Offer letter template for a full-time employee

The offer letter template

Copy the letter below into your own letterhead. Text in square brackets is a field to fill in or a line to keep or delete.

[Date]

Dear [Candidate's first name],

[Company name] is pleased to offer you the position of [job title], reporting to [manager's name and title]. This is a full-time, [exempt or nonexempt] position based at [work location, or the remote arrangement].

Your first day of work will be [start date]. Your regular schedule will be [days and hours].

[Optional: Your first [number] months of employment are a probationary period.]

Your starting pay will be [amount] per [hour or year], paid [weekly, every other week, or twice a month], less required withholding. [Optional: You will be eligible for [bonus, commission, or equity] under the terms of [name of the written plan].]

You will be eligible for [benefits, for example health insurance and paid time off] under each plan's terms, starting [date or waiting period].

This offer is contingent on [the checks you require of everyone hired into this job, for example reference checks and a background check]. [If you use a background check company: Before we request a report, we will give you a separate notice and ask your written permission.]

On or before your first day of work for pay, you will complete Section 1 of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Within 3 business days of that first day, you will show us documents of your choice from the form's Lists of Acceptable Documents.

[Optional, only where your state's law and your own policies allow it: Your employment with [Company name] is at will. Either you or [Company name] may end it at any time, for any lawful reason or for no reason. Only [title of the officer] can change this, in a writing that both of us sign.]

To accept, sign below and return this letter by [deadline]. If you have questions, contact [name] at [email or phone].

Sincerely, [Name], [Title], [Company name]

Accepted: [Candidate's signature] [Printed name] [Date]

How to fill in each field of the offer letter

Each field below has one job: to state a term the new hire can rely on. Write it as you will apply it on the first payday.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts bona fide executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and certain computer employees from minimum wage and overtime pay. To qualify, they generally must meet tests on their job duties and be paid on a salary basis. The Department of Labor says job titles do not determine exempt status.[1]

Conditions you can put on a job offer, and where Form I-9 fits

A contingent offer is one that depends on a condition the candidate must still meet, such as a background check. Federal rules shape which conditions you can set, and when.

No later than 3 business days after the first day of work for pay, you complete Section 2 of Form I-9. You may do it as soon as the offer is accepted and Section 1 is done. For a job that lasts less than 3 days, complete it by the first day of work for pay. The employee chooses which acceptable documents to show.[7][6][4]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) adds a rule for every check: apply the same standards to everyone. Asking only people of one race about their criminal records or financial histories is, in its words, "evidence of discrimination."[2]

If a criminal record comes up, the EEOC lists 3 things to weigh. They are the offense and its seriousness, the time since the offense or the end of the sentence, and the job.[5]

At-will language: what it means and when to leave it out

The at-will clause in the template says that either side may end the employment at any time, for any lawful reason or for no reason. The clause is optional.

Montana limits at-will employment by statute. Under its Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act, a discharge without good cause is wrongful once the employee has completed the probationary period.[8][9]

Good cause, in that law, means any reasonable job-related reason for dismissal, based on one of 4 grounds. The first 3 are poor performance of job duties, disrupting the employer's operation, and a material or repeated violation of an express written policy. The fourth is other legitimate business reasons the employer sets in reasonable business judgment.[10]

The law sets a probationary period of 12 months from the first day of work. It applies unless, by then, the employer has set a period or said there is none. An employer can extend it before it ends, up to 18 months in total.[11]

During probation, the statute says either side may end the employment "on notice to the other for any reason or for no reason." The law also gives the employer the broadest discretion when it discharges a managerial or supervisory employee.[8]

Montana's law also makes a discharge wrongful when the employer materially violated an express provision of its own written personnel policy before the discharge. The violation must have deprived the employee of a fair and reasonable opportunity to remain in a position of employment.[8]

Read your handbook before you send the letter, so the 2 documents say the same thing. If a template presents an at-will clause as standard language, check the state where the employee will work before you keep it.

What to change for part-time, hourly, and other offers

The template is written for a full-time employee. Change these lines for other offers:

Before the offer, the interview decides who gets it: see interview questions to ask candidates, with a scoring guide. More employer guides are in the hiring guides.