Offer letter
- Customisable to your needs
- Contains key terms of employment
- Quick and easy to complete
Use this template letter to make an offer of employment to someone. It allows you to set out the key terms of the job offer and information about what references and pre-employment checks you may require.
Within this document you can choose whether to provide a short form or long term offer letter. If you choose a short form offer letter, it is designed to be used alongside our employment contract, and you should enclose a draft contract for the candidate with the letter; see our Employment contract. You can also include a staff handbook, if you wish.
If you choose a long form offer letter, it is designed to be used when you don’t want to enclose a contract with the offer letter, and prefer it to follow later.
Q&A
When should I use this document?
You should use this template offer letter to formally confirm the terms of a job offer and explain what references and pre-employment checks you may require.
When making a job offer, you can choose whether to use a short form offer letter (which is designed to have a draft employment contract enclosed with it) or a long form offer letter (which will be followed up with an employment contract later).
What does this document cover?
The following are covered in this template offer letter:
- key terms of employment;
- details of how many references are required;
- details of what pre-employment checks are required, such as right to work in the UK, confirmation of certain qualifications, completion of a medical check and receipt of a criminal record check; and
- instructions about how to accept the offer and return any required documentation.
Why do I need this document?
Whilst you can make a job offer verbally, you should always follow up in writing and require the candidate to respond in writing.
This ensures that there is no ambiguity about the terms of the offer or whether the candidate accepted. It also ensures that any pre-conditions of the offer, such as the receipt of satisfactory references, are clear.
Where can I find out more?
For further guidance about how to make a job offer and negotiate terms with the candidate, see Making a job offer and negotiating terms.
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