If you’ve got employees – or will soon have them – you’ll eventually get a request for an employment verification letter. If you need a definition of what this is, then you’re obviously a lucky stiff who’s never had anybody doubt their state of employment before – these are written by companies for employees for that very purpose. If an employee is relocating for a job, their landlords may request proof of employment before they let the employee sign a lease; some banks and insurance applications want them as well.
Alternatively, some employers have instituted policies that prevent managers from writing reference letters for former employees; these companies may want an employment verification letter in a reference’s stead.
For all the purposes an employment verification letter has, their writing is fairly simple and straightforward. You will probably be able to write a guide for an employee verification letter and use it over and over again, with moderate changes to the template as different employees require. After all, the letter merely proves that the employee in question works or worked for the company. Here’s how to write one:
Day/month/year of letter publication
Mr. Employer
ABC Company
Address of Company
Dear Mr./Mrs. _____________:
Subject: Letter of Employment Verification for John Employee
John Employee has been employed as a Sales Representative at ABC Company since October 4, 1990. John’s base salary as of August 27, 2010 is 100,000.
John’s responsibilities include:
- Quarterly reporting
- Selling product to customers
- Ensuring customer satisfaction with product
You may contact me at email@abccompany.com, or (123) 555-5555 if you have any questions regarding John Employee and his employment with ABC Company.
Sincerely,
Mr. Employer
This is a very general example of an employment verification letter. Here are some extra tips to keep in mind while writing one specific to your needs and the requirements of your employees:
- Only include the information about base pay if the landlord/bank/insurance company requests it. In the event that you are writing an employment verification letter for an employee applying for another job, he or she may not want the new company to know his or her current salary.
- If the employee in question no longer works with your company, adjust the letter to reflect as such. Say something like “John Employee was employed as a Sales Representative with ABC company from October 4, 1990 until July 1, 1995. His last job title was Sales Representative. His ending salary as of July 1, 1995 was 100,000.”
- Do not include any personal information about the employee – address, phone number, employee ID number – unless the employee requests that you do so.
- If the employee who is requesting the letter is no longer employed with your company, do not include the reason for employment termination (even if the employee in question left on good terms) unless this information is specifically requested by the employee, In the event that the employee wants this information included in the employment verification letter, be sure to check with your HR department. There may be specific legal terminology that you’ll need to use to convey the reason for termination properly. For example, there are specific vocabulary involved with persons leaving jobs – “termination,” “mutual agreement,” and “resignation” just to name a few. Failure to use the proper terminology to describe an employee leaving a workplace can result in legal entanglement, so take the extra minutes to check with HR and be sure that you’re using the right ones. The chances of an employment verification letter ending in a lawsuit are small, but it’s best to protect yourself against the possibility.
