If your employment has been terminated, it is still possible for you to appeal that decision, particularly if you can demonstrate financial hardship. Employers usually have specific human resources (HR) policies and procedures in place in terms of how they want to see an appeal presented, and what steps need to be taken. Hence, do make sure that you look into the relevant policy and follow the specified procedure.
Reasons Why the Appeal May Be Granted
There are many reasons as to why you may feel your appeal should be granted. Perhaps you were terminated based on incorrect or incomplete evidence, for instance, or perhaps you feel the entire process has been unfair. Hardship, however, is not always accepted by an employer, although it does depend on the reason for termination. It is for this reason that you must be very clear about why you are writing in the first place.
How to Write a Job Termination Appeal Hardship Letter
You must ensure that your letter is properly written in a professional format, and that it is free from grammatical and spelling mistakes. It should also be short and to the point, being no more than one page in length.
The letter is a formal request, so you must make sure it is clear as to what you are requesting. Hence, you must highlight why your employment has been terminated, the financial hardship you now find yourself in, and your suggestion to ameliorate the situation. There are numerous situations in which your employment could have been terminated, including:
- Disciplinary action
- Redundancy
- End of contract
- Refusal to make changes to contracts
Because this is in relation to employment laws, it is usually recommended to make use of the services of a professional. You can choose to see an employment lawyer, or perhaps you can have a union representative working on your side. With professional representation, you have bigger chance of actually following the established procedure and being successful.
What Must Be in the Letter
Writing your letter should begin with the correct form of address, sending it to the person who will make the decision. You must then explain that you are formally appealing the termination of your contract. If it was terminated because of your performance, and you only want to appeal based on hardship, not based on new evidence, then you must, in the letter, admit that your performance was substandard.
The hardship element of a termination of employment is a complex one. In many cases, termination causes hardship, and this could be a sufficient reason to have the decision overturned. In other cases, it is hardship that caused your performance to be below what is expected, and this eventually led to your termination. It is very important that you are clear, open, and honest about this.
Whether or not the termination of employment will actually be reconsidered, you can never be sure. It is not common for leniency to be shown, but you also don’t have anything to lose by at least giving it a try. So long as you are open and honest, your request should at least be considered.
Job Termination Appeal Hardship Letter Example
{Name}
{Address}
{Phone #}
{Date}
Dear {supervisor}:
Since I’ve already been terminated, I feel I have nothing to lose by laying it all out there. Please consider this my appeal of my firing from {position} on {date}.
Working for {company} has been the highlight of my career. I still can’t wrap my head around how {incident} led to me losing a job I truly loved.
What I haven’t told you is that I’ve been under a huge amount of stress due to {describe severe and private personal matter}. It was all too much. I’m ashamed that I let things build up; I truly believe that’s what led to {incident}. I’ve taken steps to get a handle on what’s going on in my private life, and how to keep it from spilling into the workplace.
Please take another look at my performance reviews. They are all stellar. Please check my {sales records/customer feedback}. Please think back on our interactions with one another; we have always had a respectful working relationship. Please ask my coworkers if I am someone they’d trust to have their back.
Please reconsider.
If I could take back {incident}, I would do so in a heartbeat. Since I cannot, I can only tell you how much I regret what happened, and how intensely I would rededicate myself to my job if I were reinstated.
I am open to any performance improvement plan, job reassignment, or disciplinary action the company feels appropriate.
Thank you very much for your consideration. Regardless, I wish only the best for you and the company in the future.
Appreciatively,
{Sender Name}