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Employee write-up template and checklist

A fill-in template for documenting an employee issue, plus a one-page checklist to review it before you hand it over. Free, no sign-up.

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What's inside

  • The four levels we use: Conversational Coaching, Verbal (Documented) Warning, Performance Improvement Plan and Final Written Warning.
  • Sections for the facts, the policy or expectation, prior steps, three positives, measurable expectations, support, consequences and employee comments.
  • An acknowledgment line that says signing confirms receipt, not agreement.
  • A checklist: facts not opinions, no medical details, consequences that match the level, and a check that the write-up doesn't closely follow a complaint or leave request without a clear, documented reason.

Prefer to have it drafted for you? The free Write-Up Builder turns your notes into a neutral, fact-based document and fixes spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

State rules can matter, especially if discipline leads to a firing: see Hawaii, California, Texas, New York and Florida.

General information, AI-prepared, not legal advice. Check your own policies, any union or employment agreement, and the rules where the employee works.