Show cause letter for absenteeism
Absenteeism among employees is a serious issue for employers. Absenteeism leads to lowered productivity and efficiency for the entire organization. Organizations lose thousands of dollars when the rate of absenteeism is high. When an employee is observed to display a strong case of absenteeism, he/she may be issued a show cause letter for absenteeism.
Here are a few circumstances for issuing a show cause letter for absenteeism:
- Employee takes frequent leaves without informing
- The employee fails to provide solid reasons for being absent from work
- The employee spends more time away from his/her desk than on the desk
- Employee takes long breaks
- The employee often arrives late or leaves early without informing
- The employee is deliberately absent on important days
Sample letter
Date
To [employee name]
Subject: Notice of Absenteeism
This is to inform you that your absenteeism has been observed critically. Your absenteeism reflects poorly on organizational performance and leads to lowered productivity not only yours but also those whose work tasks are tied to yours. Here is a summary of the observation:
- You have taken a total of 15 leaves in the past 3 months
- You failed to complete the stipulated 40 hours a week in your contract in several weeks
- You are difficult to access at your desk due to your absenteeism on work
- You failed to complete your assigned tasks within the specified time limits
You are hereby requested to provide a written explanation for your high absenteeism within the next 3 days.
Sincerely,
Irene Husk
Manager Human Resources
Show cause letter for poor performance
A show cause letter for poor performance is written by the employer to the employee. The employee is expected to provide a written explanation for their poor performance.
Usually, no employee is served a show cause letter for performing poorly on a particular day or for a few days. Employees are also humans and may have a bad day or facing some personal issues that affect their performance. However, if an employee’s performance is persistently poor or the employee shows no indication of improving despite multiple warnings; they may be issued a show cause notice.
Here are a few circumstances for issuing a show cause letter for poor performance:
- Failure to perform assigned tasks on a continuous basis
- An employee providing a suboptimal standard of work for long periods of time
- Consistently forgetting assigned tasks
- Being absent while at work
- Not cooperating with colleagues and supervisors
- Remaining confused at work and making big mistakes
- Lack of concentration on work leading to frequent errors
- Poor job efficiency
- Taking too much time for simple tasks
Sample letter
Date:
To [employee name]
Subject: Notice for poor performance
It has been observed that your performance on the job has been highly unsatisfactory for the past five months. Your performance evaluation revealed the following:
- Frequently forgetting to complete assigned tasks
- Poorly written reports with mistakes and incorrect information
- Failing to submit work on given deadlines
- Non-cooperation with team members
- Being absent on important days without properly informing at the office
After being issued repeated warnings for poor performance, you are now being served with a notice provide a written explanation for your poor performance. Your explanation will be considered an important piece of information in the decision on whether to take disciplinary action against you.
Please provide a written explanation for your poor performance on the job within 48 hours to the HR department.
Sincerely,
Mark Evans
Manager Human Resources
