A written warning has two audiences: the employee who needs to change, and the third party — a TWC examiner, an EEOC investigator, a jury — who may someday judge whether the eventual termination was fair. Warnings full of opinions, vague timelines, and missing policy references fail both audiences at once.
This template structures the warning in four numbered parts: an objective, dated description of the specific conduct and the policy it violated; the record of prior discussions; the exact corrective action required with timeline and support offered; and the consequences of continued issues, up to and including termination. An acknowledgment block records receipt — noting explicitly that signing does not mean agreeing.
Who should use this template
- Supervisors escalating from verbal coaching to formal discipline
- HR coordinators standardizing warning letters across managers
- Small businesses whose current ’warnings’ are emails and memory
- Managers documenting performance before a possible termination
What it helps prevent
- Warnings so vague the employee genuinely does not know what to fix
- Termination files with no documented warning history behind them
- Missing policy references that make discipline look arbitrary
- Disputes over whether the employee was ever told
- Unemployment claim losses for lack of documented misconduct
What’s inside
- Part 1 — Specific concern or violation with dates and policy citation
- Part 2 — Prior discussions and warnings record
- Part 3 — Required corrective action with timeline and support
- Part 4 — Consequences of continued issues
- Personnel-file placement language
- Acknowledgment-of-receipt signature block
Before you process payroll, terminate, classify, deduct, or respond to a claim, get the decision reviewed.
Faulkner HR Solutions helps Texas employers, nonprofits, municipalities, and growing businesses fix the people systems behind recurring workplace problems. If this resource raised a risk flag, do not guess your way through the next step.