Appointment letter format for Indian employers

What this letter is

An appointment letter is the written contract of employment. It records everything the offer letter proposed plus everything the offer letter deliberately left out: probation, notice, confidentiality, the disciplinary process, and the grounds on which employment ends. It is issued on or immediately after the date of joining and signed by both sides.

When to issue it

On the date of joining, or within whatever period your state Shops and Establishments Act specifies. Do not let it drift. An employee who has worked eight months with no written contract is not an employee without rights, they are an employee whose terms somebody else will decide if there is ever a dispute.

Everything in square brackets is yours to replace. Read the section below on what this letter must contain before you send it, because the template is the easy half.

[COMPANY LETTERHEAD]

Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]

[EMPLOYEE NAME]
[ADDRESS]

Subject: Letter of appointment

Dear [EMPLOYEE NAME],

With reference to your application and the interviews you attended, we are pleased to appoint you as [JOB TITLE] at [COMPANY NAME] on the following terms and conditions.

1. Date of joining and place of work
   Your employment commences on [DD/MM/YYYY]. Your place of work is [LOCATION]. You may be required to work at any other location of the company within [CITY/STATE].

2. Reporting
   You will report to [MANAGER NAME, DESIGNATION].

3. Remuneration
   Basic salary                Rs [AMOUNT] per month
   House rent allowance        Rs [AMOUNT] per month
   [OTHER ALLOWANCE]           Rs [AMOUNT] per month
   Gross monthly salary        Rs [AMOUNT]

   Statutory deductions including employee provident fund, employee state insurance where applicable, and professional tax as levied by [STATE] will be made from your salary in accordance with law.

4. Probation
   You will be on probation for [NUMBER] months from the date of joining. Confirmation is not automatic and will be communicated to you in writing. The company may extend the probation period by a further [NUMBER] months.

5. Notice period
   During probation, either party may terminate this employment by giving [NUMBER] days written notice or salary in lieu of notice. After confirmation, either party may terminate by giving [NUMBER] days written notice or salary in lieu of notice.

6. Hours of work and leave
   Your working hours will be [HOURS] per day across [DAYS] days per week, with [DAY] as your weekly off. You will be entitled to leave in accordance with the [STATE] Shops and Establishments Act and the company leave policy.

7. Confidentiality
   You shall not, during your employment or at any time after it ends, disclose to any person any confidential information of the company, its customers or its employees. On the cessation of your employment you shall return all company property, documents and data in your possession.

8. Termination
   Your employment may be terminated without notice in the event of misconduct, following the procedure set out in the company disciplinary policy [or the certified standing orders applicable to this establishment].

9. General
   You shall be governed by the rules and policies of the company as amended from time to time.

Please sign and return the duplicate copy of this letter as a token of your acceptance.

Yours sincerely,

[NAME]
[DESIGNATION]
[COMPANY NAME]

I have read and accept the terms and conditions above.

Signature: ______________    Date: ____________

What it must contain

• Date of joining, job title, reporting line and place of work.
• The full salary structure, item by item.
• The probation period, its duration, and what happens at the end of it, including whether confirmation is automatic or requires a written confirmation letter.
• The notice period, stated separately for probation and for confirmed employment.
• Working hours, weekly off and leave entitlement, aligned to your state Shops and Establishments Act.
• Confidentiality and return of company property.
• The grounds and process for termination, referring to your standing orders or disciplinary policy if you have either.

The law behind it

India has no single statute governing employment letters. The obligations sit across state Shops and Establishments Acts, which differ from each other, and a handful of central acts that apply to some employers and not others. Each note below names its source and who it applies to.

• Most state Shops and Establishments Acts require a written appointment letter, or written particulars of employment, to be issued to every employee. The wording, the deadline and the prescribed particulars vary by state, so check your own state rules rather than assuming a neighbouring state applies.
• For establishments covered by the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946, certified standing orders override anything in an individual letter that conflicts with them. Writing a two-month notice period into a letter does not survive a standing order that says one month.
• A notice period clause binds both sides or neither. A letter requiring three months from the employee while reserving the right to terminate immediately tends to be read against the employer who drafted it. Make the obligation symmetrical, or accept that the asymmetry may not hold.
• Confidentiality clauses are enforceable in India. Post-employment non-compete clauses generally are not: section 27 of the Indian Contract Act 1872 voids agreements in restraint of trade, and Indian courts have consistently declined to enforce restrictions operating after employment ends. Include confidentiality, do not rely on non-compete.

The mistakes that cost money

• Never issuing one, because an offer letter was sent and felt like enough. The offer letter carries none of the clauses that matter when things go wrong.
• Copying a template from another state without checking leave and hours against your own Shops and Establishments Act. Entitlements genuinely differ, and a letter promising less than your state mandates is unenforceable to that extent while a letter promising more binds you to the higher figure.
• Including a post-employment non-compete and relying on it. It is very likely void under section 27 of the Contract Act, and its presence can make a judge sceptical about the rest of the document.
• Silence on probation confirmation. If the letter does not say what happens when probation ends, an employee whose probation simply lapsed while they carried on working is usually treated as confirmed.
• Not taking a signed copy back. An unsigned appointment letter proves what you offered, not what was agreed.

Questions people ask

The letters that go with this one

Or stop retyping it every time

Shiftelio generates appointment letters as branded A4 PDFs with your letterhead, the employee details filled in from their record, and a repeating header and page count. The dates, designation and salary come out of the same place your payroll does, so the letter and the payslip cannot disagree.

Every letter format in this library