PeopleMuster

Termination letter template

Termination letters are administrative documents written on a difficult day. Dates, settlement, property, access. Short, precise and free of commentary.

Heading
[COMPANY NAME]
Private and confidential
Date: [DATE]
To: [EMPLOYEE NAME], [JOB TITLE]
Employee ID: [EMPLOYEE ID]
Subject: End of employment

Dates
Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME],
Your employment with [COMPANY NAME] ends on [LAST WORKING DAY].
Notice given: [NOTICE GIVEN], in line with [CONTRACT CLAUSE REFERENCE].
Notice arrangement: [WORKED / PAID IN LIEU / COMBINATION]
Reason: [STATE THE GROUND RECORDED IN THE PROCESS]

Final settlement
Pay up to the last working day
Untaken leave: [DAYS] days, settled as [PAID OUT / TAKEN BEFORE EXIT]
Outstanding claims: [ANY PENDING EXPENSE OR ADVANCE]
Amounts owed to the company: [LOANS, ADVANCES, EQUIPMENT DAMAGE]
Settlement will be paid by [SETTLEMENT DATE].

Before the last day
Return: [LAPTOP, PHONE, ACCESS CARD, KEYS, SIM, VEHICLE]
Hand over to: [HANDOVER RECIPIENT], by [HANDOVER DEADLINE]
Accounts to be closed: [EMAIL, SYSTEMS, BUILDING ACCESS]
Exit conversation: [EXIT INTERVIEW DATE], optional

After the last day
Confidentiality obligations continue after employment ends.
A service certificate will be issued on request.
For any question about settlement, contact [SETTLEMENT CONTACT].
[SENDER NAME]
[SENDER TITLE]
Received: ______________  Date: ____________

Before you send it

  • State the last working day in the first line of the letter body.
  • Itemise the settlement. A single total invites a dispute you could have avoided.
  • List every item of property by name, including the access card and the SIM.
  • Close accounts on the last day, not the week after.
  • Run the exit as a tracked process so nothing is left open when the person has gone.
  • Keep the letter to one page and deliver it in person wherever you can.

Questions people ask about this letter

Does a termination letter have to give a reason?

Practice varies and so do the rules, but the letter should match whatever the preceding process recorded. Where a reason is stated, state it in the same words used throughout. A letter that introduces a new ground creates a problem nobody needs.

What belongs in the final settlement section?

Pay to the last day, untaken leave, pending claims, and anything the person owes back. Itemise each one with a figure placeholder and a date. Most exit disputes are about a line somebody assumed was included.

When should system access be closed?

On the last working day, and against a list rather than from memory. The accounts people forget are the ones nobody uses daily, such as a cloud console or a shared vendor login, and those are the ones that matter most.

Other templates