An unpleasant but sometimes necessary part of a manager's role is to discipline employees. Following a verbal warning, it is prudent for an employer to issue a disciplinary letter regarding worker insubordination should the behavior continue. This document should describe in detail the unprofessional actions of the employee, his behavior's effects on the workplace and a plan for improvement.

Incident Descriptions

Gather details regarding the incidents of insubordination so you can describe them accurately in the letter. Focus on the facts, including what was spoken and what actions occurred. Be careful to concentrate only on the behaviors and not personality issues as this can be construed as bias on your part. For example, cite rude comments verbatim but do not state the employee had a sour look on her face. Do cite any previous warnings issued for similar behaviors.

Witness Statements

Include documentation of witness statements following accounts of insubordination. List the names of persons who were present at the time, their role in the business such as peer employee, customer or visitor and what they said or did in response to the situation. In some situations, the persons witnessing events might wish to be anonymous in the report; if so, follow their wishes and do not name them or give information which might be inadvertently identify them.

Company Policy Violation

The disciplinary letter you write should cite the company policy on insubordination. You can directly quote the employee handbook so it is implicitly clear to the employee and others who are privy to the document that these actions violated your establishment's protocols. You should also note that the worker was issued a copy of the handbook and underwent training that included a review of the manual.

Action Taken/Improvement Plan

Write the actions taken as part of your letter. For example, the letter might be a warning or it could serve as documentation accompanying a suspension or other discipline given. An improvement plan can be noted as well, along with a time line. You can, for example, instruct the employee to use positive language and work on following directives in a timely manner. The document could state improvement must be shown within three weeks with no further incidents of insubordination for the staff member to remain under your employment.

Signature Page/Comments Section

Conclude a discipline letter with a signature page and section for comments. The signature page should contain lines for your signature and the employee's signature. A comments section at the bottom of the page allows the worker to write a response to the letter. This gives him a chance to refute information contained in the letter and to write down any other remarks he feels are pertinent to the situation.