Letter to place employee on a period of short-time working

Aug 31, 2026

Upload by Jiven

Letter template for confirming an employee’s temporary placement on short-time working due to a genuine business downturn, clarifying that employment continues and the contract is not terminated. Covers the legal basis to place the employee on short-time working, the reduced work days/hours, and how pay is handled for hours actually worked. Includes options for pay or statutory guarantee pay on workless days, mentions possible redundancy payment criteria, and provides guidance for ongoing communication and job centre proof.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatDOCX

Pages3

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Short-time working placement confirmation

Business reasons and legal basis

Duration, days/hours, and pay for hours worked

Pay options for workless days

Ongoing review, continued availability, and support

Letter to place employee on a period of short-time working This letter can be used to place an employee on a period of short-time working, where there are genuine business reasons for a temporary downturn in work. To place an employee on short-time working, you must have the contractual right to do so. Throughout the period of short-time working, you will continue to employ the individual; their employment contract will not be terminated. It’s important to remember that short-time working is not a dismissal, it is merely a request for an employee to temporarily reduce their working hours, due to there being a downturn in work for any reason (eg power outage, bad weather etc), which is not expected to last. You do not have to provide staff with their contractual salary during short-time working (unless the contract says otherwise), but they should be paid in full for all hours worked. For any workless days (ie full days where the employee does no work at all), they may be entitled to receive statutory guarantee pay. Should the employee be on short-time working and earning less than half a normal week’s pay for four consecutive weeks, or any six weeks in a 13-week period, they may be able to request a statutory redundancy payment from you. [Insert name] [Insert address] [Insert date] Dear [insert name], Re: Short-time working placement [Further to our meeting/call on [date]], I am writing to confirm that due to [insert reasons, eg power outage, bad weather, supply chain error, delivery failure, loss of contract etc], our organisation is experiencing a downturn in work. Specifically, [insert details, for example: due to an error by our supplier organisation [name], we have not received a delivery of [food]. As a result, there is a reduction in the amount of food that you are able to prepare]. As such, the organisation must notify you that you are being placed on a period of temporary short-time working, in accordance with your contract, with effect from [date]. We will keep this period of short-time working to a minimum and hope it will not last for any longer than [number] days/weeks. However, we cannot, at this time, confirm the exact duration of these measures. During this time, your days/hours of work will be [insert details]. Whilst you are on short-time working, you will be paid on the basis of hours actually worked. [If no work done for a full day, select from options below and delete as appropriate:] For any workless days, you are entitled to receive statutory guarantee pay (SGP), which is currently paid at a rate of [insert current rate] per day. SGP is payable for a maximum of five workless days in any three-month period. Employees who normally work fewer than five days per week will be entitled to correspondingly fewer days’ SGP. If your normal rate of daily pay is less than the current daily rate of SGP, you will receive this instead. [OR] For any workless days, you will receive [insert details of contractual provisions], as per the terms of your employment contract. [OR] For any workless days, you are not entitled to receive any contractual remuneration. Since you have worked with us for less than one month, you are also not eligible to receive statutory guarantee pay. We would like to assure you that we are keeping the situation under continuous review and are doing everything reasonably possible to enable you to resume normal duties. We will keep you informed of developments and notify you as soon as you are able to do so. [Optional:] Whilst we recognise that this is a difficult position to be in, it’s important to remember that, if we don’t implement measures to protect the long-term viability of the organisation, we will be faced with no option but to consider making compulsory redundancies. We are sure you agree that this is something that must be avoided. Please remember that you have not been dismissed and you are required to continue to make yourself available for work should we contact you to advise you that

FAQs

Is short-time working the same as dismissal under this letter?

No. Short-time working is not a dismissal; the employee remains employed and must make themselves available for work if contacted.

How is the employee paid during short-time working?

The employee is paid based on the hours actually worked. The letter also explains separate treatment for full workless days.

What happens if the employee has workless days during short-time working?

For workless days, the letter provides selectable options, including statutory guarantee pay (SGP) with limits, contractual pay provisions, or no contractual remuneration depending on circumstances.

Aug 31, 2026

Upload by Jiven