Before Diving Into The Nitty-Gritty Of Formatting The Offer Letters Correctly,
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Free offer letter templates
An offer letter provides the first brief discernment of a company’s standards and caliber. Considerable amount of time and resources are spent in finding the right people for the job, and to make sure that the selected people start out on a good note requires an intimidating offer letter. An offer letter can also be a great tool towards making the employees get an insight of the workplace culture. Whatever the kind of business or industry, it is always of advantage to provide an offer letter to employees prior to hiring, so that the company can be legally protected from possible accountabilities in future. So what information should really go into an offer letter?
Information That Goes Into An Offer Letter
The Commencing Passage
Starting on a greeting note, it should clearly specify the position offered and the probable start date, should the employee choose to accept the offer.
Salary Information
Include the employee’s annual payment package and the frequency of compensation. Also mention any performance bonus options; company performance review plans and its effect on the compensation depending on the business needs; and overtime information etc.
Area Of Work And Schedule
Outline the employee’s work area and the duties associated with it; and details about the probationary period. Include the title of the employee’s supervisor who should be directly reported to. Also mention the work schedule and hours of work per week, all the while stating whether the duties and schedule is likely to change depending on the company needs.
Benefits
A section of the offer letter should give a rundown of the benefits plans that the employee is eligible for such as medical, insurance etc. and enrollment information. More of this information is provided during the induction program.
Other Information
Another section of the letter should specify the ‘at will’ employment relationship and include information such as compliance laws, discrimination and harassment policies. However, if this information is separately mentioned in the HR handbook or employee manual, a reference should be made to it.
- Also, the offer letter must contain a reference to any additional documents that are being attached to the offer such as confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements, which are also to be signed by the employee along with the offer letter.
- Finally, the letter should clearly communicate how long the employee has, to accept the offer. The date should be specifically mentioned and also, to address any likely queries, details of whom to contact must be provided.
- The offer letter should conclude with acknowledgement statements, followed by employee’s name and signature.
Before scripting the offer letter, there should be immense clarity of what to put down. An offer letter should reflect the company’s aims and purposes and express unambiguously the employment association. State the specific information, especially concerning the salary, work hours and probation. Also, ensure that every piece of information included in the letter is absolute, particularly concerning bonuses and perks, to avoid any future legal ambiguities.
It is always helpful to synchronize with the human resources department or take legal advice prior to composing the offer letter. This is fundamental specifically for business agreements that are complicated.