What Should be in a Nurse Practitioner Contract Termination Letter?

What should go into a contract termination letter from a nurse practitioner?  First, when somebody wants to leave a job, for whatever reason, there’s going to be something in the contract that states how they can terminate the contract. Briefly, usually, it’s one of four ways. Either the initial term just ends, so if you have a two or three-year contract, it doesn’t automatically renew, and it ends. You can move on. A letter is not needed in that circumstance.

You can do it by mutual agreement, and in that circumstance, you wouldn’t need to provide a termination letter. If one of the parties terminates the contract for-cause, let’s say one party is in breach of contract, and the other states, you need to fix the breach, or I’m going to terminate the contract immediately. That would have to be a written letter. However, that’s more of just a notice they’re in breach. That’s not necessarily a termination letter. 

Just Write Your Notice and Leave

The most common scenario when a nurse practitioner would need a termination letter will be if they’re utilizing the without-cause termination provision in their contract. Without-cause termination simply means either party can terminate the agreement at any time with a certain amount of notice to the other. Normally in healthcare, it’s between 30 to 90 days. In a circumstance where an NP said, I don’t want to work with this employer anymore. Then you look in the without-cause termination section in your contract and determine how much time is left. If it’s 90-day notice, then 90 days prior to your leaving, write them a letter.

And then in the letter, it just needs to simply say, per the agreement, I am terminating the contract with 90 days’ notice, and my last day of work will be X date. Thank you for the opportunity. That’s it. I find many healthcare providers find that they want the termination letter to be an airing of grievances. Just listing all the wrong things, here’s all the reasons why I’m leaving, here’s all the things that you screwed up on, all the things I’m unhappy with.

There is no benefit if you are leaving an employer. To go into any of that, it doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t help you. Maybe it can shed some light on some of the problems that the employer has, but that’s not a problem. That’s not your job. If you don’t want to work there anymore, just give notice and leave. And for a couple of reasons, one, even if you’re very unhappy, it still doesn’t make sense to burn bridges when you don’t have to. 

Without Cause Employment Contract 

And then what about a scenario where maybe at the time that you left the job was undesirable, but something happens, a manager quits, and a new one is hired that has a better relationship with or the compensation changes or the venue changes. I mean, many things can happen in a business where things can change quickly. And if you just send some flame thrower of a termination letter, and completely burn the bridge of the employer, even if some of the things that were wrong when you decide to leave have been changed, you may not have the opportunity to go back there simply because you burn the bridge on the way out. So, although I know it feels good emotionally to say, you stink, and therefore I’m leaving, there’s honestly no benefit to the nurse practitioner in doing that.

So, keep it short and sweet. Per the agreement, whatever without-cause section termination that is, you give the exact number of days; this is the date that will be your last day. Appreciate the opportunity, and that’s it. That’s all you must do. You don’t have to make some big justification, just without-cause; that’s all you need legally. You don’t have to provide any reason why. It’s just that I’m terminating the contract, and that’s it. So, those are my thoughts on that. I kind of hear it time to time again about people wanting to put together a two-page letter of termination. And honestly, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense, in my opinion.

Other Blogs Of Interest

• Does a Nurse Practitioner Repay a Bonus if the Contract is Terminated?
• Can a Nurse Practitioner Break Their Contract?
• Nurse Practitioner Non-Compete vs Non-Solicit

What Needs to Go in a Nurse Practitioner Termination Letter?

What needs to be in a termination notice for a nurse practitioner? First, you always want to go to your NP employment contract and look underneath your termination clauses. It honestly depends on why you are terminating your employment. If you are terminating it just because you feel like it’s not a good fit, you don’t like the leadership, the working group, you hate the area, or something like that, you’d want to search for the without-cause termination. In there, you’ll find how many days prior notice you need to give up on your termination. It’s normally anywhere between 60 to 90 days. In that case, if you’re terminating your agreement for a without-cause or no cause reason, you would just simply write in your termination letter that you are terminating your employment.

You are giving your notice starting on this day, and then, per our agreement, my last day will be, and then insert whatever your last date will be. You also want to be careful about how you deliver your termination letter. Again, that’s outlined in your work employment contract, you’re going to look under the provision that says “notices.” Sometimes you’re able to hand-deliver your termination; other times, it must be emailed or certified mail to a certain address or multiple addresses.

You want to be very careful and make sure that you give proper notice as a professional. So, you turn that termination letter in properly because the clock doesn’t start until you give proper notice. If you have a 90-day notice period, and you haven’t given proper notice, and you think you’re on day 30, but they never received your termination letter, that’s difficult. The 90 days or 60 days or anywhere in there does not start until you give proper notice.

You Could Leave Your Job Without Cause 

So, make sure you read your employment agreement. If, for example, it’s a without-cause termination and you have that clause in your contract, writing your termination letter can be very simple. In writing your nurse practitioner resignation letter, you can thank them for the opportunity and let them know that you’re happy to help with the transition, but this is not required by your employment contract. You could just simply state, this is my notice, this is the day that I’m giving my notice, this is my last day. That’s really all you have to have. You don’t have to give a reason if it’s a without-cause termination. 

Now, let’s talk about instances where contracts don’t have without-cause termination. So then, it gets a little bit difficult. If you want to terminate your agreement, there are a couple of different ways you can do it. First, you should know if they have breached the agreement. That will allow for your contract’s termination if they’ve been breached. But you need to give them notice of the breach and what the breach is.

What the breach typically looks like is that they’re not paying you. That would probably be the biggest material breach that you could hold them accountable for and therefore terminate your agreement. Most of the time, though, you will have to give them notice that they are in breach of the contract, and you should also give them the amount of time to cure their breach. If they don’t, then you can terminate the agreement. And then the last way, if they have not breached the agreement, you just went out, but you don’t have a without-cause termination. This is a difficult position to be in. Then you’re kind of at their mercy.

Examples of What You Can Put in Your Notice Letter

In your termination letter, if you do not have a without-cause termination, just saying that one more time, you must ask to be let out of your agreement. So, this time I would put in language asking to be released from your agreement. You can state the reason if you think that it would help your case. It kind of just depends on the situation. Also, I feel like if you need to be let out of your agreement, it might be helpful if you’re going to be moving out of the area.

So, you’re letting them know that you do not want to compete with them. You just have to move back, maybe for family reasons or personal reasons, and you don’t have to get into those. You can just say, for family reasons, I’m moving out of the area, and I need to be released from my employment contract. An NP also must consider the ramifications of their compensation, such as insurance and salary if they leave. 

But you are kind of at their mercy, so the tone of that termination letter, you want to ask and be gracious and let them know that you’re willing to work with them to make the transition as easy as possible. This is kind of a difficult situation. So in this example, I do recommend if your contract does not have a without-cause provision, sometimes it is better to consult with an attorney to kind of discuss the repercussions.

Liquidated Damages

Sometimes in employment agreements, some clauses are called liquidated damages, which just means that if you don’t give proper notice or you terminate the agreement for any reason, without their approval within this specific period or the term of the agreement, they can ask for money from you. And that can be tens of thousands of dollars. So, this is a serious thing that you want to take very seriously. Read your contract first. Look for that without-cause termination. If you have that clause, you’re good to go. Just give your notice. Your resignation letter should let them know that you’re giving your notice on this day; you’re leaving on that day.

If there’s no without-cause termination, you want to check and see are they in breach? If they are, give them notice. You may need to give them time to cure this, and if they don’t, then you can terminate the agreement. And if they’re not in breach of the contract, then you’re kind of at their mercy; you have to be asked to be released. And you want to do this very carefully. If you’re in this situation, I always recommend consulting with an attorney who is familiar with contract employment issues within healthcare practice, specifically those who want to succeed in their nurse practitioner career.