Letter of Concern Template

A letter of concern is typically used when a conduct or performance issue occurs and can act as in informal step in your businesses disciplinary process. As a business owner you should seek to mitigate the risk of a minor issue developing into something more serious. Handling problems effectively and early can prevent the need for further escalation via formal disciplinaries and even dismissals.

Even though it is an informal part of the process you should still ensure the letter of concern process is conducted fairly in accordance with the ACAS code of practice. In this article, we’ll take you through how to use this letter properly and provide you with a sample document to use in your workplace.

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• What is a letter of concern
• What should a letter of concern contain?
• How to write a letter of concern to an employee
• How long does a letter of concern last on record?
• Letters of concern and employment law
• How to use the letter of concern template
• Expert support in employee conduct with Croner

What is a letter of concern?

A letter of concern to an employee in the UK is a document usually sent following a concern with an employee’s performance or an issue of misconduct. This isn’t a formal document and doesn’t need to be kept on an employee’s record, it is considered best practice to keep it on record, however.

What should a letter of concern contain?

As the exact nature of the incident will be heavily dependent on circumstances, there are specifics that should be covered in every letter of concern to an employee. This includes:

• A statement outlining the purpose of the letter and the reason for sending. This should include a reminder of the exact concerns outlined by the employer.
• The letter should outline the specific improvements that you, as an employer wish the employee to undertake. This can include a timeline that you wish for these changes to be made.
• Finally, you should address any concerns that the employee may have, by reiterating that the letter does not form a part of the company's disciplinary process, and therefore the hope is for the issue to be addressed without the need to utilise a formal process. You should also

include that the company is willing to support the employee, where appropriate with making the improvements.

Croner provide a letter of concern template that your business can use.

How to write a letter of concern to an employee

If you’ve had to put together a written warning in the past, you may know what a letter of concern at work looks like. The content is similar, only less formal. It’s important to highlight in the letter that this isn’t a formal warning, merely a precursor. 

The purpose of the document is to encourage the employee to improve without resorting to your formal disciplinary procedure. It should also let them know you are monitoring their work, or behaviour closely. Remember, the purpose is to motivate, not discourage or punish. That will come later if you don’t see an improvement. 

Make sure you include a point of contact for the employee, such as HR, in the letter of concern. Encourage them to make contact if they wish to discuss the issue further.

How long does a letter of concern last on record?

As it is informal, it’s up to you. You are free to highlight a period in which you expect an improvement in performance or behaviour. When you are doing this, however, it’s important to remember to be reasonable.

If you’re dealing with a performance issue, for example, the individual may need the training to help them improve. If you set too strict a deadline to improve and then set no support or key indicators, this may be seen as unreasonable. Furthermore, if this leads to the employee being dismissed, there is a strong possibility that this could result in being taken to an employment tribunal.

Letters of concern and employment law

A letter of concern in the workplace is optional. As a result, there isn’t any employment law governing the use of them specifically. However, it’s important that you treat employees fairly and are reasonable throughout the process. You can do this by following your internal policy and using our template to inform your process. 

How to use the letter of concern template

As there are different reasons for issuing this document, there is no standard letter of concern in the workplace template. You must tailor yours to the situation, employee and intention. In this section, we’ll provide a sample letter of concern template for conduct. 

If your letter follows on from an informal discussion with the employee, your letter should reiterate the key points made in that meeting. Listen to their reasoning for their conduct or performance and make a note of it. Detail the reasons you aren’t satisfied with their behaviour or performance to date. There could be many reasons for this. Some letter of concern examples include:

• Persistent lateness
• Missing deadlines
• Failure to communicate with line manager

In these examples, they may give reasons such as: “traffic always holds me up”, “the deadlines are unreasonable,” or “the line manager is difficult to get hold of”.

You must be ready to take these comments on board and address the issues if there are any, as well as highlight any reasons that are unsatisfactory. Sometimes, this may require an investigation and change to the way of working. 

Next, confirm that this isn’t a formal warning, but that you expect an improvement following the discussion. Follow this up with a statement telling the individual that repeat behaviour or continued poor performance will cause formal disciplinary action.

Finalise the letter with a point of contact. This may be yourself, their direct line manager or an HR representative. Let them know they can contact this person if they have questions.

If you wish to download a letter of concern to an employee sample template, you can do so by clicking the button below.

Expert support in employee conduct with Croner

Croner have been supporting businesses like yours with expert HR and employment law advisory services for over 80 years.  If you need further support with employee conduct or require advice on drafting up an issue specific letter of concern for poor performance, speak to our team today on 0808 501 6651.

Disclaimer: This template is provided ‘as is’ and Croner excludes all representations, warranties, obligations and liabilities in relation to the template to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Croner is not liable for any errors or omissions in the template and shall not be liable for any loss, injury or damage of any kind caused by its use. Use of the template is entirely at the risk of the user, and should you wish to do so then independent legal advice should be sought before use.

Use of the template will be deemed to constitute acceptance of the above terms.