Disciplinary Outcome Letter template
A disciplinary outcome letter is the written confirmation of the decision reached after a disciplinary hearing — the findings, the sanction (from no action through first and final written warnings to dismissal), how long any warning stays live, the improvement expected, and how the employee can appeal.
It is the document the whole procedure has been building towards, and the one an employment tribunal reads first. A fair hearing followed by a vague or missing outcome letter throws that fairness away: the employee cannot tell what was decided, what must change, or how to challenge it — and you cannot prove you told them.
This template gives you one letter that covers every outcome. Keep the decision paragraph that matches your finding, delete the rest, and it slots straight into the procedure in our disciplinary policy template, aligned with the Acas Code of Practice at each step.
Full text, ready to adapt.
Highlighted fields are placeholders — replace them with your organisation's specifics. A starting point, not legal advice.
Disciplinary Outcome Letter
Letter · Company Policies
1. When to use this letter
Send this letter after a disciplinary hearing, once the chair has adjourned, weighed the evidence, and reached a decision. The Acas Code expects the outcome to be confirmed in writing without unreasonable delay — our disciplinary policy template commits to [number] working days after the hearing, and this letter is how you keep that promise.
It covers every outcome the hearing can produce: no action, a first written warning, a final written warning, dismissal with notice, and summary dismissal for gross misconduct. Never announce the decision in the hearing itself and treat the letter as an afterthought — adjourn, decide, then put everything in writing, because this letter is the record the case will be judged on.
2. What to check before sending
- The process behind the decision followed the Acas Code: a reasonable investigation, a written invitation setting out the allegation and possible outcome, and a hearing at which the employee could respond and be accompanied.
- The sanction is consistent with how {{org.name}} has handled similar cases — inconsistency is one of the first things a tribunal probes.
- Live warnings on file were taken into account; expired warnings were disregarded.
- The warning duration and appeal deadline in the letter match your disciplinary policy — never improvise the numbers letter by letter.
- For a dismissal: the decision-maker has authority to dismiss, the contractual and statutory notice position has been checked on GOV.UK, and final pay, accrued holiday, and return of property are ready to be dealt with.
3. The letter template
Private and confidential — [employee name], [handed over in person / sent by email to [address] / posted to [home address]]
[Date]
Dear [first name],
Outcome of disciplinary hearing — [date of hearing]
I am writing to confirm the outcome of the disciplinary hearing held on [date] at [location], chaired by [name, job title]. You attended [accompanied by [companion's name] / unaccompanied, having been offered the right to be accompanied]. The hearing considered the following allegation: [restate the allegation exactly as it appeared in the invitation letter].
Having considered the evidence, including [the investigation report / witness statements / relevant records] and your response at the hearing, we have concluded that [set out the findings — which allegations are upheld, which are not, and briefly why].
[Keep exactly one of the five decision paragraphs below and delete the other four.]
[Decision — no action:] We have decided that no formal disciplinary action will be taken. The allegation is not upheld and nothing will be placed on your disciplinary record. [If expectations were clarified or informal advice given, note it here.]
[Decision — first written warning:] We have decided that you will receive a first written warning. This warning will remain live on your disciplinary record for [number, e.g. 6] months from the date of this letter, after which it will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes.
[Decision — final written warning:] We have decided that you will receive a final written warning. This warning will remain live on your disciplinary record for [number, e.g. 12] months from the date of this letter, after which it will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes. You should understand that further misconduct while this warning is live is likely to result in dismissal.
[Decision — dismissal with notice:] We have decided that you will be dismissed with notice. The reason is [reason — e.g. further misconduct while a final written warning was live]. Your employment with {{org.name}} will end on [date]. You will [work your notice period of [number] weeks / not be required to work your notice and instead be paid in lieu, as your contract allows].
[Decision — summary dismissal for gross misconduct:] We have decided that your conduct amounts to gross misconduct and that you are summarily dismissed. The reason is [reason]. Your employment with {{org.name}} ends on [date] without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You will be paid up to your final day of employment, together with any accrued but untaken holiday.
[Keep for warnings only:] Going forward, we expect [the specific change required, e.g. full compliance with the cash-handling procedure / no further unauthorised absence] [with immediate effect / by [date]]. [Set out any support offered — retraining, closer supervision, review meetings.] If your conduct does not improve, or there is further misconduct while this warning is live, the likely consequence is [a final written warning / dismissal].
[Keep for dismissals only:] Your final pay, including any accrued but untaken holiday [and subject to any deductions your contract allows], will be paid on [date]. Please return [company property — keys, uniform, laptop, security pass] to [name/role] by [date].
You have the right to appeal against this decision. If you wish to appeal, write to [name, job title] within [number, e.g. 5] working days of receiving this letter, setting out your grounds. The appeal will be heard without unreasonable delay by [name/role — wherever possible, someone senior to and not previously involved in the case], and you have the right to be accompanied at the appeal hearing by a colleague or a trade union representative. The appeal outcome will be confirmed in writing and is final.
A copy of this letter will be kept on your confidential disciplinary file. If anything in it is unclear, please speak to [name/role].
Yours sincerely,
[Name], [job title], {{org.name}}
4. Choosing the right decision paragraph
- No action — the allegation was not upheld, or a formal sanction would be disproportionate. Send the letter anyway: the employee is entitled to know, in writing, that the matter is closed.
- First written warning — misconduct is confirmed and this is the first formal sanction. Keep the improvement paragraph and name a final written warning as the likely next step.
- Final written warning — serious misconduct, or further misconduct while a first warning is live. Keep the improvement paragraph and be explicit that dismissal is the likely next step.
- Dismissal with notice — normally where a final written warning is already live and conduct has not improved. Check the contractual and statutory minimum notice position on GOV.UK before committing to an end date.
- Summary dismissal — gross misconduct only, as defined in your disciplinary policy. No notice or pay in lieu, but accrued untaken holiday is still paid. Because it is the heaviest sanction, be doubly sure the investigation and hearing would stand scrutiny before the letter goes out.
5. Delivery and record-keeping
- Send the letter within the timeframe your disciplinary policy promises. Hand it over in person where you can, or send it by [email / recorded delivery], and note how and when it was delivered.
- File it on the employee's confidential disciplinary file in [system/location], separate from the general personnel file, alongside the invitation letter, hearing notes, and evidence pack.
- Diarise the warning expiry date. Once a warning expires it is disregarded for disciplinary purposes — do not rely on it in a later hearing.
- Diarise the appeal deadline too. If an appeal arrives, acknowledge it and arrange the appeal hearing without unreasonable delay.
- For dismissals, keep the letter and the full case file in line with your data retention policy — this is the document any tribunal claim starts from.
How to adapt this template.
Fill in the hearing details and restate the allegation word-for-word from the invitation letter — the outcome must answer the exact case the employee was asked to meet.
Keep one decision paragraph and delete the other four, then keep the improvement paragraph for warnings or the final-pay paragraph for dismissals.
Copy the warning duration and appeal deadline from your disciplinary policy so every letter uses the same numbers.
Have someone uninvolved read the letter against the evidence before it goes out — findings first, sanction second.
Send it within the promised number of working days, record how it was delivered, and diarise both the appeal deadline and any warning expiry date.
Turn this template into trained, proven behaviour
A policy in a drawer proves nothing. In TrainedTeam this template becomes assigned training with knowledge checks, e-signature acknowledgments, version history, and an audit-ready record of who completed what, when.
Disciplinary Outcome Letter template FAQs
What should a disciplinary outcome letter include?
The decision and the findings behind it, the sanction and how long any warning stays live, the improvement expected and the consequences of further misconduct, and the right of appeal with a named person and a deadline. For a dismissal, the Acas Code adds the reason, the date employment ends, and the notice position.
How long does a written warning stay on file?
There is no statutory duration — you set it in your disciplinary policy. Six months for a first written warning and twelve for a final written warning are common conventions, and Acas's own template uses the same "disregarded for disciplinary purposes after [number] months" formula this letter does. Whatever you choose, apply it consistently to everyone.
How long does an employee have to appeal a disciplinary decision?
The Acas Code sets no fixed deadline — it requires appeals to be dealt with without unreasonable delay. Acas's own outcome letter templates suggest five working days from receiving the letter, which many employers adopt. Whatever deadline your disciplinary policy sets, state it in the letter with a named person to write to.
Does a disciplinary outcome have to be given in writing?
In practice, yes. The Acas Code of Practice says the employee should be informed of the decision in writing, and a tribunal can adjust compensation where an employer unreasonably fails to follow the Code. A verbal outcome also leaves you with no record of the warning, its duration, or the appeal offer — which is a problem the moment anything is disputed.
What happens when a written warning expires?
Once the period stated in the letter ends, the warning is disregarded for future disciplinary purposes — the approach in our disciplinary policy template and in Acas's own letters. The paperwork stays on the confidential file under your data retention policy, but an expired warning should not be used to escalate the sanction in a later case.
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