Termination Letter for Cause

Employees who fail to perform as expected are a liability to the company’s bottom line, productivity and reputation. A termination letter for cause summarizes the employer’s justification for the decision and outlines any future action the company may take to address the issue.

Format and Content

A termination letter is generally drafted by a manager in the human resources department, the employee’s manager, or the owner of the company. It is a good idea to have an expert in employment law review it before sending. The termination letter for cause format maylist the details of the violation(s), providing the company has documented evidence to prove the allegations. If not, the letter should follow a general ‘at-will’ termination format to avoid liability issues related to wrongful termination.

Sample

In some cases, an employee is fired for more than one reason. In this termination letter for cause sample, the employee is fired for violating company policies regarding client entertainment expenses and for charging personal expenses to her company credit card.

Dear Jennifer,

This letter is to confirm that your employment with Meyer Advertising Inc. is terminated, effective immediately. Your employment is terminated for cause. We have documented evidence that you clearly and willfully abused your position as a manager for this organization. The events that led to my decision are detailed below.

On September 5, 2013 you authorized a company expenditure of $1,500 for the purpose of entertaining out-of-town clients. This is a direct violation of our company policy which states any expenditure over $100 must be approved in writing by a director in the department. A recent audit of your company credit card revealed personal charges that in no way pertained to company business. These charges include gas for your personal vehicle and meals charged that were not related to client meetings.

Our policies are clearly written in the handbook and in the materials used to train other managers. Since your duties include training other managers, we believe you committed the violations with the knowledge that doing so jeopardized your employment status with our company. By approving the unauthorized charges of sales associates, you committed an egregious violation of our Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Be advised, unless the company is reimbursed for your personal expenditures, we will pursue criminal charges.

You will be expected to return any company property that you did not surrender during your termination meeting upon 5 days of receiving this letter. You were given a package detailing the handling of your last paycheck, commission pay, and pay for unused PTO at the meeting. This package contains information concerning your company health insurance and your COBRA eligibility as well as the status of other company benefits. We will mail your W-2 to the home address we have on file unless you provide us with updated address in writing before the end of the year.

Regards,

Daniel Rugg

Mr. Daniel Rugg, CEO

Meyer Advertising, Inc.