Employee General Warning Letter

What is an Employee General Warning Letter?

This Employee Warning Letter is used when an employer needs to warn an employee for something they did. It is a simple way to communicate the relevant issues to the employee. Importantly, it may also be retained by the employer as evidence that the employee has been afforded due process. If the employee ends up being dismissed, and later claims that the dismissal was unfair, then the employer will find it helpful to have this evidence on file.

This letter is designed to be used by an employer early in the disciplinary process. For example it may be used for a first or second warning to an employee, but is not designed as a final warning. For a final warning, use our template Employee Final Warning Letter.

This is part of our collection of letters for underperforming employees. These are designed to be used in the following sequence:

1. This Employee General Warning Letter.

2. If employer wants to provide a second or third warning to the employee - use this Employee General Warning Letter again.

3. Employee Final Warning Letter.

4. Letter of Termination of Employment (General).

What is the difference between an Employee General Warning Letter and an Employee Final Warning Letter?

This General Warning Letter is designed for a first or second warning to an employee but is not designed for a final warning. On the other hand, a Final Warning Letter is only designed to be used for final warnings and contains different language which highlights the fact that the next step will be termination of employment.

Is it mandatory to have an Employee General Warning Letter?

No. An employer is not generally required by law to provide a certain number of warnings, or to provide formal written warnings, to an employee before terminating their employment. However, if the employment is terminated, and the employee makes an unfair dismissal claim, then the Fair Work Commission will pay attention to whether the employee was warned about their job performance issues before being terminated, and whether they were given the opportunity to improve their performance. Therefore, in order to protect against such a claim, employers usually take care to provide a number of warnings, as well as clear directions about how to improve. Most employers do this in writing, so that they have evidence to produce if they ever need to prove that they were fair to the employee.

Further information about what an employer must do can be obtained from the website of the Fair Work Ombudsman. Small businesses may also need to consult the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.

It is important that the employer understands its obligations in relation to this matter. If an employer breaches some of these obligations, then it could face penalties for unfair dismissal, and may be unable to remove the employee.

What has to be done once an Employee General Warning Letter is ready?

Once this letter is ready, it should be signed by the employer, and provided to the employee. Many employers choose to have a meeting with the employee to discuss the matter, and provide the letter to them at the meeting.

There is no specific process that has to be followed, but many employers choose to use the following process (even if not required by law):

1. Have a first meeting with the employee, to discuss the performance issues, provide a strategy for improvement (such as deadlines for improvement, and quantifiable goals for the employee). Provide a copy of this Employee General Warning Letter to the employee.

2. If performance has not improved by the due date, have a second meeting with the employee to advise that performance has still not improved. Provide the employee with a second written warning (using this Employee General Warning Letter again).

3. If performance still does not improve, have a third meeting with the employee. Advise the employee that if their performance does not improve by a particular date, their employment may be terminated. Provide an Employee Final Warning Letter to the employee, confirming these details.

4. If performance still does not improve, have a fourth meeting with the employee to terminate employment, and provide a copy of the Letter of Termination of Employment (General).

What must an Employee General Warning Letter contain?

The employer should ensure that this letter contains enough information so that the employee knows what has gone wrong, and what he or she can do to correct it. The information that may be added to this letter includes:

• details of any previous warnings that the employee has received;
• details of any meetings that have occurred;
• details of the problems with the employee's job performance;
• confirmation of whether or not the employee has been or will be given the chance to explain him or herself;
• if the employee has already been given the chance to explain, details of this explanation may be included;
• if the employee will be given the chance to explain, details of how they should do this may be included;
• details of what the employee must do in order to improve his or her job performance;
• details of any follow up meeting;
• any further comments that the employer (or the person preparing the letter on behalf of the employer) wants to include.

Which laws are applicable to this Employee General Warning Letter?

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Employment Standards apply to most employment situations in Australia.

However, in addition, many employment situations are also governed by modern awards or enterprise agreements. If such an award or agreement applies, then that will set out some additional minimum standards with which the employer must comply.

In addition, general principles of contract law, as provided by the common law, will apply to any employment contract.

Minimum standards for employment are set in the set in the National Employment Standards. However, if there is an applicable industrial instrument (such as an award or a registered agreement), then this may set additional requirements. In addition, a contract of employment or a workplace policy might also set additional requirements. In any case, the employer will need to comply with whatever requirements are most favourable to the employee. The National Employment Standards are only the minimum standards.

How to modify the template?

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.