An employment offer letter is used when an employer would like to offer a potential employee a position with their organisation.
In this guide, we explain what to include to ensure the individual receives all the information they need to make a decision and to ensure your interests as an employer are protected.
What is an offer of employment letter?
There is no legal requirement for a job offer to be in writing. However, it has become standard, best practice for employers to issue an official letter as a record of the employment relationship with employees, even where a verbal offer has been given.
The employment offer letter should be sent to a successful applicant, following an interview. Its purpose is to identify the role for which the applicant has successfully applied; the employer; and any key information about the job. It can also serve as a cover letter for sending the contract of employment and company handbook.
Even where the offer has been made to the employee the job during the interview or via a phone call, it is advisable to follow it up with a formal offer to ensure you have written confirmation to avoid any confusion on the conditions of the employment.
The employment offer letter should include valuable information about the position that is on offer in order to aid the potential employee with their decision to accept or decline the offer. There may be many details within the letter which previously have not been disclosed to the potential employee and many of them may have been communicated already however the letter will act as a formal confirmation of this. An Offer of Employment Letter is often viewed as a formal beginning to the relationship between an employer and an employee.
What should the offer of employment letter include?
Templates offer letters are widely available, but employers should ensure that any letters they send are adapted to reflect all necessary information relating to the specific role, candidate and organisation. For example, offer letters for senior positions will generally include more extensive information to reflect the enhanced benefits scheme that may be available, and may include reference to restrictive covenants. Where a position has been offered to a candidate conditionally on the premise of achieving certain qualifications, or any other relevant conditions, these can be included within this document also.
Offers of employment typically include the following:
Job title & description
The job title and description set out in the first paragraph of the Offer of Employment should match the job title and description in the Contract.
Start date
A starting date should be given in the Offer of Employment which is the same as the employment starting date given in the Contract.
Conditions of offer
The employer can set conditions which must be fulfilled before an offer of employment is made. Common conditions of an employment offer can include:
- Evidence and confirmation of educational credentials
- Confirmation of employment history
- Satisfactory professional reference checks
- Satisfactory post-offer employment physical and drug test
- Evidence of eligibility to work in the UK
- Satisfactory outcome of pre-employment checks eg Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
Conditional offers, unlike unconditional offers, of employment can be withdrawn by the employer if the applicant does not meet the employer’s conditions within the time frame given. If an offer is withdrawn on this basis, the applicant cannot take any action. As conditional offers can fall through, an employer may want to advise an applicant to wait until the offer becomes unconditional (i.e. all conditions are satisfied or waived) before handing their notice in to a current employer
References
If the offer is subject to receipt of satisfactory references, the employer may want to specify that at least one of the references should be from the applicant’s current employer. If an employer identifies referees in the Offer of Employment, it may ask the applicant to give the names and addresses of those referees, when accepting the offer.
Medical examination
Legally, employers can only ask a successful applicant for a health check before hiring them if it is a legal requirement (e.g. eye tests for commercial vehicle drivers), if health or physical ability is a relevant factor for the job, or as a requirement to membership of any of the benefits the employer offers, for example, health insurance. Employers should include information about medical checks in their offer letter and get written consent from the applicant if it intends to have a medical report from an applicant’s doctor or someone who is or has been responsible for their clinical care. Employers should ensure that any request for a medical report is focused and limited to being relevant to the purpose for which it is obtained.
Under the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (“AMRA”), an applicant does not have to consent to the employer’s request that their doctor provides a medical report, but if the applicant does, he or she is entitled to ask to see the report and ask for it to be changed (if they believe it is misleading) or withheld from the employer. Employers must advise individuals of their rights under AMRA when they ask for their consent.
Medical reports prepared by a company doctor may not fall within the scope of AMRA. However, even where they are outside its scope, a company doctor should be prepared to discuss the contents of a report with a patient and should, as best practice, offer to provide medical reports to the applicant.
Employers must ensure that medical checks do not discriminate against people applying for the job, for example, by targeting only people over a certain age. Medical checks should also not be used to discourage specific groups of people from applying.
Professional qualifications
If a successful applicant is required to hold professional and/or occupational qualifications, a condition should be included in the Offer of Employment to ensure that the applicant produces evidence of this to the employer before starting in the job.
Driving licence
If the successful applicant will be required to drive, this condition should be included in the Offer of Employment. An employer may also require that an applicant’s driving licence is clean (i.e. free from points), especially if driving is an essential part of the job.
Restrictive covenants
An employer may require an applicant to provide a copy of his or her current terms of employment in order to check whether there are any terms which would prevent the applicant from taking up the offer. Alternatively, the applicant can be required to confirm that he or she is free to take up the position, which should flush out any restrictions that might bind the applicant.
Other obligations
The following may also be relevant conditions, which an employer should consider including:
- entering a confidentiality agreement (although the contract may effectively deal with this);
- being available to start the job on or before a given date;
- concluding negotiation of the contract on terms that the employer is happy with;
- satisfactory credit checks;
- criminal record and barring information checks;
- approval by the Financial Conduct Authority;
- shareholder or partnership approval; and/or
- where the employee is to be a director, confirmation that he or she is not subject to restrictions preventing him or her from holding such office.
Starting salary
The starting salary given in the Offer of Employment should reflect the payment details in the Contract. An employer is under no obligation to provide a pay rise or carry out an employment review, unless this is specified in the Contract. Therefore, this only needs to be dealt with in the Offer of Employment if it is provided for in the Contract.
Annual holiday
The Offer of Employment says that the successful applicant will be given leave for 20 days plus public holidays, (which is the statutory minimum), however, if a different arrangement is provided for in the Contract, this should be reflected in the Offer of Employment.
Attachments & enclosures
The Offer of Employment should attach a detailed contract of employment setting out the terms and conditions of the position and also any company handbook. The employer should be send out two copies of the letter so that the successful applicant can sign and return one copy to the employer (along with the Contract) and keep the second copy, for his or her records.
Example employment offer letter
Dear __________
I have pleasure in confirming our offer to you of the position of ______________________________________.
Your starting date will be __________________________.
The offer is subject to receipt of references which are satisfactory to the Company and proof of your right to work in the UK.
[The offer is subject to the Company receiving a satisfactory medical report. For this purpose you will be required to attend a medical examination with the Company’s Medical Advisor. Please contact [name of doctor], telephone number [number] to arrange a suitable appointment.]
[The offer is made on the understanding that you hold [specify professional and/or occupational qualifications] and you will produce evidence of these qualifications prior to you commencing employment with the Company. It is also an express condition of this offer of employment that you retain these qualifications during your employment with the Company.]
[It is a requirement of the job offered that you will hold a current valid Classdriving licence during your employment.]
It is a condition of this employment that you are free to take up and carry out the work offered to you and that you will not be in breach of any express or implied terms of any contract or of any other obligation binding upon you.
The Company will be entitled to terminate your employment without notice should this not be the case.
Your initial starting salary will be £ __________ per annum and will be reviewed in ____________________________.
You will be entitled to 20 days’ annual holiday per year plus eight statutory holidays.
I attach a detailed contract setting out the full terms and conditions applicable to your position and the Company Handbook.
If you have any queries regarding this letter please do not hesitate to contact me. If you wish to accept the offer, please sign the duplicate copy of this letter and the contract attached and return them to me as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
X
Need assistance?
DavidsonMorris’ employment lawyers work with employers on all aspects of workforce management, including recruitment and onboarding processes as well as reviewing and drafting documentation relating to employment offers and terms. Working closely with our team of human resource specialists, we offer a holistic solution to support with legal risk management while protecting the best interests of the organisation in finding and onboarding best talent. For advice on a specific issue, speak to our experts today.
Offer of employment FAQs
Is an offer of employment the same as a contract?
What is a formal offer of employment?
The offer letter serves as a formal offer of the employment position to the applicant and should include summaries of the principal terms and conditions of the offer, information about the role and organisation, and any other detail that will assist the candidate in deciding whether to accept the position.
Are offer letters legally binding?
A job offer letter is legally binding provided it is accepted by both parties and any conditions placed on the offer by the employer are met by the employee.
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Last updated: 21 April 2022