In labor cases, an employee warning letter is one of the documents most frequently raised, and it is also a document that causes employers to lose cases just as often, because a warning letter that is not complete cannot be used as a basis for termination.
Labor protection law permits an employer to terminate employment without paying severance pay when an employee violates rules, regulations, or lawful orders and the employer has already given a written warning, but the employee repeats the same offense. A warning letter is therefore not merely a formality, but the key evidence of the termination.
What must a warning letter contain
- The facts of the misconduct — the date, time, place, and what happened. Write it so that an outsider can read it and understand.
- The regulation, rule, or order that was violated — specify the clause clearly, not a broad statement such as "misconduct."
- A warning that the conduct must not be repeated, and the consequences if it is repeated.
- The signature of the person authorised under the regulation, and the date the letter is issued.
- Evidence of delivery or acknowledgment by the employee.
A letter that lacks item 1 or item 2 is often regarded as merely a notice, not a warning letter under the law.
When an Employee Refuses to Sign for Receipt
An employee's signature is not a condition for a warning letter to be effective. What matters is that the employee has been informed. The methods commonly used are as follows:
- Read the contents aloud in the presence of a witness, then have the witness sign and record that the employee refused to sign.
- Send it by registered mail with return receipt requested, to the address the employee has provided.
- Send it by email or via the channel the company normally uses to communicate with the employee, and keep evidence of the sending together with the letter.
Validity Period of the Warning Letter
A warning letter can be used as a basis for termination when the employee repeats the offence within one year from the date of the previous offence, not from the date the letter was issued. If the offence is repeated after that, the warning process must start over.
The repeat offence must also be the same matter or of the same nature as the one previously warned about. Being late and being warned for it, but then getting into an altercation the next time, are different matters.
Offences That Do Not Require Prior Warning
The law permits immediate termination without payment of severance pay and without prior warning in the serious offences specified by law, such as:
- Dishonesty in the performance of duties, or intentionally committing a criminal offence against the employer
- Intentionally causing damage to the employer
- Negligence causing serious damage to the employer
- Violation of work rules or orders in serious cases
- Abandonment of duties for consecutive periods as prescribed by law without reasonable cause
Even where these grounds apply, the employer must still have supporting evidence, and should state the grounds in full in the termination letter, because grounds that were not stated may not be raised later.
Even After a Warning, a Dismissal Can Still Be Unfair
A dismissal that does not require severance pay may still be challenged as unfair dismissal if the reason relied on lacks sufficient weight, or if employees are treated unequally—for example, warning one person but letting another who did the same thing go. Warning letters applied consistently across the organization are therefore as important as warning letters that are correctly drafted.
Read more
- Rights upon dismissal
- Employer sued in the Labour Court
- Work rules: which company sizes must have them
📌 See more: Employment contracts, salary structures and employee handbooks · Disciplinary investigations and employee fraud
If you want your company's warning letter templates and penalty procedures to hold up on the day a dismissal is actually required, consult our team of lawyers. We review your work rules and draft the forms so that they are consistent.
This article is general information and is not legal advice for any specific case.
