Invitation letter to discuss next steps (including potential dismissal) for poor performance

What’s an invitation letter to discuss next steps for poor performance and when should you use it?

This is one of our final letters in the performance improvement suite of templates.

It invites the employee to a meeting where you will discuss the fact that:

• they have received a final warning about their performance
• that performance has not improved during the time period set
• dismissal is now a very real next step in the process.

As with all steps in this process, you should be following the structure within your performance improvement policy and bearing in mind the specific terms that you have agreed with the employee in their employment contract.

The letter reiterates some of the earlier detail about how the employee has been warned about the shortfall in their performance and what they were required to do in order to remedy it and to remain employed in this role.

Try to be as clear about your concerns and the performance to which they relate as possible so that the employee cannot claim any misunderstanding or ambiguity in what has been communicated to them.

The next letter in this suite will follow your meeting with the employee and, if you decide to proceed with their dismissal, set out the details around how that dismissal process will work and to what the employee is entitled on the termination of their contract with you.

It’s highly advisable to take legal advice on how you handle the process here.