A letter of dismissal is a formal document used to fire an employee. It can also be used when a student is being expelled from a school or a member is being banned from an organization. The notice usually specifies a time, after which the recipient of the letter would no longer be welcome in the institution. It is important that a letter of dismissal carries some important details such as dates, times and the reasons for the action taken. It is also important to ensure that the letter is written in a professional tone.
Legal Requirements of a Dismissal Letter
United States
In the United States, the law does not specifically define the process of notifying a worker with a contract of their dismissal. As a matter of fact, most workers in the United States are not on contracts. But in case a contract exists between the employer and employee, the procedure for notification in case of dismissal should be stated in the contract.
Some states in the U.S do not require a dismissal letter. Some of the states that require a dismissal letter include Arizona, California, Illinois, and New Jersey. Interestingly, some of these states even have templates for dismissal letters. It is, however, recommended that even in states that do not require a dismissal letter in firing an employee, a letter of dismissal letter be given for future references.
Some state laws also allow eligible workers to request a “service letter”. This service letter is written by an employee to request the reasons for the dismissal. It is, however, important to note that there is no federal law in the US that mandates a service letter. For instance, in Texas and some other states, the letter should only be provided on request, although the employer is not under any obligation to state the reason for the dismissal. There are also no legal regulations on the amount of time required to notify an employee in case of a dismissal. This is different for employers with more than 100 full-time employees. In this instance the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) guide notification of employees in this instance.
According to the WARN act;
An employer with more than 100 full-time employees “shall not order a plant closing or mass layoff until the end of a 60-day period after the employer serves written notice of such an order.”
The employer must give the notice to
each representative of the affected employees as of the time of the notice or, if there is no such representative at that time, to each affected employee.
Any employer “who orders a plant closing or mass layoff” and who fails to give adequate notice to each “affected employee” or their representative is liable for back pay and benefits for the number of days’ notice was not given.
The exemptions of the WARN Act include;
The closing of a plant affects only a temporary facility.The closing of a plant closing or mass layoff occurs due to the fact that a particular facility, project or undertaking is completed and affected employees were hired understanding that their employment was limited to that facility, project or undertaking.A plant closing or mass layoff constitutes a strike or lockout not meant to evade the WARN Act.
However, in case of legal issues after a dismissal, it is important to have all relevant documents; the dismissal letter, service letter, grievance letter, a letter of understanding and any other document in the paper trail. A letter of understanding is usually written by the employee to the employer in case a service letter is not given. Especially in instances where the conditions leading to the dismissal is not clear enough. A grievance letter may be written in case the fired employee feels the dismissal is wrongful.
The OWBPA Act protects employees and applicants that are 40 years and older. According to the OWBPA Act;
If the termination is part of an exit incentive or other employment termination program (two or more employees), the employee has at least 45 days to consider the agreement before signing and an additional 7 days to revoke the agreement. In either case, the agreement is not effective or enforceable until after the expiration of the revocation period.
United Kingdom
A letter of dismissal is not also mandatory in the UK. However, according to the UK laws, to dismiss an employee, an employer must show;
a valid reason that they can justifyacted reasonably in the circumstancesAlso, with regards to notice, the law requires that the notice stated in the contract must be given, except in extreme cases e.g. in cases of violence when the dismissal can be immediate. An employee can also request a service letter to know the reason for his/her dismissal.
In 2010, the UK’s Supreme Court in the Gisda Cyf v Barratt case ruled that,
where an employer communicates dismissal without notice by way of a letter, the effective date of termination (‘EDT’) is when the employee reads the letter or has had a reasonable opportunity of reading it, as opposed to when it is posted. This will be the case unless the employee has deliberately failed to open the letter or gone away in order to avoid reading it.
Interestingly, this is in contrast to what is usually expected. This goes to show how unusual employment law can sometimes get.
References
https://www.employmentlawwatch.com/...letters-of-dismissal/
https://paywizard.org/labor-law/dismissal
https://www.globalworkplaceinsider.com/...termination-of-employment-in-the-us/
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia...documentation-32283.html
https://www.zenefits.com/workest/...termination-letter/
https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/...
1 COMMENTS
Great !!!