Termination Appeal Letter

Situations in which employees believe they have been wrongfully terminated from their jobs require a series of steps that start with a termination appeal letter. The letter should be written in a professional manner leaving emotions out of the equation. It should state the facts only and the series of events that led to the termination.

Format and Content

A termination appeal letter format should include the date the employee started working with the company, date of termination, name and title of the individual who terminated the employee, the reason the employee was given for the termination and the reason the employee believes the termination was unfair or wrong. The letter should be addressed to an individual in upper management or human resources who has the power to negate the termination and rehire the individual.

Sample

This termination appeal letter sample is from an individual who works in the advertising department of a radio station. He writes copy for the ads that are purchased from local companies as well as public service announcements from non-profit organizations or charities. He has been terminated by the new advertising director and given the reason that he is not a good fit for the station. The employee discovered shortly after leaving that the new director gave his old job to her niece, a recent college graduate with a degree in advertising.

Dear Mr. Samuels,

I appreciate your taking time out of your busy schedule to read and consider my letter. You may be aware that I was relieved of my duties as a copy writer at WXYZ Radio on August 15, 2013 by the new advertising director, Ms. Marsha Marsh. The reason I was given for my job termination was that I “was not a good fit” for the radio station. I requested details, documentation of poor job performance or supporting evidence that I am not a good fit for the station, but I was given no such information by Ms. Marsh.

Left with no other choice, I cleaned out my desk and left the premises on August 15. I have now learned, from other copywriters in the advertising department, that Ms. Marsh gave my old job to her niece, Cindy Marsh, who just graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in advertising.

Mr. Samuels, I too have a bachelor’s degree in advertising plus 5 years of experience as a copywriter for WXYZ. I have always received excellent annual reviews from past advertising directors. I have attached copies of all performance reviews I have received during my employment at WXYZ for your review. You can clearly see that there are no poor reviews on my record and no previous indication of my not being “a good fit.” Ms. Marsh has been the advertising director for only 2 months and has conducted no performance review on me. She gave me no warning that my job performance was subpar and simply terminated me with no notice.

It is my belief that this is a clear case of nepotism and that I have been wrongfully terminated. I appeal to you to review the attached documentation, reinstate me in my position as a copywriter at WXYZ and find another position for Ms. Marsh’s niece. Thank you in advance for your swift consideration of this matter.

Respectfully,

Cory Williams

Cory H. Williams