Offer letter format: fill it in, download the PDF.

1. Put the company’s name and address at the top, with the date of the letter.
2. Address it to the candidate by name, and say what is offered: the designation, and the department if there is one.
3. Set out the terms in a table — designation, location, employment type, the proposed date of joining, probation, the notice period and the annual cost to company.
4. If you give a monthly breakup, list each earning and the monthly gross, and say that the employer’s PF and gratuity are part of the CTC but not paid monthly.
5. Say the offer is subject to verification of documents, qualifications and references, and that a letter of appointment follows when they join.
6. Give a date to accept by, and a line for the candidate to sign and date.
7. Sign it for the company and download it as a PDF.

Designation

The job title being offered, such as “Sales executive” or “Accounts manager”. The appointment letter, the payslip and every later letter repeat it, so use the title you will keep using.

Proposed date of joining

The day the candidate is expected to start. Probation, the notice period and the first month’s salary all run from the day they actually join.

If the date may move, agree it by phone and re-issue the letter rather than leaving it vague.

Annual CTC (cost to company)

Everything the company will spend on the person in a year: the salary, plus the employer’s PF contribution, the gratuity set aside, and any bonus or insurance you count. It is the figure offers are compared on — not what reaches their bank.

Enter it for the whole year. To see the monthly take-home it works out to, use the in-hand salary calculator.

In-hand salary calculator

Monthly breakup

Each earning paid every month — Basic, HRA, special allowance and so on — and their total, the monthly gross. It is what is earned before PF, ESI and tax are deducted.

Leave out the employer’s PF and gratuity: they are part of the CTC but are not paid monthly, and the letter says so under the table.

For example: Basic ₹20,000 + HRA ₹8,000 + special allowance ₹19,000 = a monthly gross of ₹47,000.

Employment type

Whether the job is permanent, on probation, a fixed-term contract, an internship, an articleship or a consultancy. It tells the candidate what kind of job this is before they resign from their current one.

Probation

A first stretch of the job, often three to six months, after which the employee is confirmed in writing — or the probation is extended. The letter states the date it ends.

Notice period

How many days’ written notice either side must give to end the job, or pay in its place. Thirty days is common for junior roles and sixty to ninety for senior ones.

Accept by

The last day the candidate can accept. With a date, the letter says the offer lapses if it is not accepted by then; without one, the offer has no clear end.

A week is usual. Give longer if they need to resign from their current job first.

Authorised signatory

The person who signs for the company — usually a director, a partner, the proprietor or the HR head. Their name and title print above the signature line.

• Appointment letter format

  An appointment letter is issued when the employee joins. It states the designation, the date of joining, the annual CTC, the probation and the notice period, says the rest of the terms are the company’s policies, and ends with a line for the employee to sign. Fill yours in and download it as a PDF.

• In-hand salary calculator

  Take-home is your gross salary minus employee PF (12% of Basic, at most ₹1,800 a month on the ₹15,000 ceiling), ESI if your gross is ₹21,000 or less, professional tax and income tax — and under the new regime a salary of up to ₹12,75,000 pays no income tax at all.

• Salary slip generator

  A salary slip lists the month’s earnings — Basic, HRA and allowances — then the deductions — PF at 12% of Basic, ESI if gross pay is ₹21,000 or less, professional tax and income tax — and the net pay in figures and in words. Fill in yours and download it as a PDF.

Facto Lite issues the offer letter from the joiner’s own employee record — the same salary structure their first payslip is worked out from. See Payroll.