4 Essential Employee Letters and How to Write Them

Writing letters and emails is part and parcel of business life, but it’s important to recognize which essential employee letters you need to focus on so you can save time.

But what are these essential letters and how can businesses write them effectively?

You can start by creating business letter templates that you can reuse whenever the occasion calls for it.

To design those templates, follow our list of four essential employee letters and how to write them below.

Essential Employee Letter #1: Recommendation Letter

One of the most essential employee letters companies have to write is the recommendation or reference letter. 

Before employees leave a company, many may ask for a recommendation to share with future employers.

You may also have former employees reach out to you for a recommendation, some of them long after leaving the company.

While organizations and HR teams do want to write a recommendation for their past employees, this is a task that takes up time and energy.

That is why you need to create a recommendation letter template that you can adapt for each employee request.

Remember to use your company letterhead so it looks official—and you can include your business card in case the organization wants to call for verification.

You should ask the employee requesting the letter for some details about the company they are applying to, whom you should address the letter to, and what you should highlight.

Also, take a look at your internal organizational chart to determine whether you are the best person to recommend the employee.

A few points to note when writing an employee recommendation letter:

• Always note how you are connected to the employee
• Mention the employee’s strengths, productivity, and characteristics
• Write a clear endorsement explaining why the employee fits the role

You can see how the above can be incorporated into a letter by looking at the following example.

Essential Employee Letter #2: Offer Letter

It isn’t just past employees who you need to write letters for—companies also need to write an essential employee letter for new hires.

The offer letter is one that many people eagerly await once they have had the final interview.

But an offer letter can too easily be mistaken for a contract if it’s not written well. These are the essential elements of a job offer letter:

• Include the employee compensation for the job, and mention whether it is hourly or weekly
• Note whether the employment is ‘at will’, that it can be terminated at any time, or that it can be terminated after a certain period
• Always add a sentence about the offer letter not being a binding contract but sent for information purposes only
• Outline the duties of the role but add a caveat that it isn’t a complete list and could change
• You can include a confidentiality agreement or any contingencies for the employment

For inspiration, you can look at the employee offer letter below.

Essential Employee Letter #3: Termination Letter

Another essential employee letter is the termination letter. 

There comes a time when businesses need to end a staff member’s employment. This could be because of performance issues, downsizing, or exigent circumstances like the pandemic.

Writing a termination letter is never easy, which is why having a template to work off of makes the process easier for all involved.

It’s important to remember that termination letters cannot be sent without intimation. Employees must be informed during a private meeting and given a reason for the termination.

Some of the other essential elements that a termination letter must include are:

• The date the termination becomes effective
• Reason for the termination
• What company property must be returned, when and how
• Vacation time accrued, benefits information, final paycheck amount and delivery date
• If the termination is due to exigent circumstances, thank the employee for their service and wish them well for the future

You can follow a similar template for writing termination letters by looking at the below example.

Essential Employee Letter #4: Employment Verification Letter

One kind of essential employee letter that many companies overlook is the employment verification letter. These are required by employees for many reasons including:

• When buying a new home
• Getting a mortgage
• Adjusting loan or credit limits
• Renting a home
• Applying for a new job

To write a verification letter, you need to keep the following in mind:

• Always use your official letterhead
• Include your contact details to answer any further questions
• Don’t share any more information than what is required
• Add an authentic handwritten signature

The example below displays how important brevity is in an employment verification letter.

Key Takeaways: Template Essential Employee Letters

It is necessary to template essential employee letters so you can reuse them as and when needed.

Here are the four essential employee letters all companies need to write:

• Recommendation letter
• Offer letter
• Termination letter
• Verification letter

We have highlighted the best ways to write the above four letters, which will make it easier for companies to stay on top of their business correspondence.

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