Employment Certificate Template – free for Word, PDF and Excel

An employment certificate, also called a proof of employment letter or employment verification letter, confirms that someone works or worked for you. Landlords, mortgage lenders, visa offices and new employers usually want the same few facts:

• employer name and address, with a contact who can confirm the letter;
• employee name and job title;
• start date, and the end date if employment has ended;
• contracted hours per week and full-time or part-time status;
• pay, but only if the employee asks you to include it.

Include only what the recipient needs. A date of birth, home address or health information does not belong in a proof of employment letter. In the UK the National Insurance number is only needed on the P45, not on a letter for a landlord.

When an employee leaves, the UK employer must report the leaving date to HMRC in the final Full Payment Submission (FPS) through RTI and give the employee a P45. The P45 carries the tax code and pay and tax to date, so the next employer can operate PAYE correctly. The template collects the details you need for it, including up to 12 months of pay history, but the P45 itself comes from your payroll software.

Ireland and the United States

• Ireland: there is no P45 any more. The employer reports the leaving date to Revenue in the final payroll submission, and the employee can see their employment details in their Revenue account. A proof of employment letter is still common for landlords and banks.
• United States: no federal law requires an employment certificate or a notice period. Employment verification for lenders is usually handled by HR or a third-party verification service, often with the employee's written consent.

Pay history and the redundancy angle

The "Pay 12 months" sheet records gross pay and hours per period. That supports income checks by lenders and helps when calculating notice pay or redundancy pay. In the UK, statutory redundancy pay needs two years' continuous service. In Ireland it needs 104 weeks: two weeks' pay per year of service plus one bonus week, with weekly pay capped at €600. Check the "Checks" sheet to make sure the pay periods fall within the employment dates before you sign.

To whom it may concern,

We confirm that Alex Taylor has been employed by Example Ltd as a Shift Supervisor since 3 March 2025, on a permanent contract of 37.5 hours a week. At Alex's request we confirm a gross annual salary of £28,500. For questions, please contact HR at hr@example.co.uk.

That is all a landlord usually needs: the job, the start date, the hours and, if asked for, the pay. Leave out reasons for absence, performance and anything about health.

Common slips

• The letter shows salary when the employee did not ask for it.
• The end date is missing for someone who has left, so the letter suggests they still work for you.
• Nobody signs, or the contact named cannot confirm the details when the landlord calls.

Current employee:

We confirm that Jordan Lee has been employed by Example Ltd as a Kitchen Supervisor since 1 September 2023. Jordan works 40 hours a week on a permanent contract. This letter is issued at Jordan's request.

Former employee:

We confirm that Jordan Lee was employed by Example Ltd as a Kitchen Supervisor from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2026.

Keep the two versions apart. A letter for someone who has left must show the end date, or it suggests they still work for you.

Who signs, and how to send it

Sign as someone who can confirm the facts, usually HR or the line manager, and add a phone number or email for verification. Send it to the employee, not straight to the landlord or bank, unless they have asked you to. The letter contains personal data, so the employee decides who receives it.

For employees: what to check before you hand it over

• Your name is spelled as on your ID, because lenders and visa offices compare documents.
• The start date matches your contract and payslips.
• Salary is shown only if you want it shown.
• The letter is dated recently. Many lenders want documents from the last 30 days.

Archiving

Keep a copy with the date issued and who asked for it. If the same person asks again six months later, you can reissue it quickly with updated figures instead of starting from scratch.

• The job title in the letter differs from the payslip, so the lender queries it.
• Hours are given as "full time" with no figure. Write "37.5 hours a week".
• The letter is signed by a colleague who can't confirm the facts if the landlord calls.
• An old template still shows a previous company address or logo.
• The letter promises future employment ("will continue to be employed"), which you can't guarantee. Write "is employed on a permanent contract" instead.

If a lender or agency sends its own verification form, fill in that form rather than a letter. It usually asks for the same facts, but in the order its underwriters expect.

Date every letter and use headed paper or a work email address, so the recipient can check where it came from. Keep the verification contact up to date as well. Keep a copy of every certificate you issue in the personnel file.