Letter inviting employee to an appeal hearing (Performance)

What’s an invitation to appeal hearing letter (performance) and when should you use it?

You should use this letter when an employee has appealed against a decision you’ve taken during a performance improvement process.

It is an invitation to request that the employee attend an appeal hearing, so that their appeal may be considered.

this may mean a full rehearing or could just be limited to a review of the original decision.

If the employee is appealing the decision or outcome of a process, prior to inviting the employee to an appeal meeting, you should write to them to acknowledge their appeal.

Ideally, an appeal meeting would be held by another, more senior, but crucially impartial person and not the person who chaired the original meeting.

Even if you’re not convinced that an appeal will alter the outcome of your original decision, you should always be prepared to hold an appeal meeting.

This will help to ensure that you’ve run a robust and fair process that will hold up under further challenges or scrutiny.

Likewise, an employee’s request for an appeal must not be seen to have increased your intended sanction (if any).

What else might you need?

For more information on poor performance and the process involved, you’ll find our step-by-step guide to handling poor performance helpful