Job Appointment Letter (21+ Sample Letters) – Word | PDF

A job appointment letter is a legal document that a candidate receives once they have gone through a job interview and got selected.

An employer must send this job appointment letter to the qualified candidate. A qualified candidate is a job applicant who has been chosen by the company’s employer after applying for the job and successfully going through an interview(s).

This letter mainly targets employees like auditors, teachers, accountants, designers, software professionals, and individuals looking for an internship. An organization’s employer should send their new employee a formal letter, usually prepared by their Human Resource (HR) department.

There are several reasons why an employer should provide this job appointment letter to their new employee. Some of these reasons are as follows:

• This letter is an official confirmation that an individual has been chosen for the job they applied for and interviewed for.
• The letter highlights the roles of the new employee in their job position as they work at the company or organization.
• It also informs the new employee regarding what to expect about their new employer at their new place of work.
• It provides the terms and conditions of the employer’s job position, and the new employee can review it before signing and accepting the job.

Difference Between Offer Letter and Appointment Letter    

After an employer has completed the recruitment process, there are two important letters that they usually send out, that is, the offer letter and the appointment letter. Unfortunately, most employers tend to confuse these two letters, but they are different.

An offer letter is an official document that an employer sends to a job candidate after they have decided to hire them for a particular job position. The offer letter contains details about the job position, the salary, the benefits the employer is providing, and the job joining date. The main part is that this letter has a deadline date that the chosen candidate must respond to their employer or risk losing the job.

On the other hand, an appointment letter is a confirmation that a particular job candidate has been selected for the job position they had applied for and interviewed for. The appointment letter is sent to a candidate once they have accepted and replied to the offer letter. The details contained in this letter will be addressed later in the article.

Note: An employer will send an offer letter to a candidate to show their intention of hiring them. In contrast, an appointment letter is sent to confirm a hire. Also, for an offer letter, the candidate must reply, unlike an appointment letter.

Some details must be included in the job appointment letter before sending it to the selected job candidate. This section discusses some of the essential components that should be included in this letter. These are:

Name & address of the organization (employer)

The employer should indicate the name and the address of their organization and highlight that they are the ones offering a particular candidate the job. The employer can also indicate their title.

Issuance date of the appointment letter

The employer should indicate the date that the letter is being sent to the qualified and selected job candidate. This signifies the communication date.

Full name and address of the candidate

It is vital for the employer to mention the full name, address, and other contact information of the chosen job candidate. Salutations should also be included since the employer already knows the letter’s receiver.

Job title/position offered

Since the appointment letter is all about confirming a hire, the job position the candidate is being offered should also be indicated in the letter.

Date of commencement and date of joining

The job candidate should also be informed when they are required to join the company and start the job.

Job role & responsibilities

Apart from mentioning the job position of the qualified candidate, the employer should also provide details of the role and responsibilities that the candidate will have at the company based on their job position.

Nature of job

It refers to the lasting period of the work that the job candidate has been selected for, which could be permanent, temporary, or contractual.

1. Permanent– for this case, the job will last as long as the employee wants it, and the conditions are still favorable to them.
2. Temporary– for this case, the employer agrees with the new employer that they will fill the job position for a certain period of time. The employer can choose to extend this period and make the offer permanent if the new employee has great performance.
3. Contractual– Contractual job involves signing a contract between the employer and a new employee before they start working at their new position. It always stipulates how long the employee will be hired by the particular company, usually until the project they are dealing with is complete.

Work hours/ office timing

The employer should highlight the number of hours that their new employee will be working in a day or indicate when they should arrive for work and leave the office at the end of the day.

Probation period

The probation period refers to the company’s trial period that a new employee is given to adapt to the company’s culture and display their skills and work performance. This period determines if the new employee will continue working at the company or not. The employer should inform the new employee of the probation period, the expectations, and the terms like salary and working hours.

Annual & monthly salary

The employer should inform the new employee of their salary and indicate the amount on an annual and monthly basis. If there was an approbation period, the employer should indicate of the salary will be increased or not.

Perks and benefits

Apart from the annual and monthly salary, the perks and benefits of being in the job position should also be highlighted. The new employee should be informed of benefits like health insurance, flexible working hours, bonuses, and retirement packages if the employer is offering them.

Applicable tax deductions

For the final salary, the new employee will be receiving, the employer should indicate the applicable tax deductions and the amount that the employee will receive after their salary has been taxed.

Leave policy

This includes regulations around sick days and vacations periods. The leave policy should be clearly stated, with the number of days per year being well mentioned by the employer for the new employee. The leave policy can also highlight things like paternal leave, maternal leave, and earned leave.

Employment terms & conditions

Since the job appointment letter will act as a contract, indicating the terms and conditions for their employment is an important detail the employer should add in the letter. This way, the new employee knows what they are signing and all the regulations surrounding the acceptance of the job position.

Brief of various company policies

The company has its own culture and policies that guide its daily operations. The letter should therefore highlight briefly these policies that guide the decisions made at the company.

An employee handbook or HR manual

The employer must include the employee handbook in the letter as it addresses the treatment of both parties for a better working environment. The employer will be safe from any discrimination charges if the new employee has received this manual. This is because the employee will know how the company operates and handles its issues in detail. For example, if the new employee misses work without informing their employer and the manual states that such a situation leads to a particular course of action, the employer is safe from unfair treatment charges.

Duration of the contract

The employer should inform the employee about how long their employment contract will last and the conditions surrounding the possible extension of the contract once the project has been completed. This is mainly for new employees who are seeking internships at organizations.

Checklist of documents to be submitted

The employer should indicate the documents that they would like the new employee to arrive with if they choose to accept the employment. This might include identification documents, education certificates, and even the appointment letter.

Security requirements

These details are required from the new employee looking to secure permanent employment if their nature of work is currently temporary.

Commitment or declaration

The employer includes this section to guide the new employee on their expectations throughout the employment period. For instance, the employee might be expected to be respectful and answer to a particular supervisor.

Amendment and enforcement

This information from the employer directs their new employee about what they need to do if they find the job position and all related requirements suitable or want to change some details about their new job position.

Condition for termination

The employer must include this information to highlight the situations that might result in employment termination for the new employee.

Notice period clause

This is a period that the new employee is supposed to give if they choose to leave their job position. Therefore, the employer must indicate the number of days that an employee should give the management when they want to leave the job. The information should also include the person who should be notified of these plans.

Signatures

When it comes to the signature part, the employer should sign off with not only their signature but also mention their full names and an association stamp and stick.

Note: An employer sends an appointment letter to the job candidate before they join the company to give them time to review the terms and conditions before submitting their acceptance. This is usually done by signing a duplicate copy of an appointment letter and sending it to the employer for record-keeping, future reference, and indicating their acceptance of the job.

When crafting a job appointment letter, there are some special considerations or tips that an employer should keep in mind when writing this letter. Some of these important tips are as follows:

Formal tone

A job appointment letter is an official letter, which means that an employer should write it in a formal tone. The employer should formally mention all that was discussed verbally during his/her meeting with the new employee.

Print on the letterhead

The letter should be official, and this can be achieved by including the company’s letterhead printed and signed by the company’s management.

Business letter format

Since an appointment letter is a legally binding document, the format used by the employer to write it should be a formal business format. The terms and conditions should be clearly written, but the tone should remain positive and inspirational.

Open on a congratulatory note

As this letter indicates a new and exciting experience for the new employee, an employer should start the letter by congratulating them. It is also best to end the letter with a welcome note while including all the required details in the body.

Get it reviewed by the legal team

Since this letter is a legally binding document; it is best to get it reviewed by the company’s legal team. This way, they can confirm that all the terms and conditions have been well-crafted.

An official appointment letter should include the day of commencement, employee’s duties, workstation, working hours, cash compensation, and working hours among other important details an employee should know before taking the job. Below is a sample of an appointment letter.

Following are some free downloadable templates for your use.