An Employment Termination Letter is given to an employee by their employer as formal notice that the employee's position with the company has been terminated, either with or without cause.

The termination letter should include basic information, such as the employee's name and position, the name of their supervisor or manager's name, and the human resources person in charge of the firing process.

An Employment Termination Letter is also known as a:

• Dismissal Letter
• Notice of Termination of Employment
• Job Termination Letter

When an employee is terminated from their position at a company because of a specific event or series of events, then the employee is terminated with cause. Specific details about the event or events that led to the employee being fired should be detailed in the Employment Termination Letter.

Some examples of events that could lead to an employee being terminated are:

• General misconduct, such as theft, fraud, damaging company property, offensive behaviour, or drug and alcohol abuse
• Insubordination, which includes general defiance of authority and/or refusal to obey orders from a supervisor or management
• Absenteeism, such as showing up to work late consistently, leaving work before a scheduled shift ends, or the employee generally not being available during expected times

Termination without cause is when an employee is terminated from their position by their employer for no specific reason.

Most companies have a probation period where an employee can be dismissed from their position without cause. The length of the probationary period varies by company and the province or territory's employment laws, but it is typically three months.

An employee can also be terminated without cause after the three-month probationary period, but in that instance, depending on the province and the employee's position (full-time, part-time, seasonal, etc.), the employer needs to provide the employee with one of the following:

• Written termination notice
• Termination pay (the length of time and the amount of pay the employer is required to pay out varies depending on the province and if the employee is full-time, part-time, seasonal, etc.)
• A combination of termination notice and termination pay

Whether an employer needs to provide written termination notice depends on the employee's employment situation (such as whether they are full-time, part-time, seasonal, etc.), the province where they are employed, and the length of time the employee has been working for the company or business.

In most provinces, employers commonly provide a written notice of termination to employees that they want to let go and have been working at the company for at least three months. However, if an employee has been working for a company for less than a three-month period or they are a seasonal employee, the employer might not be required to give written notice of termination.

An employer can also refer to the employee's specific Employment Contract to determine whether they should provide a termination letter.