Offer Letter/ Email
The offer letter is an invitation to the employee to accept the establishment of a contract of employment.  It should be short and informal.  The essential information it should contain is:

• The job title, place of work, salary, hours

• Conditions attached to the offer such as satisfactory references and medical.

• The date of starting, and any probationary period.

Our view is that, unless they are specific to the job, other matters such as holidays, pensions, hours of work etc should be covered in an attachment to the offer letter.  The most convenient approach is to bundle all this together in an employee handbook which is sent with the offer letter - see index left for details.

 

The offer letter should make clear that it forms part of the contract of employment as do the relevant parts of the employee handbook.

 

See model forms and letters indexed opposite for an example of such an offer letter.

 

Regret Letter/ Email

Our view is that all individuals who take the trouble to contact an employer expressing interest in employment should receive a polite response.  If employers anticipate receiving a large number of responses then in the advertisement they should request stamped addressed envelopes from those individuals who are unable to supply an email address but still want some response.

 

If an individual has attended for an interview then they should also be given the chance to discuss their performance by telephone and receive a confirmatory communication (letter or email) regarding the outcome.

 

See model forms and letters indexed opposite for examples of regret letters.