Exiting your job due to health issues is never an easy prospect. One of the first things on your list is composing your resignation notice. It’s natural to debate how to word your letter and how much information to reveal before sitting down to pen your message.You want to leave your job on a positive note and avoid saying things that could impart a lasting negative impression on management. That may prove to be a challenge, whether you were unhappy in your position or you truly do not wish to resign and your emotions seem to be getting in the way.Having a guide to writing your missive helps, so we’ve provided our resignation due to illness letter templates. Review our best practices and formatting recommendations to craft a letter that confidently accomplishes your objective.
Resignation Due to Illness Letter Template
Below you’ll find a letter from John Stanhope in which he explains that he must resign his position due to a serious illness. John loves his job and is reluctant to leave, but his health issues require time off to rest, undergo treatment, and recover. While John is sorrowful about his impending exit, he successfully maintains a professional tone in conveying his message.
Dear Amy:
Please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation. My physician, Dr. Martha Jones, diagnosed me with stage one lung cancer in early September. As I will begin an aggressive treatment plan on October 28, 2019, I have determined that focusing on recovery is my wisest course of action. As stipulated by my contract, I am giving you my two-week notice. My last day of work at the Reverend Howard Finster Museum will be Friday, October 11, 2019.
My work at the museum has proven to be deeply enriching and satisfying. I have learned a great deal about the late Rev. Finster’s contributions to the Athens community. Additionally, I benefitted from the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most respected visual artists, photographers, and filmmakers from the southern United States, including visionaries such as Freddie Styles, Willie Cole, and Michael Stipe. I am grateful to have helped promote and develop our local arts culture.
I will spend my remaining time working with our Assistant Director, Etta Morehouse; our Exhibits Coordinator, Janis Washington; and our Advancement Director, Hikaru Kobayashi. With these three individuals, I will develop an action plan for the ongoing development of our exhibits, programs, marketing, and community outreach until the museum hires my replacement.
Thank you for the best three years of my professional career. I wish you and the museum staff continued success going forward.
Sincerely,
John Stanhope
How To Write a Resignation Due to Illness Letter
The end goal of your resignation letter is to communicate your decision to leave your job to upper management. At the same time, you should also express your thanks for the experience and skills you’ve gained and explain how you’ll collaborate with other staff members to take charge of your position’s responsibilities. To achieve all these aims, you need to compose your missive carefully, then review and polish its contents to reflect a positive, professional tone.
It’s up to you how extensively you wish to detail the circumstances of your illness. However, you need to clearly state in the first paragraph that you’re resigning. Include your last day of work, as Mr. Stanhope has done in the above resignation due to illness letter template. If company rules or your contract requires a specified notice period, state that you’re adhering to those policies in the opening section.
In the second paragraph, thank your employer for the skills and expertise you’ve obtained. If you’ve had a positive experience, as in Mr. Stanhope’s case, expressing your gratitude may be a little simpler. Yet even if you despise your job, you still need to maintain a certain level of poise. Don’t forget to consider your reader, and mention any opportunities that he or she provided to you.
Finally, close your message by detailing your plan to smoothly transition your responsibilities to other staff. Name coworkers you’re going to involve and specifically mention key duties and major projects you’re going to hand off. Just as the tone of your letter will stick with your former employer, so will your attentiveness to wrapping up loose ends.
What To Avoid in Your Resignation Due to Illness Letter
Regardless of your true feelings about your job, your message must remain polite and businesslike. Despite your health concerns being the chief reason for your exit, you want to maintain as stellar of a reputation as possible and sidestep the possibility of losing face due to a negative tone in your words. No matter what your tenure in your position was like, be sure to relay any positive experiences to your audience. Barring that, you might focus on the skills or knowledge for which you’re thankful to have gained. It’s prudent to ask someone else to review your text to ensure your tone remains professional throughout the letter.
How much about your illness should you share with your employer? That’s a choice you must make, but most individuals resigning a job stick to the basics of their diagnoses. Irrespective of how detailed your explanation becomes, don’t forget to keep the tenor of your message genuine.
How To Follow Up After Sending Your Resignation Due to Illness Letter
It’s likely you’ve already kept your supervisor abreast of health developments affecting your performance. Perhaps you’ve told him or her of your intent to leave prior to composing your letter.
In any case, it’s important to not only verify that management has received your letter but also discuss how to handle the impending vacancy. Arrange to meet with them to discuss the transfer of your current duties to other coworkers either on a permanent basis or until your employer hires or promotes a successor. Because some training and documentation may be necessary to keep everyone on the same page, you need to reach out to your supervisor soon after tendering your official resignation.
Finally, consider informing your colleagues that you’re leaving. You don’t necessarily have to go into specific reasons for your resignation, but you may have some well-wishers and future job references among them.
Top 5 Resignation Due to Illness Letter Writing Takeaways
1. Make your intent to resign the first piece of information
John gets to his point right away in our resignation due to illness letter example, announcing the news of his departure and specifying the last day he’ll report to work.
2. Ensure that you are following company policy or contract requirements
Our letter writer’s employment contract stipulates that he must submit a two-week notice. He’s referred to that requirement in the first paragraph.
3. Thank your employer for positive experiences and skills gained
As John has done in the sample letter, expressing your gratitude in a sincere manner is always a plus. It helps keep the tone of your letter positive and avoids any bridge burning on your part. Our letter writer had an easier time because he enjoyed his job. If that doesn’t hold true for your case, at least thank your employer for the career opportunity.
4. Mention a plan to transfer responsibilities to other employees
Your supervisors want to know how you’re going to ensure the competent handling of your job duties after your resignation. Include your intent to assist with an exit and transition plan, and don’t forget to follow through after you’ve confirmed receipt of your letter.
5. Proofread your missive before sending.
Although your resignation letter is one of your final pieces of on-the-job communication, you still need to maintain an air of professionalism. Review your message and make corrections prior to sending it.
