Letter to HR (vacation days denied)!

Question

HiPlease help me with editing or rewrite (if you think I should do that)with this letter which I want to send it to HR. I hope the language inthe letter is so effective so I can get my money back. It is not a lotof money but I feel bad they refused to pay me.Thanks a lot.==HRXYZ IncDear Sir/Madam:I would to inform you that I worked with XYZ Inc from Feb 17, 2008 till March 20,2008I submitted my resignation letter to my former project Manger Mark whatever on March 16, 2009.In year 2008 I was eligible for 10 days vacation, I only exercised to take 5 days. My supervisory Bob whateverHad agreed to allow me to take the other 5 days in year 2009. However,I was not able to take these 5 days vacation in year 2009 since I leftin March 2009. My supervisor told me he would talk to HR to pay me forthese 5 days in my last pay check, however that did not happened.I would appreciate if you can resolve this issue. I have been trying to contact my former supervisor Bob whatever by email and phone but hehas not replied to my messages yet.I believe XYZ Inc is a company which respect employee's right and stand by them. I feel it is not fair that I have not been paid for my vacations which I did not take. It is not about the money, it is aboutthe principle which is validated by management of my former team. I would like to inform you if that issue is not going to be solved I would have to take company XYZ to the court.ThanksMy full namePhone 111-111-11Former employee (from Feb 2008- March 20, 2009)

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi Please help me with editing or rewrite (if you think I should do that) with this letter which I ... get my money back. It is not a lot of money but I feel bad they refused to pay me.[/nq]
When did they refuse to pay you? As I see it, they did pay you but did not include the unexpected 5 vacation days' pay in that paycheck.
[nq:1]Thanks a lot. == HR XYZ Inc Dear Sir/Madam:[/nq]
Dear Sir or Madam: (Slashes should (almost?) never be used in writing, unless they are copied from some original form, like a URL.)

(Personally I don't like "Sir or Madam" either, and I know a lot of people prefer not to use it. First, I'm not sure they should be capitalized, but I'll defer to others on that. Second, it's vague. If it's important enough and you can find out, you should find out the *** of your addressee and use the right title. You can call Payroll and ask who the boss is and address the letter specifically to him or her, by name and not just by title.
[nq:1]I would to inform you that I worked with XYZ Inc from Feb 17, 2008 till March 20,2008[/nq]
Inc. 20, 2008. Both of these end with a period (full stop.) Well, maybe where you are Inc doesn't. What do I know! You should have said where you live and where the recipient of your letter lives.
[nq:1]I submitted my resignation letter to my former project Manger[/nq]
manager Two a's and I see no reason to capitalize it as written. If Project Manager is used as a title, it should be capitalized: to Project Manager Mark Whatever.. BUT to my former project manager Mark Whatever.. The same rules as for all the other titles and ranks.
[nq:1]Mark whatever on March 16, 2009. In year 2008 I was eligible for 10 days vacation, I only exercised to take 5 days. My supervisory Bob whatever[/nq]
"exercised to take"?
supervisor
[nq:1]Had agreed to allow me to take the other 5 days in year 2009.[/nq]
had. Unless this is poetry.
[nq:1]However, I was not able to take these 5 days vacation in year 2009 since I left in March 2009.[/nq]
You can leave this, I guess, but for the record, this doesn't actually make sense. There were 11 weeks in 2009 when you could have taken your vacation days, so the reason couldn't be only that you left in March. Rather just say you still had five days' vacation left. OR "I was not able to take these 5 days' vacation because the department workload was high and I thought it was a bad time to take vacation" or if that's not true,... (I'm tired. You probably don't care anyhow.)

Next time, resign effective March 25th, and take the last 5 days as vacation days. Problem almost solved. But did you really only give them four days' notice?
[nq:1]My supervisor told me he would talk to HR to pay me for these 5 days in my last pay check, however that did not happened.[/nq]
...pay check. However, that did not happen.
[nq:1]I would appreciate if you can resolve this issue. I have been trying to contact my former supervisor Bob whatever by email and phone but he has not replied to my messages yet.[/nq]
What is the point of this? The result is either to make Bob look bad or to give the impression that he has a valid reason not to want to communicate with you. Either one makes you look bad and the first makes him look bad also.
And in addition, isn't Bob the very guy you need to support your claim for the five days' pay? Why are you bad-mouthing him? (By the way, you've talked to Bob once, and now it is better that you contact Payroll. They may well have heard from Bob already, but too late to process what he said in time to include the money in the check they sent. If they haven't heard from Bob yet, they'll either take your word for it that he supports your getting the money, or they'll contact Bob themselves if they need to, or it may be company policy** that everyone gets paid for unused vacation days. So you don't need to nag Bob until Payroll tells you directly or indirectly that you need to.)
**I think most places that is company policy, but there are probably exceptions.
[nq:1]I believe XYZ Inc is a company which respect employee's right and stand by them. I feel it is not ... It is not about the money, it is about the principle which is validated by management of my former team.[/nq]
This is not therapy. They don't care what you think is important, and the issuance of one pay check without all the money is no reason to start impugning their integrity***. Assume they will do the right thing, and don't make speeches about principle. (And everyone thinks it's not fair not to be paid as agreed.)
***True to begin with, and especially since you resigned on 4 days' notice. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. You can only get by on 4 days' notice if you are very easily replaceable on your job, if almost anyone can do your job. It would seem reasonable that leaving in only 4 days is okay if they are overstaffed with people who can do your job, but you should still have asked if it is all right to leave in less than 2 weeks or 30 days, whatever is normal for your type of job. If the boss says No, but you can't delay starting the next job, you still have the power to quit on your chosen day.
[nq:1]I would like to inform you if that issue is not going to be solved I would have to take company XYZ to the court.[/nq]
Omit this. You sound obnoxious. And you are looking for trouble. You won't speed them up by threatening court. People do their jobs at the speed at which they do them**, and if such a sentence affects timing at all, what is more likely to happen is that you will annoy someone and he'll delay your payment for a month or two. Then if you do sue, when the payroll department is notified, then the guy will suddenly find your records and send you the check, and you'll get no more money then than you would now. (And if you don't sue, he'll most likely remember to finish the paperwork 2 months late, or maybe a bit more.)
It is assumed that people will go to court or use whatever other legal remedy they have if they are not paid. A place that has 3 or more levels of management and standardized leave policies is likely not in the habit of cheating employees, and if it is, your threat now will do no good anyhow. It's just obnoxious and annoying.
And if you really think there is a risk you won't get paid, far more effective than these silly threats would be to find out the name, proper spelling of the name, and the title of the manager of the payroll department and address him by name and proper title (on the envelope?) in the inside address and the salutation of the letter.

**Maybe occasionally someone in payroll will rush a correction for someone who is facing eviction or has some other dire need. But even if you were willing to lie, I don't see how you can construct a believable scenario since you are only owed five days' pay.

Add:
Please let me know if there is any more information I should provide.
[nq:1]Thanks[/nq]
Thank you, OR
Sincerely, OR
Thank you for your kind attention.
Sincerely,
[nq:1]My full name Phone 111-111-11 Former employee (from Feb 2008- March 20, 2009)[/nq]
Did you have an employee number?
While I think letters are still important, and I think it's good that iiuc you plan to send this as a letter, and while a check will most likely be mailed to you, perhaps they do have some question they want to ask or they have some need to write you before sending the check. In this day and age, I think it's good to include an email address to make such things easier, and to save everyone time. An interchange by email will often take less than an hour, rather than probably 4 days by mail.

Posters should say where they live, and for which
area they are asking questions. I have lived in
Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 10 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years

Usenet · Answer

I agree with mm's comments and have a few to add.
[nq:1]HR XYZ Inc Dear Sir/Madam: I would to inform you that I worked with XYZ Inc from Feb 17, 2008 till March 20,2008[/nq]
2009
[nq:1]I submitted my resignation letter to my former project Manger Mark whatever on March 16, 2009.[/nq]
If you only gave four days notice then it's not surprising that they didn't get the final paycheck right. It also would not be surprising if they don't think they owe you any favors.
[nq:1]In year 2008 I was eligible for 10 days vacation, I only exercised to take 5 days.[/nq]
I only took five days.
My supervisory Bob whatever
supervisor
[nq:1]Had agreed to allow me to take the other 5 days in year 2009.[/nq]
"had", not "Had". Better to omit "had" anyway: My supervisor, Bob whatever, (note commas) agreed to let me take the remaining five days in 2009.
Was this in accord with company policy? Did Bob have authority to agree to this? If you only gave four days notice then HR may not be in a mood to waive company policy.

John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email

Letter to HR (vacation days denied)!

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