Final disciplinary written warning letter for misconduct or behaviour

What is a final written warning for misconduct and when should you use it?

This letter should be used at the third stage of the disciplinary process.

It is called the ‘final’ written warning because there are other steps that it might be advisable for you to take first, if you have not already done so.

Failure to follow the correct process could expose you to a claim for unfair dismissal at a later stage.

We recommend that you read our step by step guide to handling disciplinary issues and that you follow the process set out in this guide.

At the very least, you should have had a meeting with the employee to explain your concerns about their conduct – this is the ‘disciplinary hearing’ referred to in the first paragraph of our template.

It is important to ensure that the employee was told in advance that the earlier meeting was a disciplinary meeting and about the range of potential consequences/sanctions that might be applied following the discussions at that disciplinary meeting.

So, normally, this would not be the first time that the employee has been warned by you about their conduct.

And if you have not considered the earlier letters in this template suite, such as an invitation to informal discussion about misconduct or the first formal warning in a disciplinary process you should consider whether it would be more appropriate to complete these first.

It is very important that this letter, and any previous letter(s),  specifies what improvement and standards of conduct the employee must meet from now on.

You need to insert details of the standards of conduct that you expect the employee to meet and any applicable deliverables and dates by which they must be achieved.

The employee needs to be clear on what is expected of them and how their progress with, and success at reaching these objectives will be measured.

There should no ambiguity around this as any lack of clarity may cause issues further down the line.

Our template references a first written warning.

Although it is normally considered unduly harsh to issue a final written warning if a first written warning has not previously been issued, there may be circumstances where this can be justified; for example if the employee’s misconduct has been serious but falls short of gross misconduct justifying dismissal.

We strongly recommend you take legal advice if you’re intending to do this, as having an expert steer on how best to draft this letter, specifically your reasons for taking this approach and the sanctions that you are applying, can make all the difference between a smooth and rapid running process and one that rapidly escalates into something a lot bigger and riskier.

Final written warnings will expire, but what expire date should you use?

The WRC Code of Practice recommends that first written warnings should remain active on an employees file for 6 months and that final written warnings should remain active for 12 months.

However, you can apply a longer period if you have sound business reasons for doing so and you apply your policy consistently and fairly.

For example, if an employee has a history of reverting back to old ways as soon as a warning has expired, you may be able to justify a final written warning of unlimited duration.

What else should you consider?

If you issue a final written warning you should insert the details of why you have concluded that the employee’s conduct has been unacceptable.

You’ll need to explain clearly why a final written warning is warranted in such circumstances.

You’ll also need to ensure that your disciplinary policy allows for this eventuality.

And again, we would remind you of the importance of clearly specifying what standards of conduct the employee must meet from now on to avoid further action i.e. dismissal.

See our step by step guide which provides you with all you need to know about disciplining an employee and how you should manage the various steps involved lawfully and fairly.