Careers Succeeding at Work Sample Letters of Termination for Cause Use These Sample Termination Letters to Fire an Employee for Cause Print Tim Kitchen/The Image Bank/Getty Images Succeeding at Work Human Resources Hiring Best Practices Job Search Resources Glossary Employment Law Employee Motivation Employee Management Management Careers Management & Leadership Employee Benefits Table of Contents Expand Termination for Cause Sample Letters Hold a Termination for Cause Meeting Sample Letter of Termination Second Sample Letter of Termination By Susan M. Heathfield Susan M. Heathfield Susan Heathfield is an HR and management consultant with an MS degree. She has decades of experience writing about human resources. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 11/05/19 Employment Termination for Cause Sample Letters Need a sample letter to use when you terminate an employee's employment for a reason? These sample letters of termination state the cause and confirm that the employment relationship is terminated. Use these sample letters of termination for cause as examples when you write your own termination letters. You can send a letter of termination to the employee following the termination meeting with a return receipt requested, or you can hand the letter to the employee at the end of the termination for cause meeting. The letter should be printed on company stationery with the official signature of the employee's manager, or in a small company, the owner or president. How to Hold a Termination for Cause Meeting Under normal circumstances, the manager or supervisor and a representative from Human Resources will hold the termination meeting with the employee. This meeting to terminate the employee for cause should occur as soon as the organization has the information, documentation, and proof necessary to justify the firing of the employee. The letter of termination summarizes what was said at the meeting. Here are two examples of letters to employees whose employment is terminated for cause. Sample Letter of Termination This is an example of a letter of termination. Download the termination letter template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see below for more examples. © The Balance 2018 Download the Word Template Larry Lee123 Business Rd., Business City, NY 54321 · 555-555-5555 · larry.lee@email.com September 1, 2018 Mr. John Sanchez20507 Valley Rd.Cedar Bluffs, NE 68015 Dear John, This letter confirms our discussion today that your employment with Sealy Company is terminated for cause, effective immediately. Your employment, as discussed during the termination meeting, is terminated because you committed company personnel and resources to a client after being told by both your manager and your department head, that the company would not provide these resources nor seek a relationship with that potential client. Your subsequent commitment of resources, after being told explicitly not to commit the resources, was a gross violation of company policy and our code of conduct. In attempting to cover up your commitment, you tried to involve several other employees in your deception. This is behavior that cannot be countenanced and it also violates our code of conduct. Payment for your accrued PTO will be included in your final paycheck* which you will receive on your regular payday, Friday. We can mail your final paycheck to your home or you can make arrangements with your supervisor to pick it up. You can expect a separate benefits status letter that will outline the status of your benefits upon termination. The letter will include information about your eligibility for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) continuation of group health coverage. Per our normal procedure, we have received your security swipe card, your office keys, and the company-owned laptop and cell phone at the termination meeting. You will need to keep the company informed of your contact information so that we are able to provide the information you may need in the future such as your W-2 form. Please let us know if we can assist you during your transition. Regards, Larry Lee Second Sample Letter of Termination Jean Espinoza123 Business Rd., Business City, NY 54321 · 555-555-5555 · jean.espinoza@email.com September 1, 2018 Ms. Margaret Semple19021 Pine St.Detroit, MI 48823 Dear Margaret, This letter puts in writing the discussion from today's termination meeting which was attended by you, your manager, Mary Stevens, our HR assistant, Chloe Brown, and myself, the HR director. The purpose of this letter is to confirm that your employment with Citizens Family Insurance Center is terminated immediately. It is a long-standing company policy that is essential for our success to terminate the employment of any individual who lies or presents inaccurate information to our company during the hiring and selection process. Even though you have currently been employed by us for several weeks, the proof of your deception only came to our attention early this week. We discovered that you deceived us about your graduate degree which you never completed when your college could not confirm your claimed degree. You also failed to tell us about your felony conviction for theft. That was an important factor for us to learn in the thorough background check we conducted since your position is in finance where you would have had easy access to money. Payment for your accrued PTO will be included in your final paycheck* which you will receive from us by mail on your regular payday. We prefer that you do not appear on our premises so we are cutting and mailing the check early so as to have it arrive on Friday. We will send you a separate benefits status letter that will outline the status of your benefits upon termination. Since our health benefits are extended to employees on their 90th day of employment, you are not eligible for continuation of group health coverage. At the termination meeting, you gave us your security swipe card, your office keys, and the company-owned laptop so all company equipment is accounted for. We ask that you keep the company informed of your contact information so that we are able to provide the information you may need in the future such as your W-2 form. Regards, Jean EspinozaHR DirectorCitizens Family Insurance Center *Please note that laws regarding the final paycheck may vary from state to state and country to country. Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. The site is read by a world-wide audience and employment laws and regulations vary from state to state and country to country. Please seek legal assistance, or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct for your location. This information is for guidance, ideas, and assistance.