A justification letter for project delay is a letter that is written by an employee or a manager and is addressed to the employer of the organization. This letter is a way of formally informing the employer about the reasons behind the delay of the project.
When a project is planned, all the activities are time-lined. However, it is not necessary that all the tasks get completed on time. There could be many reasons behind that such as:
- Unavailability of the resources (raw materials, labor, etc.).
- Non-completion of the previous activity on time.
- Incompetent team.
- Difficult boss.
- Demanding client.
- Illnesses or emergencies, etc.
Whatever the reason or justification is, the management needs to know why the project has gotten delayed. Although the employers often are informed orally about the reasons, in an official environment, it is always necessary to document information, and for this formality, a justification letter for project delay is written and sent to the employer.
The details included in such letters may vary as per the circumstances, the delayed time, company policies, client requirements, financial and other costs, etc. However, the general information included entails the following:
- Date.
- Details of the employee.
- Details of the employer.
- Reference to the delayed project.
- Mention increased or changed costs if any (mention and attach any cost-related documents as well).
- Justification and reasons for the delay.
- Supporting statements for making the case strong.
- Attached documents, if any.
- Seek understanding.
- Gratitude.
- Salutations and signature.
Whether this letter and the justification behind the delay get accepted by the employer or not is a separate question, and it does not diminish the importance of this letter, which is a source of formal and written information, and which can be used as a record or a reference. This letter can also be used as evidence, and the employee can claim to have informed the employer in-time so as to evade any consequences or issues.
Sample Justification Letter for Project Delay
Date
Name
Address
Dear Mr. Watson,
This letter is intended to provide you a justification for the delay that was caused in the project ABC during the month of March 20XX, which resulted in the overall delay of the project.
The commencement of the ABC project was planned for the start of March. The timelines of all the different activities were strategized accordingly. Nevertheless, in the first place, the work progression was dependent on the availability of raw materials, which were ordered from China, and was expected at the end of February 20XX. The container, however, reached late, and the project could not be started till the mid of April 20XX.
This did not only affect the project onset but automatically delayed all the subsequent activities. However, in terms of costs, fortunately, we did not have to face any increased financial costs, other than the planned costs, as all the subsequent activities were completed according to the changed plan. Only, the increased cost was the increased time overall.
I understand that the client is upset due to the delayed delivery, but my department has all the required explanations and justifications. We have all the evidence of the shipment delay, which I am attaching which this letter as well. I wanted to provide a formal justification, which is why I am writing this letter. However, we are ready to present our case in front of the client as well.
If you have any questions, please contact me at xxxx.
Thank you for understanding.
Regards,
Samantha Steven.
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