work varies all or most of the time).

This document will create a written statement confirming the changes made to an employment contract or statement of particulars. There are certain changes which, by law, must be confirmed in writing and others where it is not required; however, it is considered to be best practice to do so to protect the interests of both the employer and employee. The employee is required to sign this statement, confirming their consent to the change to help protect the employer against a potential lawsuit.

This document is suitable for individuals above the mandatory school leaving age of 16 who want to gain unpaid work experience or become an unpaid intern. Due to additional regulatory requirements, this document is not suitable for students who are still at school or who are under the mandatory school leaving age (16). It is also not suitable to be used for internships that are placements forming part of a course between an educational institute and an employer.

Work experience will usually involve shadowing an employee for 1-2 weeks. An internship typically lasts for more than 3 weeks and is for someone who is working to gain relevant experience before embarking on their chosen career.

This document is suitable for placements in the UK only.

Use this agreement to create a contract for new staff working on an 'as required' or 'zero-hours' basis. It's designed for businesses who have a fluctuating need for staff or want to give staff a flexible means of working. A zero-hours worker is not guaranteed work by their employer and in this agreement the worker does not have to accept offers of work.

It deals with the job description and matters such as working time, breaks, holiday entitlement, salary, sickness and data protection. It also includes detailed disciplinary and grievance procedures as optional attachments.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new workers. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not drafted to be suitable for those who work regular hours or are guaranteed work (use either our Employment agreement, Fixed-term employment agreement or Employment statement instead) or who only work during term times in education settings.

Employers should use this document to draft an agreement for their employees to formally opt out of the 48-hour working week under the Working Time Regulations. This document cannot be used for workers who can choose freely how long they work (e.g. managing executives of a company), domestic servants in private households, workers in the armed forces, police and emergency services, trainee doctors and mobile workers in the transport industry (road, rail, air or sea).

Employees have a right to up to a week off work in any 12-month period to provide or arrange for care for a qualifying dependant who needs long-term care. This is known as carer's leave.

You can use this policy to make everyone aware of the rules around carer's leave. It sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• Who qualifies for carer's leave
• How an employee's entitlement (i.e. a 'week') is calculated
• How employees can request carer's leave
• How you may sometimes have to defer the start date of carer's leave
• Your employees' contractual rights and benefits when on carer's leave (including rights when returning to work)
• The consequences of breaching the policy (e.g. claiming carer's leave dishonestly).

This policy enables you to communicate to your staff important information and procedures for COVID-related absences. In particular, it set outs procedures for the following situations:

• Testing positive for COVID-19 or having symptoms
• Living with someone who has symptoms or tests positive, or coming into close contact with someone who tests positive
• Having contact with another staff member who has symptoms
• Becoming aware that another staff member has tested positive or is showing symptoms
• Isolating due to surgery or another hospital procedure
• Travelling abroad.

It also gives information about:

• How staff should inform you
• Sick leave, sick pay and other related details
• The consequences of breaching the policy.

Many of the events covered by the policy give you flexibility in deciding what (if any) action to take, allowing you to respond to particular circumstances in the right way.

This document was previously called Coronavirus sick leave and pay policy.

When dealing with disciplinary issues, it's critical that you have - and follow - a fair and reasonable procedure, so your staff know what to do and expect. It can also help prevent tribunal claims against you.

This policy helps you to achieve this and complies with the Acas code of practice (in England, Wales and Scotland) and the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures and Labour Relations Agency code of practice (in Northern Ireland).

This policy sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• Rules about maintaining confidentiality and dealing with requests for anonymity
• How and when employees may be formally or informally suspended from work
• Information and rules on attending disciplinary or appeal meetings and how you'll conduct disciplinary investigations
• How and when you'll carry out informal disciplinary discussions
• The steps of the formal disciplinary procedure
• The possible outcomes of a disciplinary meeting
• The appeals procedure
• How you'll deal with any grievance raised during the disciplinary procedure
• Examples of serious and gross misconduct
• The consequences of breaching the policy.

Use this 'Employee handbook' to set out all the non-contractual issues relating to employment, including key administrative procedures. By doing so, and by complying with the policies and procedures set out within it, you will minimise the risk of potential employee lawsuits, such as discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal and reduce the risk of having to appear before an Employment Tribunal, which can cost thousands of pounds. In addition to all the subjects which must be included in the handbook, such as maternity leave and grievance procedure, etc., there are also optional clauses which you may choose to include. These include clauses relating to company cars, dress code, alcohol and drug testing, bonus schemes and stress at work, amongst others. We recommend that this document should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it complies with future amendments to employment legislation.

Use this letter to create a standard reference about a former employee for a potential new employer.

It is not a legal requirement to provide a reference, unless you have a contractual obligation (e.g. it says so in their employment contract or in a settlement agreement). However, failure to provide a reference could leave an employer open to allegations of discrimination. You should therefore seriously consider providing an employee with a reference when asked. It is therefore important that your reference is free from language that could be discriminatory and the format of this reference should help you in this process.

For data protection reasons, it's likely that you'll need the employee's written consent to provide the information contained in this reference, before sending it.

By law you must provide your staff with a policy containing your grievance procedures.

This policy contains a fair and reasonable procedure that complies with the Acas code of practice (for England, Wales and Scotland) and the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures and Labour Relations Agency code of practice (for Northern Ireland). It's designed to ensure your staff know what to do and expect when raising a grievance, and to help managers dealing with it.

The policy sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• Rules about maintaining confidentiality, dealing with requests for anonymity and attending grievance or appeal meetings
• How to informally raise a grievance
• The steps of the formal grievance procedure
• The appeals procedure
• How you'll deal with any grievance raised after leaving employment
• How you'll deal with any grievance raised during the disciplinary procedure
• The consequences of breaching the policy.

Use this policy to set out your rules and procedures about working from home. It covers areas such as the circumstances in which you're likely or unlikely to allow homeworking, the procedure for requesting it, health and safety, use of equipment and networks, data protection and more.

It's suitable for businesses operating in the UK and applies to employees or workers.

Use this document to create a job description. This document can be used when recruiting staff, to assist you when conducting a staff appraisal, to attach to an employment contract or statement of terms/written particulars of terms or in order to update a previously drafted job description. This document creates three separate lists containing the duties and/or responsibilities of the role, the skills and knowledge required to perform it and required experience. There is also the option to insert an estimate of the percentage of time taken up by each responsibility or duty. Please note that this document is only for use in the United Kingdom.

This letter asks an employee, worker or potential new recruit for their consent for you to get a medical report about them. You have a choice of requesting the report from their GP (or other medical adviser), or from a medical adviser of your choice (e.g an occupational health adviser).

When asking for a medical report, there are various issues around consent and data protection. This letter will help you to meet your obligations.

You can use it in a number of situations, such as:

• If the staff member is absent due to a long-term problem;
• If they are persistently absent for short periods;
• If you're considering the need for reasonable adjustments under equality law, or;
• To help make a final recruitment decision.

This is a licence for an employee to occupy a property in England or Northern Ireland that's owned by their employer.

The occupancy must be on the basis that it's necessary for the employee to live in the property for the better performance of their duties. If this basis can't be established, the employee will have a tenancy and not a licence.

If an employer has a lease for the property (usually associated with ownership of flats) or is renting the property from a third party, they should check if permission is needed from their landlord before granting this licence.

If the property is in England and the employee will have other adults living with them (such as their family), employers must check whether those individuals have a legal right to live in the UK (known as 'the right to rent').

This policy is designed to support staff in a UK business who are experiencing the menopause or perimenopause.

It contains a policy statement and sets out information about both conditions and how they can affect staff.

It will also tell affected staff how they can discuss and raise any issues with you, along with what kind of support and adjustments you may be able to offer. There is also guidance for managers.

Surveys suggest more than half of women experiencing menopause symptoms are negatively affected by them at work and that many have left work as a result, often when at the peak of their careers.

Businesses that fail to find ways of supporting women in this situation therefore risk a sudden loss of knowledge, talent and experience - and becoming subject to increasing numbers of related Employment Tribunal claims.

Qualifying employees with children born on or after 6 April 2025 who receive at least a full week of neonatal care within the first 28 days have a right to up to 12 weeks' time off work (and statutory pay).

You can use this policy to make your workforce aware of your rules and procedures for taking neonatal care leave and receiving statutory neonatal care pay. It sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• How employees qualify for leave and pay
• What the entitlement is
• What information employees need to give you
• How employees can take or cancel the leave, and when they need to tell you
• What happens in special circumstances (e.g. if the child dies)
• Your employees' contractual rights and benefits when leave (including rights when returning to work)
• The consequences of breaching the policy (e.g. claiming leave dishonestly).

As an employer, you'll inevitably collect, use and store personal information about your current and prospective staff. Under UK data protection law, you need to tell them what information you hold, how you'll use it and for what purpose. You also need to tell them about their privacy rights and how the law protects them. You can use this privacy notice to do this. It's suitable to give to both job applicants and current staff (whether they be employees, workers or contractors).

This is a licence for an employee to occupy property owned by their employer on the basis that it is necessary for the employee to live in the property for the better performance of their duties. If this basis cannot be established then the employee will have a tenancy agreement and not a licence. If an employer has a lease for the property (usually associated with ownership of flats) or is renting the property from a third party, then it should check whether it requires permission from the landlord before granting this licence. Please note that this document is only for use in Scotland.

Use this document to create a set of forms to be used when conducting staff appraisals. This document will allow you to appraise your staff against previously set objectives and/or by rating (scoring) their performance against the specific skills and/or behavioural characteristics that are required for the role. The document also allows you to create a self-appraisal questionnaire to assist in the appraisal process and (if required) forms to record future set objectives and/or training and development needs. We recommend using the appraisal forms with an up-to-date job description. Please note that this document is only for use in the United Kingdom only.

All employers in the UK must protect their staff from sexual harassment in the workplace. In England, Wales and Scotland, employers must proactively take reasonable steps to prevent it. Although this proactive element doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, employers can still be held liable in the event of sexual harassment if they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Employers in the UK can also be held liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties, e.g. customers.

This policy helps you fulfil both obligations. It's drafted in line with the recommendations and guidance of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), applies to all paid staff in your business. It sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• A policy statement from senior staff
• What sexual harassment (and victimisation) is
• Information about the training staff will receive
• Staff and manager obligations
• How to report breaches (including both informal and formal procedures for resolving complaints)
• The kind of support you may be able to offer
• How you'll monitor sexual harassment and victimisation in the workplace
• The consequences of breaching the policy

We've also included a separate section with practical advice about how to use the policy and meet your obligations.

When recruiting, employers may use this document to produce a form for all applicants invited to interview to complete. The form asks the applicant to declare whether they have a current criminal conviction, and if so, to give details of the offence(s) and sentence(s). Additionally, there are clear instructions in how employers should use this information to ensure that they comply fully with the requirements of the Rehabilitation of Offenders and Data Protection Acts.

Use this to create a reference letter from an employer to a referee. It will contain a number of useful standard questions seeking information that an employer may find useful. You should include a stamped, addressed envelope with this letter to facilitate a quick response from the referee. The applicant will need to give their consent for their old employer to provide a reference to you. To avoid delays, the applicant should give that consent to them directly or to you, so you can send it with this letter.

Employers should use this document to prepare a letter to send to unsuccessful job applicants, whether or not they attended an interview. The letter advises them that they have been unsuccessful on this occasion and includes the option to keep their details for future vacancies, should they agree to this.

Employers should use this form when interviewing job applicants. The form includes a comprehensive checklist of topics to be covered during interview, with suggestions for specific questions and the opportunity to allocate marks and give comments for each. The completed checklist can provide evidence that you have taken a consistent and fair approach to all candidates. If properly applied, this can assist in providing protection against complaints of discrimination. You should keep all completed checklists for unsuccessful applicants for at least six months for this reason.

This document creates a standard job application form to be used when hiring new staff. It should assist you in forming an objective view of the applicant's suitability as part of your selection process. The document also takes into account discrimination legislation to help protect your business against accusations of discrimination at an employment tribunal. You may wish to use this application form in combination with a criminal convictions declaration form, although you should send these two forms separately to the applicant.

Use this to create a job offer letter for a prospective employee following an interview. It contains basic information of your offer, such as salary, hours, holiday, benefits and notice periods.

You can also include details of any probation period or hybrid working arrangements, and choose to make the employment conditional on various criteria such as references, qualifications or other checks.

You will need to send a more detailed employment contract or statement of written particulars (either with this letter or separately, later). You can use our Employment statement or Employment agreement to do this.

This document is not suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times).

Use this document to create an induction checklist when taking on a new member of staff. As the checklist has not been catered to a particular business or industry, it might be the case that there are certain items that will not be applicable. However, the checklist should provide the necessary structure as part of a wider induction programme.

This document produces a form which is suitable for use in recording any employee's request for absence from work. The form is self-explanatory. Within reason an employer can establish its own procedures for notifying absences and in verifying whether the reasons given are genuine.

This document creates a sickness self-certification form. Many employers now use their own self-certification system for short term sickness absences. As doctors no longer issue certificates (unless paid for) for absences shorter than 8 days, a company self-certification system can be an effective method of controlling sickness absence. It also assists in the maintenance of accurate sickness records which all employers are required to keep for Statutory Sick Pay purposes.

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