Free legal letter templates and examples for employees
The legal letter templates and example documents listed below should help you negotiate a decent settlement agreement (aka compromise agreement) with your employer. They will think that you’ve hired lawyers!
Just click on a sub-heading to jump to the relevant section, or scroll down to browse the full list.
- Grievance letters
These free grievance letter template examples will really help you to secure the settlement agreement deal which you are hoping for.
See list- Negotiation letters
These without prejudice letter templates should help you to secure the settlement agreement deal which you deserve.
See list- Settlement agreements
Here are different settlement agreement templates (which used to be called compromise agreements), and between them you should have plenty to go on.
See list- Subject access requests
A subject access request is a right under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 to request all information that your employer holds, which relates to you.
See list- Tribunal claims
These templates are the details of claims for the ’ET1′ employment tribunals claim forms. Most people just fill in the details on the form itself, but lawyers and other people in the know actually use a separate document to set out the claim details.
See listGrievance letters
These free grievance letter template examples will really help you to secure the settlement agreement deal which you are hoping for.
Grievance letter: Executive demoted & benefits changed
In this example, the employee was a Director of a large building supplies company and he found his package of benefits was changed unilaterally. He had to quit and submit this grievance to get an excellent settlement package. Possible claims include constructive dismissal, breach of contract & disability discrimination.
Grievance appeal letter: Executive demoted & benefits changed
In response to an employer’s reply to a grievance, this is an example of an appeal letter after an employee was forced to resign.
Grievance letter: Appeal after fraud whistleblowing
This grievance appeal is with regards to an employee whom was victimised for whistleblowing that the company was overcharging customers.
Grievance letter: Flexible working discrimination
In order to look after her daughter, our client, a high-power banker requested a flexible working pattern. As she started working from home, she endured ostracising behaviour from his line manager which made her feel that she had no choice other than to negotiate a good settlement agreement to leave. This grievance letter is a key part of those negotiations.
Grievance letter: Constructive dismissal after TUPE transfer
This grievance letter is about a TUPE transfer, where our client’s employing company merged with another, and he was demoted. He also received rude emails, was bullied and threatened with a PIP (performance improvement plan). The employer's apparent aim was to force his resignation by managing him out: a good example of constructive dismissal.
Grievance letter: Made redundant after making complaint
Line manager at a bank was reported for entertaining clients in strip clubs. When an employee reported this, she was made redundant. This seemed like too much of a coincidence, and as we started to look through the redundancy and alerted them to possible claims of unfair dismissal and sex discrimination, they were quick to offer a good settlement agreement.
Grievance letter: Off sick with depression and not given a pay rise
This grievance letter is for an employee of a large telecoms company who had to be taken off work due to depression. After she found that she was passed over for a pay raise the result of this letter was a decent pay-out for her.
Grievance letter: Sales person with commission cut
Without first conferring with him, our client, an English sales manager, had his commission restructured by an American Software Company. The client had the potential to claim for nationality discrimination, constructive dismissal and a breach of contract, and therefore, with this grievance successfully negotiated an exit package and a job to be lined up for him when he left.
Grievance letter: Bullied and discriminated against for depression
Our client’s working life was made difficult when he began to suffer depression. This grievance letter with a without prejudice letter sets out the amount of money our client requests for settlement negotiations.
Grievance letter: Suspended, back injury and equal pay
Our client suffered a back injury due to working too many hours, and therefore had to take time off. Consequently, he was demoted to an inferior role in which he was receiving less than his female counterparts rather than attempting to accommodate this injury. He was later suspended for breaching confidentiality when he attempted to discuss this with his colleagues.
Negotiation letters
These without prejudice letter templates should help you to secure the settlement agreement deal which you deserve.
Without prejudice letter: Made redundant on maternity leave
This without prejudice letter was written by us for a client who was told that she was being made redundant whilst she was on maternity leave (an all too common occurrence unfortunately). The employer tried to misrepresent her job role, saying that she was admin support, whereas in fact her appraisals showed that her role was more managerial. Furthermore she was not put in a pool with other employees, or offered meaningful alternative employment.
Without prejudice letter: Sham redundancy selection
Our client was asked to participate in a sham redundancy selection process. This without prejudice letter aims to prevent tribunal claims before they may arise and suggests that an out of court settlement may be more useful. Possible claims that may arise in these circumstances include those of constructive dismissal, whistleblowing and disability discrimination.
Without prejudice letter: Sham redundancy – bullying and stress
There was no real decrease in our client’s workload, however, he was made redundant. This employee had previously made complaints about bullying and harassment, and this letter concerns how this led him to being singled out for redundancy, when in fact the true aim was unfair dismissal on behalf of the employer.
Without prejudice letter: Unfair redundancy procedure
Our client was unfairly made redundant, and the procedure in which this redundancy was made was unfair. This is expressed in this letter, in which we bring to their attention the unnecessary delays and lack of communication causing the client anxiety and stress; no attempt to consider alternative placements were made; a total lack of consultation procedures. In this letter we suggested that the settlement agreement, starting with a 6months salary pay be made, was inadequate, and that to reflect the less of statutory rights and benefits, as well as to cover the legal costs the client incurred this should be increased.
Without prejudice letter: TUPE, redundancy and corporate takeover
After our client had been successfuly employed for 8 years, his company was taken over by a large corporation. He was made redundant, but should have been protected by TUPE legislation. This letter proposes a settlement agreement exit package as he was unfairly dismissed in the circumstances.
Without prejudice letter: Off sick with stress after bullying & unfair constructive dismissal
In addition to an increased workload, our client endured bullying and adverse comments on Facebook as well as in the office by her line manager which all resulted in her being signed off sick with stress. This without prejudice letter proposes a settlement ex gratia payment of 6 months salary and contractual benefits such as notice pay.
Without prejudice letter: Mishandled grievance and unfair constructive dismissal
Our client raised a grievance after issues at work affected his health. The grievance was mishandled, so we wrote a without prejudice letter on his behalf of which upheld that the delay in response to his grievance letter increased his anxiety and lead to a loss of trust in his employer’s ability to adequately support his return to work. We proposed a settlement agreement of 6-month salary and other benefits, given the evidence the client had to support a claim for constructive unfair dismissal.
Without prejudice email: Unfair constructive dismissal based on discrimination
Our client’s employer proposed a settlement agreement. In a without prejudice response, we seek to improve the employer's offer by arguing that our client could claim for unfair constructive dismissal, based on sex and disability discrimination. The outcome was a much better settlement payment than the client had initially been offered.
Without prejudice letter: Unpaid commission and bonus
This without prejudice letter is for your employer, if -like our client - you are an employee who is owed a specific sum of money, including commission payments or bonus payments. We attached to this letter an ET1 employment tribunal claim form which not only makes the prospect of court action more realistic to the employers, but also prepares a claimant to go ahead and issue a claim if the employer won't otherwise settle.
Without prejudice letter: Tax savings for out of court settlements
Speaking in the employer’s language, this without prejudice letter explains how significant tax savings could be made by agreeing to this letter and singing a settlement agreement with you.
Covid coronavirus: Letter from employee dismissed/made redundant due to lack of work
This template letter is for an employee to send to their employer if they have been dismissed or made redundant due to lack of work caused by the coronavirus situation. If you have been employed for over two years, you may be able to claim for unfair dismissal. If you have been employed for less than 2 years, your options are unfortunately rather limited. However, in either case, you can ask to be furloughed under the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which pays 80% of your salary up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
Redundancy appeal letter 1 of 4: Notice period & whistleblowing
This letter is from our a case whereby our client was being made redundant after he blew the whistle on malpractice. The employer was also trying to offer him only 3 months’ notice pay, when in fact it was supposed to be 3 years! This is first in a series of letters in this case, k), l) and m) are the rest of this case.
Redundancy appeal letter 2 of 4: Notice period & whistleblowing
After a client was made redundant for whistleblowing about malpractice, we sent this letter of response as the 3-year notice pay was ignored, and he was instead offered 3months. The exchanged letters include J), L) and M
Redundancy appeal letter 3 of 4: Notice period & whistleblowing
This letter is from our a case whereby our client was being made redundant after he blew the whistle on malpractice. The employer was also trying to offer him only 3 months’ notice pay, when in fact it was supposed to be 3 years! This is one of a series of 4 letters in this case (2 from each side), j), k) and m) are the rest of this case.
Redundancy appeal letter 4 of 4 final outcome: Notice period & whistleblowing
This letter is the employer’s reply to our letter appealing against redundancy from our case whereby the client was being made redundant after he blew the whistle on malpractice. The employer was also trying to offer him only 3 months’ notice pay, when in fact it was supposed to be 3 years! This is one of a series of 4 letters in this case (2 from each side), j), k) and l) are the rest of this case.
Redundancy on maternity leave: Grievance & without prejudice letter
When our client took maternity from her managing role at a UK international company branch, she was made redundant. Writing to the employer, we highlighted that this amounted to unfair dismissal and that there were visible faults in the redundancy proceedings.
Settlement agreements
Here are different settlement agreement templates (which used to be called compromise agreements), and between them you should have plenty to go on.
Settlement agreement template: Standard version 1
This settlement includes many terms and clauses which feature in ordinary agreements and can readily be adapted for your own use in such circumstances.
Settlement agreement template: Standard version 2
This is a variation of the 1st standard template, which again can be adapted for use in many everyday agreements.
Settlement agreement including pension payment
This settlement agreement includes a tax free ex gratia payment of over £30,000 into an employee’s pension fund. The template is mainly for employees near retirement. It isn’t most appropriate for younger employees as pension money won't be accessible to them for a long time.
Settlement agreement with shares and company car
Primarily for client’s whom have senior executive employee positions, or shares they wish to negotiate as part of their exit package. Employer’s behaviour was not appropriate, and therefore agreed to giving the company car out of good measure.
Settlement agreement for employees with long garden leave or notice period
This is for people who are going on a long garden leave or working out their notice, rather than finishing work straight away. Essentially you sign the first part when originally agreeing to the deal, and then you sign the second part after you have come to the end of your employment. It is supposed to ensure that you don’t do anything bad in between. It is fairly complicated however, and we would urge you to seek specialist legal advice about this.
Subject access requests
A subject access request is a right under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 to request all information that your employer holds, which relates to you.
Subject access request made by employee: Example 1
Use these free subject access request templates to obtain the information you need for negotiating a fair exit package
Subject access request made by employee: Example 2
Use these free subject access request templates to obtain the information you need for negotiating a fair settlement.
Subject access request made by employee: Example 3
Use these free subject access request templates to obtain the information you need for negotiation.
Subject access request made by employee: Example 4
Use these free subject access request templates to obtain the information you need for negotiation.
Tribunal claims
These templates are the details of claims for the ’ET1′ employment tribunals claim forms. Most people just fill in the details on the form itself, but lawyers and other people in the know actually use a separate document to set out the claim details.
ET1 claim form: Unfair redundancy and equal pay
As a way of getting rid of her, this employee was selected for redundancy. She therefore made an equal pay claim as upon dismissal she found that she was being paid less than her male counterparts.
ET1 claim form: Sales commission structure changed after developing depression
This template was used for our client, a sales man, whom was taken off work for a few weeks with depression. To his horror, on return the company had restructured his commission, which had a detrimental effect on his take home pay. In bringing this issue to their attention, any deliberate act was denied and therefore he brought a claim for disability discrimination (for damages to injury to feelings) and unlawful deduction of wages/breach of contract (for the commission lost). For good measure, as he felt that he had no choice but to resign, he also claimed for constructive dismissal and a written statement of employment particulars (not issuing him a contract of employment)
ET1 claim form: Withholding commissions
Our client, an employee at an events manager company, had her employer withhold her commission after she decided to voluntarily leave. With this form, we eventually got this withheld commission back.
ET1 claim form: Race discrimination, breach of contract & withholding commissions
Our client was ostensibly fired from a big recruitment company for having an affair with a client. However, our client claims that it was because he was of Arabic descent and so that his boss could take credit for all his commission.
ET1 claim form: Details of whistleblowing claim
With less than one year’s service, our client was dismissed due to performance, when in fact he blew the whistle on bad practice in a private hospital. He brought a claim for unfair dismissal