OFFER LETTER1
[DATE]
[CANDIDATE NAME]
[CANDIDATE ADDRESS]
[CANDIDATE ADDRESS]
Dear [CANDIDATE FIRST NAME],
Congratulations! We're delighted to offer you employment at [COMPANY NAME].
We are pleased to offer you the position of [JOB TITLE]. This position will be reporting into [HIRING MANAGER & TITLE ]. The terms of the offer are as follows:
Start Date:​ [MONTH DAY, YEAR]
Salary:​ You will receive an annual salary of [AMOUNT] . This salary will be paid on a [SEMI- MONTHLY/BI-WEEKLY/MONTHLY] basis. Your position is exempt from the state and federal wage and hour laws, which means you are not eligible for overtime2. Your salary will be subject to review and change at the discretion of management.
Sign-On Bonus3: You will receive a sign-on bonus of [AMOUNT], less applicable taxes,
deductions and withholdings. The sign-on bonus will be paid to you within [NUMBER OF DAYS]
following your Start Date, provided you are continuously employed with [COMPANY NAME] through that date. If your employment terminates for any reason before the
one year anniversary of your Start Date, you will be required to repay a pro rata portion
of the bonus to [COMPANY NAME] (based on the number of full calendar months you were employed at [COMPANY NAME] as of your termination date) on or before your last day of employment.
Equity4: We will recommend to [COMPANY NAME]’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) that you be granted [NUMBER OF] restricted stock units for [COMPANY NAME]’s Common Stock (“RSUs”). Vesting of the RSUs requires satisfaction of two vesting conditions: a time-based vesting condition and a liquidity-based condition. You will vest in the RSUs over [NUMBER OF YEARS] with [PERCENTAGE]% of the number of shares vesting on the [DAY] of the month of your one year anniversary with the Company, and then [PERCENTAGE]% vesting on the [DAY] of the month of each [QUARTERLY/ANNUAL] anniversary thereafter, until the grant is fully vested, subject to you continuing in employment or service with the Company through each respective vesting date. Earned RSUs vest and become stock owned by you only after the Company shares are generally liquid, meaning after the Company has been acquired or six months after an initial public offering. The RSUs will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Company’s [YEAR THE PLAN WAS DRAFTED/LAST UPDATED] Equity Incentive Plan and a [restricted stock unit agreement]5 between you and the Company. The grant of such RSUs is subject to the Board’s approval and this promise to recommend such approval is not a promise of compensation and is not intended to create any obligation on the part of [COMPANY NAME]. Further details on any specific RSU grant to you will be provided upon approval of such grant by the Board. The number of RSUs is contingent upon you starting at [COMPANY NAME] by [Start Date].
Benefits: ​During your employment with [COMPANY NAME] you will be entitled to participate in all of our current customary employee benefit plans and programs, subject to eligibility requirements, enrollment criteria, and the other terms and conditions of such plans and programs. [Full family medical coverage will be provided through our company's employee benefit plan. Dental and optical insurance are also available6.] These programs will be available to you immediately on your [start date7]. Summary details of these plans will be sent separately, and you will be required to complete an enrollment process to activate your benefits after your Start Date.
[COMPANY NAME] is a results oriented work environment. [With that in mind we have an open-ended vacation policy that allows the Employee to take vacation when needed to rest and recharge8. Management has the right to revoke this privilege should the employee abuse it.]
Accepting this Offer: This offer will remain valid until [DATE] at midnight [TIME ZONE]. Accordingly, please sign this offer letter prior to said date and time. We can’t wait for you to join our team!
When your signed offer letter is received, we will send you [employee benefit enrollment forms]9 and an employee handbook10 which details our benefit plans and retirement plan. We look forward to welcoming you to the [COMPANY NAME] team.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if we can provide any additional information.
Sincerely,
Signature (hard copy letter)
[DESIGNATED SIGNATORY]
[TITLE]
[COMPANY NAME]
I have read and accept this employment offer.
_____________________________
Signature
_____________________________
Date
- Note to reader: Generally speaking, offer letters are not binding. However, please validate this with an attorney who practices employment law in your jurisdiction.↩
- Note to reader: This varies based on the laws of the applicable jurisdiction.↩
- Note to reader: Sign-on bonuses are not necessarily market/standard practice and have only been included in this template for your consideration.↩
- Note to reader: Equity can be given in many different forms (tokens, RSUs, Options, Phantom Stock etc..). Vesting conditions also can vary. Furthermore, the provision of equity in any form is not necessarily market/standard practice and should be given in-line with company policy and on a case-by-case basis. The equity provision in this template has been included solely for your consideration.↩
- Note to reader: Name of the agreement to the extent that the agreement entered into with the subject employee was not a restricted stock unit agreement.↩
- Note to reader: Please adapt to reflect the coverage that you will be providing to the subject employee.↩
- Note to reader: Please adapt if the coverage start date is after the employee’s start date (eg. if the employee is subject to a probationary period).↩
- Note to reader: Please adapt the language to reflect your company’s vacation policy (eg. open ended or fixed number of weeks and/or any requirements relating to your jurisdiction’s default vacation laws).↩
- Note to reader: Include to the extent that you will be offering employment benefits to the subject employee.↩
- Note to reader: We strongly recommend the creation/use of an employee handbook. If you have not created an employee handbook, we would be happy to help guide you through the process.↩ Offer Letter Template Google Doc