It is very common in today’s fast paced world where everyone is struggling to find a decent and good paying job. Almost everyone, be it undergraduates, fresh graduates and even those who have been in the working force for a while, are still working double or triple time just to get a job. And once the job position is offered and secured, paperwork concerning the job is overlooked. You may also see formal letter examples and samples.
It should be a first priority for new hires especially first time employee to look in depth with the paperwork you are signing. You have to be alert with the terms and conditions that comes with the job especially if it is against your preference and will. If you don’t thoroughly read the printed documents you are about to sign, you may not have the knowledge about the terms that come with it and can o longer do anything about because you have officially accepted it and affixed your signature. You may also like application letter examples & samples.
Not only that, if you do not read the paperwork, you may think you are signing a different document say for example, you think you are about to sign a simple contract but in reality it is still an appointment letter. Therefore, before you even head on and start signing legal documents, you must first know what documents you should sign when you get hired.
In India, it is a common practice for employers to provide qualified candidates with an appointment letter when appointing them a job position. It given after the letter officially offering the job position called the offer letter is given and signed. It usually the culmination of all the interviews, discussion, negotiation and review.
An appointment letter is used by the employer to let the candidate know that he/she has been chosen to fill in the job vacancy in the company. It also serves as a welcome and an overview of he position being offered. The letter aims to boost confidence of the new hire and set the tone for a positive relationship between the new hire and the company. You may also see email cover letter examples.
This letter typically includes some basic information about the position, such as, company name, job title, starting date, salary, salary package, schedule and whether the position is permanent or probationary. It may also include legal terms if the employer decided to ask for a lawyer’s involvement on the letter. It can also include disclaimers that the job and other terms are subject to change when the employer decides to. It can include conditions before qualifying for a final or permanent employment. Lastly, it includes a deadline when the candidate has to accept the position. You may also like complaint letter examples & samples.
In this case, a job appointment letter provides the core information and instructions concerning the offered job position. Should the candidate decide to accept the position, he/she can have the basic information about his/her role in the company including all the paperwork needed and documents needed to be signed and returned.
There can be various uses for an appointment letter. The elements and format of the letter can still be the same for any of the following reasons or purpose:
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Just like any legal document, there are various elements to an appointment letter. Depending on you company’s discretion, here are some elements to an appointment letter:
As it can be sometimes confusing as to what role each letters play in the recruitment process. It is always better to understand the specific functions and roles these letter have. They can significantly affect your employment especially if you do not know what are the contents of each and why and how are they relevant to the job. Here is the difference between an appointment letter and confirmation letter:
1. An appointment letter is provided the a candidate who has been offered an job and accepted the offer. While a confirmation letter is provided to an employee who has successfully completed his/her probationary period and the company considers him/her as an asset to the company. You may also see how not to write a business letter.
2. The appointment letter is given to the candidate officially chosen and appointed by the employer. On the other hand, a confirmation letter is given to an employee after the probation period and states that he/she is now a permanent employee of the company. You may also like recommendation letter examples & samples.
3. An appointment letter is somewhat the culmination of the recruitment process, and the confirmation letter is the culmination of the probation period.
4. The appointment letter refers to the assignment or the role of the position in the company. While the confirmation letter states the nature of the employment of the employee after serving the probation period.
5. The appointment letter states that the chosen candidate must first serve a probation period of for example six months. If the employee is able to perform all tasks successfully within the probation period, the company confirms his/her employment through a confirmation letter. You may also check out resignation letter examples.
6. The main difference between the two is that, the appointment letter is often used to employ new candidates in the company; and the confirmation letter is used to confirm the permanent employee status of the newly hired employees.
7. An appointment letter contains details like salary package, position and probation period, whereas a confirmation letter mentions the benefits that one avails on being confirmed and also the other added benefits. You might be interested in formal letter format examples.
As it should, an appointment letter signifies a start of a new beginning for the newly hired employee. It should also signify a start of something good, set expectations and clearly identify the agreed upon terms and conditions of the position. You may also see complaint letter examples.
The appointment letter should open with a warm congratulations to the newly hired employee and should end with welcoming him/her to the company. However, these should only come secondary to the fact that the body of the letter must contain all the important contents of the offered job position.
There is in fact a big difference between an appointment letter and an employment contract. The appointment letter is basically just the description of the job position the employee is appointed for. It only includes basic information such as company name, job title, starting date, salary, salary package, schedule and whether the position is permanent or probationary. On the other hand, an employment contract are only used for some employees especially top management employees. It contains information regarding compensation and severance pay (if any), length of the contract, if it’s for a specific time, and any specific grounds for termination. A non-disclosure clause and non-compete clause is also included in the contract.
Therefore, it is important to avoid including information that is usually discussed in a contract such as duration of the job, conditions of employment, grounds for termination or resignation, detailed compensation and benefits offerings (it’s okay to cover the basics), or intellectual property components in the appointment letter of the new hire. You may also see how to email a resume and cover letter.
‘At will’ employment is commonly used in the US labor law for a contractual employee. It means an employee can quit any time for any reason but at the same time he/she can be fired by the employer at any time for whatever reason the employer finds. This means there is no binding law or regulation that prohibits the employer to resign at his/her own will or regulations that bans the employer to fire the employee as sees fit. You may also like reference letter examples.
In the appointment letter, clarify that in your state (if allowed), your company recognizes ‘at will’ employment. Make the employee understand that he/she can walk away from the job at will and he/she can be fired without any reason as well.
Some of the essential start information necessary in an appointment letter are as follows: company name, job title, start date, start time, rate of pay, overarching benefits and reporting relationships. Since the significance of an appointment letter is to clarify the basics that comes with the job, always include these information so that the newly hired employee can have a clear picture of his/her job, when to start and how much is his/her compensation. This is can also inspire your new hire on the first day of his/her job and can help boost his/her confidence. You may also check out how to write a job resignation letter.
Make sure the conditions your company has prior to employment such as drug testing for new employees, background checks, credit checks, etc. are stated clearly in the appointment letter in order to inform the candidate before hand. Although it has been discussed during the interview, it is always better to remind the new hire about certain conditions regarding the employment so that he/she is not taken by surprise in case he/she has forgotten the discussion during the interview. You might be interested in vehicle expense reimbursement policy letter.
A signature of the employee is needed to officially recognize the validity of the appointment. Therefore, you should provide two copies. One of the copy should be signed by the employee, dated and returned to the employer within the given deadline. The other copy is retained and kept by the employee for future reference. You may also see writing a cover letter.
If your company has an in-house legal department, let your legal team look over the document to make sure all the information you have added are necessary to included in the appointment letter and can further check if you need to add more relevant information to it. In this way you can avoid facing unnecessary questions or even legal actions in the future regarding the appointment process of the employee. You may also like examples of emotional farewell letters to colleagues.
An appointment letter is not only limited to private companies, some branches of the government also provide appointment letters to ensure that the employee has a clear understanding regarding the job position he/she has accepted to be appointed in. As it can be mostly about the technicalities about the job, the language used is still simple and professional in order to present the information more clearly. You may also see resignation letter examples.
In conclusion, an appointment letter serves as an overview to what entails with the job position the employee is appointed for. It should be made clearly and must be keen in presenting all the details regarding the appointment. It should present all the necessary clauses so that the employee has the chance to review all the agreed terms and conditions during the initial and final interviews. It can also be the last convincing document the company can provide in order to fully persuade the qualified candidate. Lastly, it also serves as a welcoming and friendly gesture the company extends to the newly hired employee. You may also like incident report letter examples.
