Warning Letter to Employee for Poor Unsatisfactory Performance

As a manager you are vested with the responsibility to get the work done from your subordinates. If they do not perform as expected from them, then you will have to take action to address the situation in the best interest of the company.

Before taking against an employee for poor performance, it would be advisable for a superior officer to get to the root cause of the problem to find out whether the poor performance is caused because of the lack of ability of the subordinate employee or  because of the low motivation from the employer side.

If even after addressing the cause of the problem either by providing appropriate training to the employee for improvement in performance or by motivating the employee through higher pay or other modes, there is still no satisfactory improvement in his work then a warning letter may be issued to him in this regard.

Format of warning letter to employee for poor performance is given hereunder for your reference—

SAMPLE

Ref: ...................
Date: .................

To
(Name of the Employee)
(Designation)
(Department)
(Employee Code)

Sub.: Poor unsatisfactory performance at work

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

We have been evaluating your performance at workplace for the last few weeks/months and we regret to note that it has been below minimum performance level that is expected from you.

You were provided with appropriate training initially and your superior has been giving due guidance to you at work. And, additionally considering your academic qualification, a consistent performance is desired from you, which you have been failing to show in your work.

Hence, consider this letter as the first warning in this matter. In the coming period, your performance will be closely monitored and if you continue to perform poorly at work, then the company will be forced to take necessary disciplinary action against you viz. deduction of salary, termination from work, etc.

We strongly advise you to be more proactive at work and give your full attention in completion of your assignments in a timely and effective manner. In case you are facing any troubles with work, do consult the issue with your superior without any hesitation.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

All the best to you! Do not let us down.

Sincerely,

   (signature)

(Name of the Officer)
(Designation)

Warning Letter to Employee for Not Following Procedures/ Rules

Every company has prescribed a certain set of procedures or instructions or rules or policies which the employees have to follow while performing their duties at work. It may be for the production of the goods or rendering of the services or simply some common ethics to be followed at the workplace.

It would be in the best interest of the employee to follow such procedures, failure of which may put him in trouble. If the employee finds it difficult to follow the procedures and wants to work in a different way, then he should consult about it with his superior.

Employer will initially issue a warning letter to the employee for not following the regular company procedures. If the employee continues to disobey, then he will be issued a final warning, failure to obey the same will result in disciplinary against him by the company.

Format of such warning letter to employee for not following company's procedures or policies is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE

Ref: ..................

Date: ................

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Non Adherence to Procedures and Rules of the Company

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has come to our attention that you have not been following the procedures and rules prescribed by the company for the employees to carry out their duties at the workplace. More specifically, you have been found in violation of Clause nos. ...., .... and ... of the Guidelines for Employees at Work handbook which was handed over to you earlier.

It is your primary responsibility to ensure that the instructions prescribed by the company are followed so that the final outcome as desired will be hampered in any respect.

Failure to implement such procedures will attract disciplinary action against you which may lead to deduction of salary or suspension from work or termination of your employment or any other appropriate action as decided by the management.

You are hereby strongly advised to follow the rules and procedures of the company strictly.

We look forward to seeing improvement in this regard.

For (Name of the Company),

   (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

How to Write a Warning Letter to Employee for Insubordination

Insubordination simply means refusal to obey orders. If an employee does not follow the orders or instructions given by his senior officer or boss or any other higher authority, the employer won't appreciate such misconduct.

Most of the time a warning message will be given to you in writing for such a misbehavior towards boss. But some companies may not be so tolerant and may fire you from job immediately if your misconduct was severe.

It would be in the best interest of the employee to simply follow the orders of the superior, but if the employee has any suggestions for working in a different way rather than the way ordered by the boss, he should discuss the same with his boss.

Format of such warning letter to employee for insubordination or misconduct is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE

Ref: ..................

Date: .................

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Insubordination at Work - Violation of Employee Code of Conduct

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

Your superior Mr. / Ms. ............ .............. has reported that you have been disobeying his/her orders/instructions on duty and also behaving badly during the working hours with your colleagues. Please note that any act of insubordination without valid/genuine reasons are strictly dealt with by the company.

A meeting has been scheduled between you, HR Head Mr./Ms. ............ and your superior Mr./Ms. ............ on (Date) at (Time am/pm) at the conference hall # ....... of the company. At which, you would explain yourself of this irresponsible conduct on your part with genuine reasons. After hearing the case, we will take further action in this regard.

Please note that if it is found that your act of insubordination was intentional without any valid reasons, then it may result in disciplinary action against you viz. penalty in terms of deduction from salary reduction suspension from work or termination from your employment or any other appropriate action as decided by the company.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

  (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

Warning Letter to Employee for Smoking in Office Premises

Smoking in the office premises is not only a sign of bad behavior or bad work ethics but also it is a major violation of policy for employees formulated by most companies who do not tolerate this kind of actions at work.

Smoking at work may result in monetary penalisation or get you fired from the job or the employer may take any other severe legal action as prescribed in their company policy.

Some employers may give just warning initially considering it's your first of such mistakes but if you continue to do it, you will have to face the consequences.

Format of such warning letter to employee for smoking in office premises is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE

Ref: .................

Date: ................

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Smoking at work - Violation of code of conduct

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has come to our attention that on (Date) you were found smoking tobacco in the .......... area of the company. As per the Code of Conduct for employees of the company, smoking tobacco is prohibited within the premises of the company.

We found your conduct to be unprofessional and against the ethics of work. Such an act is quite unacceptable to the company. Hence, you are strongly advised not to repeat such an act in the future.

As this is your first of such misconduct, the company is not taking any severe disciplinary action against you. If you do this again in the future, we will not tolerate the same and this may very well impact your performance appraisal and may result in penalisation by deduction in salary or suspension from work or termination of your employment.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

  (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

Warning Letter format to Employee for Drinking Alcohol on Duty

Drinking on duty / intoxication at work is a major violation of one of the general terms of a company's policy for its employees. It would be a grave mistake to make it a habit of such silly things and getting caught at work in a drunken state.

The employer may take severe action against an employee for such behavior. But if the employee's performance is especially very good, then they may give you only warning initially. If after warning the employee still commits the mistake, no matter how productive or important he is for the organisation, they may terminate your service in the company.

Format of such warning letter to employee for intoxication at work is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE #1

(Drinking Alcohol on Duty)

Ref: ..................

Date: ................

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Drinking Alcohol on Duty - Violation of Company Policy

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has come to our attention that on (Date) and (Date) you were drinking alcohol on duty in the ........... area of the company. We have the cctv footage of this incident. You are well aware that no person is allowed to drink alcohol in the company premises.

You are in violation of Clause #..... of the Policy for Employee of the company, a copy of which was handed over to you during your joining time. As such, Management has taken a decision to suspend you from duty for .... days without pay.

You are advised to not to repeat such incidents in the future. Management will be forced to take necessary disciplinary action, if you continue to show such unacceptable acts, which may ultimately result in the termination of your employment.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

  (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

SAMPLE #2

(Being drunk at work)

Ref: ...............
Date: ..............

To
(Name of the Employee)
(Designation)
(Department)
(Employee Code)

Sub.: Drunk at work - serious violation of employee code of conduct

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has been brought to our notice that on (Date) you were working under the influence of alcohol at the office. This is a violation of the Code of Conduct prescribed for employees by the company.

Such misconduct on your part not only shows your unprofessional approach towards work but also portrays your character as bad in the eyes of the company and its employees. Further, such drunken state at work of any employee adversely impacts the goodwill of the company.

As such you are hereby given a first and final warning not to repeat such incidents again in the future. If you continue to show such unethical behavior, it will result in the suspension or termination of your employment.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

  (signature)

(Name of the Officer)
(Designation)

Warning letter to Employee for not following Uniform Dress code

Dress codes could be different for different cadre of employees in an organisation or they could be the same for all. Following the dress code is the duty of each employee.

Failure to follow the dress code repeatedly may lead to disciplinary action against you like salary deduction, suspension from work or even termination of your job.

At first, the employer will warn you about your disobedience of the dress code and will give you a chance to start following the dress code every day.

Format of such warning letter to employee for not following the dress code of the organisation is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE

Ref: ..................

Date: .................

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Regarding dress code - Violation of company's policy

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has come to our attention that you have been ignoring the 'Dress Code' guidelines of our company. We noticed that on several days during the last month/week you were not wearing uniforms in the office premises during working hours.

You are well aware this is a clear violation of company's policy for employees. Such misconduct on your part may attract disciplinary action against you viz. deduction of salary or may adversely impact the evaluation process of your appraisal in the company or termination of your employment.

We hope that you will abide by the rules strictly and wear the uniform while on duty.

Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

   (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

Warning Letter to Employee for Regular Late Coming to Office

Punctuality is one of the greatest traits of an employee. It not only shows your seriousness for work but also helps you in achieving the targeted assignments in a timely manner and puts a good record in the books of your employer, which will help you get promotions ultimately.

Being late to work once in a while is mostly a negligible mistake which your boss won't be bothered with. But if you make a habit out of it and start coming to late almost everyday then you may lose the job eventually.

Initially, a warning is issued to such an employee by his boss / manager in expectation that the employee would start becoming punctual at work. The employee should not ignore such warning.

Format of such warning letter to employee for late coming to work is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE

Ref: ..................

Date: .................

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Regular Late Coming to Office - Violation of Company Policy

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

We regret to note that for most of the days in the last few weeks you have been coming to office beyond the time prescribed for reporting to duty. We noticed these are major time gaps and not just a minor delay of few minutes.

You are well aware, such delayed reporting entails penalty as per the company's policy. Hence, your half-day salary will be deducted for the days of delays. Please note that such late-coming is considered quite adversely during the evaluation process of your appraisal or promotion in the company. We hope that you will abide by the rules to the letter.

You are further advised in your own interest to be punctual at work and not to repeat such late comings in the future. Please note the company will be forced to take necessary disciplinary action, if you continue to arrive late at work. This may even result in the termination of your employment.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

   (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

Warning Letter for Absence from Work without Permission

An employee can be absent from work or take leave from office only after seeking prior permission of his superior. Or in case there is any emergency, where he could not take prior permission, he should apply for leave after being absent from work.

If an employee has neither sought prior permission for leave nor has intimated genuine reasons of his absence from work, then it may lead to absconding from work. In which case, the employer can give a warning to the employee for such a violation of duty and expect reporting back to duty by certain date.

If the employee does not report back by that date, then the employment may be terminated at the discretion of the employer and further they may take legal action against you if they suffer any loss because of your absence or if you do not return the company properties remaining in your custody.

Format of such warning letter to employee for absenteeism from work is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE #1

(warning letter to employee for absence without permission)

Ref: ...............
Date: ..............

To
(Name of the Employee)
(Designation)
(Department)
(Employee Code)

Sub.: Absenteeism from work - Violation of Company Policy

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

We regret to note that you were absent from work from (Date) to (Date) without taking any prior permission neither have you informed the causes of your absence during the leave. We understand that you have joined back to the office today.

Our company does not appreciate such unprofessional conduct from its employees. All employees are required to follow the working hours guidelines and leave application procedure before going on any leave.

You are hereby strongly advised not to repeat such incidents in the future. As this is your first mistake, we are not taking any severe disciplinary action against you and not deducting any amount your salary. In case of repetition of such incidents, the company will be forced to terminate your employment.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

  (signature)

(Name of the Superior Officer)
(Designation)

SAMPLE #2

(warning letter to employee for absconding from work/duty)

Ref: ...............

Date: ..............

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Absconding from duty - Violation of employment contract

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has come to our attention that you have been absent from work since (Date) without applying for leave to your superior. Such absenteeism for a long period is considered as "absconding from work", which is a very serious misconduct on the part of an employee as you may be well aware.

You are hereby given ...days time to report back to duty by ...p.m. on (Date). Failing which, your employment with the company will stand terminated. Further, a penalization of ...days salary will be deducted from your balance payment due from the company.

We understand you have some of the important documents and company properties with you. Do hand it over to your superior in case of termination from employment after the due date for reporting time given to you as mentioned above.

After termination from employment, you will be relieved from duties only after complete handover of work to your superior.

You are advised not to repeat such incidents in the future. This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

   (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

Warning letter to Employee for Theft/Stealing Company property

Stealing of company properties would be one of the biggest mistakes in life of an employee. Here are three major reasons for it:

1) The employee may go to jail if the employer lodges complaint with police. And if the news gets spread in media, then you can consider your career is over.

2) If the employer decides not to go to police, then they may charge heavy monetary penalty on the employee. They will not be giving any experience certificate for your work tenure. They may write to some of the top companies where you may apply for a job mentioning about the incident.

3) Even if you get a job in another organisation, there is always a chance that somebody who knows about your stealing incident might tell them about it, which may lead to termination of your job.

If the company property is of very low value, then the company may let the employee off the hook by just giving him a warning.

Format of such warning letter to employee for stealing company's property is given hereunder for your reference.—

SAMPLE #1

(Only warning, no termination of job)

Ref: ...............
Date: ..............

To
(Name of the Employee)
(Designation)
(Department)
(Employee Code)

Sub.: Theft of Office Utilities -  Violation of Code of Conduct

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

It has come to our attention through cctv footage that caught you stealing some office utilities items from our branch office on (date). Though the items are of low value, we do not appreciate such action from your side. It is not only a shameful act but also very professionally unethical.

You are advised to not to repeat such incidents in the future. Management will be forced to take necessary disciplinary action, if you continue to show such unacceptable acts, which may ultimately result in the termination of your employment.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

Sincerely,

  (signature)

(Name of the Officer)
(Designation, Department)

SAMPLE #2

(Warning plus termination of job)

Ref: ................

Date: ...............

To

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

(Department)

(Employee Code)

Sub.: Stealing of Company Property - Violation of the Employee Code of Conduct

Dear Mr. / Ms. (First Name of the Employee),

You are aware that on (date) a laptop was reported stolen from Marketing Department of our Company. We have carried out the investigation process in this regard including checking of CCTV footage. The evidence clearly suggests you are to be held responsible for this theft.

You're hereby directed to produce the laptop by the end of the working hours i.e. 6:30pm of (Date) in the same condition as before. As per the Company policy, a monetary penalty of half-month's salary is to be deducted from your pending payments. Further, the event will be reported to the police.

We strongly suggest that you produce a written affidavit signed by you to the effect that you admit the stealing of the Company property and you will not repeat any such action in future. On production of such affidavit we might forgo the reporting of this event to the police. Please do not fail to take appropriate action as mentioned above by the given time i.e. by 6:30pm of (Date).

Further, please note that as per the Company policy, such acts by employees lead to termination of their employment. Hence, your employment with the Company is hereby terminated with immediate effect. Balance salary payment after adjustment of the penalization amount will be credited to your bank account. We hope you would not repeat such acts in future with your future employers.

This letter will be placed on your personnel employment file. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing one copy of this letter as enclosed herewith.

For (Name of the Company),

  (signature)

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)