Offer letter: what it commits you to, and what it should not

An offer letter is the written offer of employment: the role, the pay, the start date, and the conditions the offer depends on. Once the candidate accepts it, a contract exists — which is why the letter needs to be right rather than warm, and why every condition has to be stated in it rather than assumed.

The common misconception is that the offer letter is a preliminary and the contract is the real document. In practice the letter is frequently the document the parties actually agreed on, and where the later contract differs, the argument is about which one governs.

What an offer letter should state

• Job title, reporting line and place of work, including whether it is remote or hybrid.
• Start date, and whether it is subject to anything.
• Salary and how it is paid, plus any bonus or commission — with the mechanism, not just the maximum.
• Hours and the pattern expected.
• Probation period, its length and the notice that applies during it.
• Holiday entitlement.
• Conditions the offer depends on: references, right to work, background or medical checks, qualifications.
• A deadline for acceptance.
• That the full terms are in the attached contract, and that the contract governs.

The conditions line is the one that has to be complete. An offer that does not say it is subject to satisfactory references is not subject to them, and withdrawing it after a poor reference then becomes a breach rather than a condition not being met.

Language that creates promises you did not intend

Bonus described as "annual bonus of 10%" reads as contractual; "discretionary bonus, currently targeted at 10%, subject to company and individual performance" does not. Career language works the same way: "with a review to senior level after twelve months" is a promise, while "eligible for review" is not.

Enthusiasm in an offer letter is fine. Specific future commitments in it are terms, and they will be read as terms by everyone except the person who wrote them.

Withdrawing an accepted offer is a breach of contract, even if the person has not started. Where a withdrawal is unavoidable — a role disappearing, a condition failing — deal with it as a contractual matter with notice, not as an informal change of mind.

Getting acceptance recorded properly

1. Send the offer and the contract together, so the candidate sees the full terms before accepting.
2. State clearly how to accept and by when.
3. Take acceptance in writing — a signature on the letter, or an unambiguous written confirmation.
4. Complete the conditions before the start date, and record the date each was satisfied.
5. File the accepted offer with the contract; they are one package.

Because acceptance is the moment the obligation starts, it is worth capturing in a way that shows who accepted and when. Ettex Signature records the accepted version with its timestamp and keeps it attached to the employment contract it precedes, so the terms in force are a single retrievable set rather than an email chain. Whether a term should be offered at all remains a decision for the employer.