Template Resources
Throughout the employment relationship, there will be many times you need to communicate changes/updates to an employee. In this section you will find a wide variety of letter templates for contract amendments, leave, remuneration, recruitment, performance/development and termination.
Applicant acknowledgement
The applicant acknowledgement letter is used to confirm receipt of a candidate’s application of employment and to communicate their application is being taken under consideration. The letter outlines the next steps or expectations surrounding your business’ recruitment processes.
Applicant decline notification
Used as part of your recruitment processes, the applicant decline notification letter is used to confirm receipt of a candidate’s application of employment and to confirm that their application was unsuccessful.
Welcome letter
Used as part of your recruitment processes, the welcome letter is used to formally welcome a successful candidate/new hire into your business and is designed to accompany the employee’s onboarding plan and to communicate who their main point of contact will be upon commencement.
Bonus letter
If you choose to provide an annual bonus for an employee’s contribution and performance, this bonus letter may be used to communicate how much will be paid to the employee as a bonus and when they may expect to receive the payment.
Direction to take excess annual leave
Where permitted by law, an employer may direct an employee to take excess accrued annual leave under certain circumstances, after a consultation to put a leave plan in place has been unsuccessful. In this instance, formal writtten notice must be provided to the employee and this letter may be used.
Salary increase
You may wish to provide your employee with a salary increase – whether due to award increases, company performance or employee performance. Where a salary increase has been provided, a record of this change must be retained. This letter meets this obligation whilst also communicating to the employee.
Offer of guarantee of annual earnings
Some awards allow for annualisation of employee’s salary/wages and applicable entitlements, in which you may wish to provide the employee a guarantee to pay the employee a set annual amount each year. This letter may be used to capture this guarantee and relevant terms.
Parental leave – approved extension
Where employees are eligible to apply for an extension beyond the initial 12 month (52 week) parental leave period, employers must consider this request and respond in writing accordingly. This template may be used to confirm your approval in accommodating the request.
Parental leave acknowledgement
This parental leave acknowledgement letter may be used to confirm the approval of an employee’s parental leave (aka maternity leave) request. It is designed to confirm the dates, including planned return date and instructions for return, and the terms applicable whilst the employee is on parental leave.
Authorised deductions agreement
In emergency or hardship situations, you may wish to provide an employee temporary financial assistance by advancing their wages/salary/pay. To enable sufficient payroll deductions for this advance to be repaid, it is vital a written agreement is in place, such as this authorised deductions agreement.
Annualised salary letter
For award covered employees who have annualised salaries (where provided under the applicable Modern Award), employers must provide the employee a breakdown to show the specific award entitlements which have been covered/included in the employee’s annualised salary. This letter template is designed to meet this obligation.
Probationary letter
Your new hire/employee’s employment may have been subject to a minimum employment period, also known as a probationary/probation period. In this instance, if the employee has successfully completed the minimum employment period, you may use this template to confirm the successful completion and continuation of employment.
Template warning
As part of employee conduct/performance management or disciplinary action, you may be required to issue an employee with a written warning. This warning letter template may be used and is designed to be issued after relevant performance meetings/discussions have occurred.
Notice of meeting
As part of employee conduct/performance management or disciplinary action, you may be required to have a meeting with an employee to discuss their conduct/performance. This template letter can be used to invite the employee to the meeting.
Certificate of Service
Used post employment or upon termination of employment, this certificate of service template may be used to confirm the period of employment for an employee and the position held within your business.
Deed of release
A Deed of Release is a legal document, also known as a deed of settlement, used to solve a dispute and formalise an agreement between an employer and employee or ex-employee. Also, commonly used to capture agreed Redundancy or ex-gratia termination payments that are provided above legislative requirements.
Consultation letter – initial notification
This template may be used to communicate any organisational/business changes that your business are considering that is likely to have an impact on an existing employee’s role/position. If there is a risk of the employee’s role being made redundant or changes to employment conditions, a formal consultation is required.
Termination – serious misconduct
In the instance you are required to terminate an employee’s employment due to conduct/performance, a formal letter should be provided to communicate the end of the employment relationship. This letter template may be used for this purpose and also provides guidance on what to include and things to check.
Resignation acceptance letter
This resignation acceptance letter may be used to confirm an employee’s resignation, their final working day and/or termination date and to provide instructions for return of company property. This template also provide an option to offer an employee an Exit Interview.
Confirmation of retirement
This confirmation of retirement letter may be used to confirm an employee’s resignation due to retiring. This letter confirms the employee’s termination date, the employer’s commitment to notify the employee’s superannuation fund, and to thank the employee for their service to your business.
Termination Letter with notice
In the instance you are required to terminate an employee’s employment due to conduct/performance, a formal letter should be provided to communicate the end of the employment relationship. This letter template may be used for this purpose and also provides guidance on what to include and things to check.
Unsuccessful probation
Your new hire/employee’s employment may have been subject to a minimum employment period, also known as a probationary/probation period. In this instance, if the employee is unsuccessful and/or deemed not suitable for the role, you may use this template to confirm the employee’s termination of employment.
Response to discrimination or harassment
Used with your Anti Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy, all allegations of discrimination or harassment should be taken seriously and investigated accordingly. This letter allows communication back to the employee who has raised the allegations confirming the methods that will be taken and by whom for the investigation.
Complaint acknowledgement
In the instance your employee has raised a complaint, typically involving another employee, this letter allows communication back to the complainant to confirm the issue raised and that the complaint will be investigated accordingly, aligned to your business policies.
Investigation follow up letter to complainant
In the instance your employee has raised a complaint regarding another employees conduct, and the compliant was substantiated through an investigation, this letter allows communication back to the complainant to confirm the outcome of the investigation and appropriate action has been taken to ensure there will not be a repeat.
Notice of discrimination or harassment complaint
Used with your Anti Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy, all allegations of discrimination or harassment should be taken seriously and investigated accordingly. This letter is used to communicate to an employee who has been alleged of breaching these policies and to inform them an investigation will commence.
Casual employee – no offer of perm employment notification
At the 12 month (1 year) anniversary of a casual employee’s employment, employers are required to review the employee’s work history and determine whether an offer for permanent employment is required. This letter may be used to confirm there is no offer for permanent employment.
Offer letter – transition to perm employment
At the 12 month (1 year) anniversary of a casual employee’s employment, employers are required to review the employee’s work history and determine whether an offer for permanent employment is required. This offer letter may be used to confirm the transition from casual to permanent employment.
Transfer/promotion
In the instance you are looking to transfer or promote an employee, a full contract/agreement may not be required. This transfer/promotion template may be used to confirm the terms and conditions of employment that are changing in relation to the transfer/promotion only, allowing all other employment conditions to remain unchanged.
Employee request – casual to perm conversion
Where a casual employee has worked continuous, regular and systematic work, the employee can request to convert their employment status to permanent and this template may be used for such requests. When requests have been made, employers are required to consider/review and respond within 21 days.
Change of remuneration
In the instance your employee’s remuneration/salary/pay has changed, such as a salary increase, this change of remuneration letter may be used to communicate the change to the employee and ensure an appropriate record to the change of employment conditions are retained.
Change of title
In the instance your employee’s position title (aka business title) has changed, this change of title letter may be used to communicate the change to the employee and ensure an appropriate record to the change of employment conditions are retained.
Fixed term contract extension
You may have an employee who is currently on a fixed term contract and wish to extend the term of the contract. This letter may be used to confirm the new contract end date. Contact Liquid HR if extending more than 2 times or greater than 2 years in total.
Template addendum letter
After consultation with the employee, part or some of an employee’s terms and conditions of employment may be changing with the majority of the terms/conditions remaining unchanged. Instead of doing a new complete contract, this addendum letter may be used to capture the few changes.
Long Term Absence
During your employees employment, they may sustain an illness or injury that impacts their ability to perform the inherit duties of their role/position. This letter provides communication to the employee confirming their medical condition will be further investigated so the business may assess if the condition can be accommodated.
Event behaviour notification
Although parties may be held outside of standard work hours or offsite, protections for your employees and business brand should be taken. This event letter template is used to set expectations for employees surrounding their behaviour for the party, drinking responsibly and information for transport options.
Notice of shutdown
A shut down is when a business temporarily closes during slow periods of the year, such as Christmas and New Year. Where able to under applicable awards/enterprise agreements, you may direct employees to adhere to a shutdown and take annual leave.
Medical professional authorisation
When an employee has an illness or injury, you may be required to make accommodations during recovery. To be able to do this, with written permission from the employee, you may need to obtain further medical advice from the employee’s doctor. This letter is used to gain permission.
Work camera surveillance notification
Employees have a right to know whether there is surveillance within the workplace and what the surveillance records will be used for. This notification allows you to provide communication to your employees to confirm there are surveillance cameras at work.
Stand down notification (Covid-19)
State or federal/Australian governments may issue public health orders for businesses or employees to be stood down due to coronavirus/Covid-19. This letter provides confirmation that your business or employees are affected by these orders and communicates the requirement for your business to stand down.
Redundancy letter
Redundancy letter: a redundancy is when an employee’s job is no longer required to be performed by anyone due to changes in the business (e.g. introduction of technology, a restructure, a slow down in the business). It is important you follow any consultation requirements in the applicable modern award or agreement. This letter is to confirm the redundancy after this process has been followed.
Covid vaccination – status request letter
This letter can be used to request an employees vaccination status for compliance with vaccine mandates in the relevant state or territory.