Keep the show cause letter and your reply confidential. If this is your first misconduct or the first time your performance has slipped, you can insert a plea of mitigation and ask the Management for leniency in punishment. Do not write things like "If I repeat this mistake in future, the Company may terminate me." Saying things like that gives off the effect that you have no confidence in yourself to improve, or worse, not sincere about improving at all. Instead, agree to fix the mistake and not to repeat them. Do not get defensive, just state them as a matter of fact. If there are reasons why you made those mistakes, you can state them briefly. Check your spelling and your sentence construction. Keep it succinct, brief and to-the-point. If, however, the show cause letter was fairly issued and you agree more or less to the allegations made against you, then you can follow these steps to reply: Challenge the letter as a matter of right. If you do not reply, your employer will assume that you have nothing to say to defend yourself and proceed with whatever they want to do and you will be seen as acquiescing. Malicious show cause letters are not issued for your answer, but as an entrapment to find points to justify the next course of action of your employer against you, which is usually dismissal.ĭo not abstain from replying, however, because you need to state your objection towards the contents of the letter or the manner in which is was given to you. You need to ensure that your reply does not contain any loophole which your employer may take advantage of to persecute you further. you were not given the opportunity to ask questions for clarification,Īnd/or other things that make you feel that the show cause letter was unfairly given to you, then you should consult a lawyer, Labour/Industrial Relations officer or your Union rep before you reply. the contents were not adequately explained to you, and/or. the time frame is too short for you to compose a proper reply, and/or. the charges seem to have been deliberately created to get you into trouble, and/or. 
the charges are for performance issues which have already been discussed with your superior and you are already in the early stages of an improvement plan, and/or. the charges are for misconduct that you did not do. The reason why you should ask yourself the five questions above (or other pertinent questions that you can think of) is because sometimes a show cause letter is not issued for genuine reasons. A show cause letter is not a punishment for misconduct or poor performance. If you receive a show cause letter you should reply to defend yourself professionally and tell the sender your side of the story. Either way suffices to fulfill the requirement of "due inquiry" in S.14 of the Employment Act 1955. Sometimes it is used as a standalone mechanism of inquiry on its own. Were the principles of natural justice applied in the show cause letter?Ī show cause letter usually precedes a domestic inquiry. Do you understand the charges sufficiently to be able to produce a coherent reply?. Were the charges levelled against you in the letter clearly-worded or vague?. Was the issuance of the show cause letter appropriate vis-a-vis the circumstances?. Before drafting your reply, sit down and calmly ask yourself these questions: If you receive a show cause letter from your employer, do not get anxious or emotional. How: The show cause letter must contained a precisely-worded allegation of the dispute/misconduct/performance issue including dates, times, places, and the legal provision/contractual obligation that the employee has breached.Īs aforementioned, there is no one universal template for showing cause, because every issue is circumstantially unique. Where: The show cause letter must be given to the employee concerned in the workplace and during his working hours. Why: The idea of a show cause letter is to give an opportunity for the employee to explain himself prior to the Company deciding on the next course of action to resolve the matter. When: When the employee is involved in a workplace dispute, has committed a misconduct or has shown slackness in performance. What: A show cause letter is issued by an employer to an employee requiring the employee to provide an explanation (to show cause) why they should not face disciplinary action for an allegation/allegations of misconduct. 
Let's recap the "What When Why Where and How" of a show cause letter. Samples of replies are available online, but remember that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all reply.
Very little literature, however, has been published on how to REPLY a show cause letter. From HR consultants to lawyers, many experts have authored well-researched articles and blog posts on the subject on the Internet and in print. Much has been said about how to WRITE show cause letters.
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