During the disciplinary process, some employers write a letter to their employees and ask them to show cause for not attending the meeting. Through this letter, the employer delivers a message to the employees. The employees are required to give a reason as to why there should not be any strict action taken against them. In this letter, the employer provides sufficient details so that the employee can write a reply.
Importance of writing the show cause letter:
Whenever there is misconduct on part of the employee, the employer has to take disciplinary action so that concerns drawn at the workplace can be addressed. These concerns can arise when one or more incidents of similar nature occur.
When the employee is seen not attending workplace meetings when something really important is discussed in these gatherings, the employer should ask the employee to tell the reason for this negligence. If the reason makes sense, the employee can be let off with a warning. However, if the reason is baseless or trivial, strict disciplinary action can be taken.
This letter holds so much importance for the employee also as it allows him to come forward and show the cause for not attending the meeting. This way, the employee gets the chance to clear his position. It is important to note that it is a basic right of an employee to write a letter with a description of the reason. If the employee is not given this opportunity, he can take legal action against the employer. To get away with this situation, every employer writes the show cause letter before taking any action.
How to write?
Telling the employee to show cause requires you to be clear and to the point. The details you add to the letter should also be relevant. Have a look at the following steps:
Give subject:
Before you start the letter, add the subject to the letter. The subject mentally prepares the recipient and he reads the letter carefully. It also becomes easy for the reader to understand your message.
Mention the meeting details:
Sometimes the reader has missed multiple meetings and he doesn’t know which meeting you are referring to. Therefore, mention the date and time of the meeting that he has not attended and compel you to ask for a reason.
Mention the penalty:
If the company has decided to punish the employee for not attending the meeting and showing negligence, you should come up with a penalty. Inform the employee about that punishment and give details. For instance, if you are suspending the employee to teach him a lesson, tell him that till when he will remain suspended from work.
Don’t attack personally on the employee to make him feel bad about the negligence he has shown.
Ask him to show cause:
In the end, tell the employee to write a reply with a cause behind not attending the meeting. Let him know that if the company found the cause to be genuine, the decision of the company regarding the penalty would be reconsidered.
Sample letter:
Date:
To:
Name of the company:
Subject: Show cause letter for not attending the meeting held on [X]
Dear Mr. ABC,
It is being notified that you have not attended the meeting held on (mention the date). A notification was issued by the company according to which, every employee was supposed to be attending the meeting at any cost. However, you were still absent after having been informed about it.
Since you have shown serious negligence of work, the company has decided to suspend you from the post of executive sales representative for 1 month.
If you think that this decision should not be taken against you since you had a solid reason to now show up in the meeting, write a reply to this letter and give a reason for your absence from the meeting. If we find out that you cannot defend yourself with some solid arguments, the company will have to take serious actions against you.
Sincerely,
Name of the sender
Designation of the sender in the company
Signatures:
__________________
File: Word (.docx) 2007+ and iPad
Size 17 KB