FAULT FREE SHOW CAUSE LETTER

The matters that must be taken into account :

whether there was a valid reason for the dismissal
whether the person was notified of that reason; and
whether the person was given an opportunity to respond to
any reason related to the capacity or conduct of the person;
and

any unreasonable refusal by the employer to allow the accused to
support or assist in any discussions relating to dismissal; and

if the dismissal is related to unsatisfactory performance or non
performer, whether the person had been warned about that
unsatisfactory performance before the dismissal; in this case you
have to prove assistance or supports provided by the employer to
improve his/her performance, such as training and development,
coaching and continuous feedback through the appraisal system

In summary, whether you are an employer or an employee, there is a good
reason to think carefully about any show cause letter.

For employers, in drafting a show cause letter, it is often a time to reflect
on whether an employee has been given sufficient notice, provided
information about the company’s policy and regulations and having
known the acceptance or non acceptance of conducts

Prior to delivering the show cause notice to an employee, it is important to
ensure that sufficient information on the company’s rules and regulations
has been provided, as well as the consequences or penalties or punishment
for not complying with the company’s policy and regulations to minimize
the risk of an unfair and impartial disciplinary action taken against them.

It is crucial to ensure that employees
have acknowledged or known about
the Company’s Policy and Regulations

The differences between rules and policy

Rules – a set of instructions, regulations and guidelines for standard
behavior. It determines the acts which are to be performed or not to
be performed, within the organization.

Policies are formulated for every level, as decision making is done at
each level of management. And, so policies do the job perfectly by
predetermining the problems which are encountered frequently and
repeatedly.

As against, rules are based on policies and procedures. When it
comes to rigidity, rules are more rigid in comparison to policies

Drafting a show
cause letter
effectively

CHECKLIST

Below are some questions to ask when you draft a show cause letter:

Have you identified the issue or case rationally?
What are the central questions that you need the answers?
What is the impact of the issue or case?
Have you explored the case or issue and its relatedness to the
company’s Rules and Regulations as well as the Company’s Policy?
Are there any gaps or irrelevancy of the issue or case that should be
addressed?
How are you going to justify the issue or case?
Have you framed the issue or case concretely

CHECKLIST

What would be the consequences to proceed with the issue or case?
Have you collected SUFFICIENT evidences?
Have you done a comprehensive analysis of the issue?
Is the issue supported by foundational statements?
Have you outlined the facts and figures?
Have you collected all the required evidences?
Does your conclusion logically follow your analysis?

Writing with plain words that convey the content easily
without confusing the readers;
Create shorter sentences;
Keep sentences to a reasonable length;
Use shorter words, where appropriate
Apply the active voice;
Arrange the associated issues together;

• Consider the following examples:
Passive and Active Voice
Example 1 • After reviewing the documentary
evidences, it is concluded that the accused employees
has lied. [Passive voice].
• After reviewing the documentary evidences, the IR
Officer/HR Personnel has concluded that the suspect
had lied. [Active voice].

• • Example 2 • Even though the case has been resolved,

dissatisfaction comment continues about the dismissal case
• Even though the HR Personnel has resolved the case, the
trade union members keep on expressing their dissatisfaction

Passive voice is useful when we wish to hide the identity of the
actor or when we wish to emphasize the action over the actor.

However, in most cases, a skilled legal writer or IR/HR
Personnel will write in the active voice.

Spell the accused’s name, I/C and employee no.,
Division/Department, Position and Addresses correctly;
State the date of incident specifically and correctly;
Draft the specific and accurate accusations !!!!!

Make a reference to the compilation to all the relevant and

supporting documentations, physical evidences, company’s

witnesses and testimonials from the witnesses (outsiders)

Avoid lengthy explanations;
Avoid jargons;
Start different issue or accusation in a new line or
paragraph;

State the specific due date (a reasonable period or
duration) to provide the explanation or justification
pertaining to the accusation;

State the person in charge or personnel to receive the reply
letter from the accused employee
If possible, define legal terms as references;
Relate the issue or accusation to specific clause or sub clause
in accordance to the Acts, Policy and Procedures, Rules and
Regulations or any other legal documentations such as the
Employment Contract, Collective Agreements & etc.

The most critical task is to draft the zero
defect or zero technical error of the
Show Cause Letters!!!

Exercise the legal reasoning to be able to
state conclusions with conviction and
effectively litigate the cause of action.

“The most important is to state the issues or
accusations clearly and accurately.”
And to issue the “perfect

accusations/charges” (provide no room for
the accused to justify and nullify the
charges)

HOW ???????

It requires a clear understanding about the issue to be
able to effectively ascertain the case
It requires to pinpoint the exact legal issues of the case
It’s able to avoid contentions and remedies.
It requires sufficient time spent on understanding the
facts and figures

It requires to relate thoroughly with the applicable and
related laws as well as company’s policy and
procedures as well as rules and regulations
It should minimize the chances of obtaining the non
favorable outcomes
It requires to construct a few related charges or sub-
charges with different perspectives or issues and to
explore the possibilities to avoid the non favourable
outcomes (the dropping of the charges)

By exercising the legal reasoning, to be
able to state conclusions with

conviction and effectively litigate the
cause of action.

ISSUES TO PONDER
What are the results of ineffective legal writing:

“Poor writing skills” will result in company
losing the case;
Lead to the court sanctions,
Give an opportunity to raise arguments and
justifications
Lead to the attack or criticism by the other
parties i.e. employees, trade unions, society and
others

Let’s explore the right WORDS OR SENTENCES in
constructing the accusations or charges;

Generally, avoid direct accusations or charges, the intention
is to prove the wrongdoings

Example ; you have altered or falsified the medical chit….
It should be written; It has been noted that the medical chit
has been falsified or altered….(because we are not sure who
has altered the medical chit, it could be done by the doctor
himself or his/her assistant has recorded wrongly)

Example; You have been caught stealing the company’s
property at 3.00 pm by the Security Guard…

It should be written; You have been caught stealing the
company’s property (WHAT??? To specify) at about 3.00 pm
at the Operation Room No. ,,… (be specific about the
company's property), as we are not sure about the time, we
have to state "about"; if you have the documentary
evidence/printed report or document such as punch cards,
recorded data, it is acceptable) and specify the location)

Example; You have started the provocation which
is ending up in fighting with your coworker in the
workplace…

It should be written; It has been reported that you
had a fight with....... (specify who, name/staff
no,.department, position) at ……(specific location
should have mentioned here)
"Provocation" to include or not depends on the
investigation done, who started first, if not sure
just take out from the statement

Some techniques and styles of writing the show cause effectively;

Word Choices, structure the sentence, misspells or definitional
errors, transitions and punctuation, quotations and paraphrasing
Simplify the words, make it short and precise. Select the most
accurate and descriptive terms. Simplicity, clear and direct words
Making simpler word choices that convey the same meaning without
loss its meaning
Avoid needless words by making short sentences
Avoid flowery statements

Examples;

notwithstanding the fact that …….. Even though, although
prior to ……………Before
subsequent to ……….After
In fact, due to the reason, it has created a
misunderstanding……cause
The inconsistencies in your decision ……your action have
Because of the wrong instruction given by you to the other
parties, it has resulted in ……………..you have instructed

Examples;

Pertaining to that reason; it has led to.. …….... due to, cause
of…..
With regard to the delay in the action taken by you; ……your
failure
It is highlighted in the statement that…… As per clause…
At the time when the incident occurs ….. At about 9.00 a.m. …
Your ignorance to the instruction given has caused ..…… You have
failed
It has stated clearly in the company’s handbook that each employee
should carry out their tasks carefully….. Due to your
carelessness/negligence

CONCLUSION

What we write is actually representing the best of our
interpretation of the law or legal issues. Unfortunately, our
words sometimes fail due to a poorly crafted letter, memo, or
contract. As the HR personnel, we are trained and provided
with the tools necessary to critically assess issues, predict
outcomes, and persuade parties to act. In spite of that we have
to anticipate how our words will be interpreted and should be
able to predict the impact of our words towards any actions
and our organization, or even the public.

Therefore, we have to well versed by acquiring simple steps.
Firstly, we should ask that our sentence or even every word
whether it is necessary to put on paper as later it would create
liability for us.
Thus, just state what is absolutely essential and nothing more,
use simple words and shorten our sentences to avoid
misinterpretation as it could undoubtedly lead to more effective
technical legal writing. By continuing to develop and refine the
writing skills, it could establish your competencies in enhancing
legal writing skills that would make you to become outstanding
as a successful writer. Thus, keep on practicing, learning and,
no doubt, it's your words, what will make you a great writer.

TThyhyoaoauunn!!kk



REVISION
You are required to draft a show cause letter
for any of the following cases;
Insubordination
Negligence
Misconduct (Major)
Poor Performer
Kindly consider all the crucial points learnt
when drafting the Show Cause Letter.