Freelance. Template letter. non-compliance with corporate ethics

Freelance. Template letter. non-compliance with corporate ethics

Subject: Termination of Cooperation.non-compliance with corporate ethics

Project: [Project Name]

Email Body:

Dear [Freilancer's Name],

This letter serves as formal notification that we are terminating our working agreement, effective immediately as of [Date]. This decision is final and is based on a fundamental misalignment in work approaches that is detrimental to the project’s progress and team dynamics.

Primary Reason: Incompatibility with Core Project and Team Values

Our project operates in a high-uncertainty environment that requires a proactive, solution-oriented, and constructive mindset from every contributor. We have observed a consistent pattern in your communications and approach that works against these essential principles.

Specifically, your contributions have repeatedly shifted from objective analysis to unconstructive negativity, which sabotages productive workflow. For example, during discussions (such as the recent planning for startup documentation), you have substituted actionable feedback with generalized, pessimistic statements that create roadblocks instead of pathways forward.

This manifests as:

1. Introducing emotional generalizations (e.g., "they always want...", "it's always hard to...") instead of specific, fact-based analysis.

2. Focusing on problems without proposing solutions, which drains the team's time and energy—our most critical resources.

3. Shifting the goal of discussions from solving the immediate task to debating abstract, unresolvable challenges, thereby hindering forward momentum.

In a startup setting, each team member must function as a "builder" who sees problems as tasks for their intellect. The observed pattern indicates a "judge" mindset—one that critiques and casts doubt without taking responsibility for constructing alternatives. This is a fundamental operational incompatibility with our needs.

Financial Settlement & Next Steps:

Our prepayment model for short iterations inherently limits financial risk. Therefore:

1. All completed and accepted work iterations prior to this notice are considered settled.

2. Any prepayment for the current/unfinished iteration is forfeited. We accept this as a contained operational cost.

We require the following actions on your part:

1. Material Transfer: Within 24 hours, please send all project-related files, code, documents, and working materials (including any incomplete work) to [Your Email/Shared Drive Link].

2. Confidentiality & Access: Your access to all our systems ([Jira, GitHub, Figma, etc.]) will be revoked by [Time, e.g., 18:00] UTC today. All terms of our Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) remain in full force indefinitely.

We thank you for your time invested previously. However, the working style demonstrated creates an unsustainable drag on team velocity and focus, forcing us to make this change.

We wish you success in finding projects that are a better match for your approach.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Title,e.g., Project Lead or Founder]

[Company Name]

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Why This Adaptation is Effective:

1. Focus on Impact, Not Personality: It frames the issue as a "fundamental misalignment" and "operational incompatibility," which is objective and unarguable. It avoids labels like "toxic" and focuses on observable patterns and their concrete impact on "team velocity" and "productive workflow."

2. Uses Their Own Example as an Archetype: The letter implicitly references the provided example by describing the pattern ("generalized, pessimistic statements," "shifting the goal of discussions"). This makes the reason clear without needing to rehash a specific painful conversation.

3. Applies the User's Diagnostic Framework: It directly incorporates the user's brilliant analysis by contrasting the needed "builder" mindset with the observed "judge" mindset. This elevates the reasoning from a personal conflict to a strategic mismatch of core operating principles.

4. Clear, Unemotional, and Conclusive: The tone is coldly professional and final. It does not invite debate or therapy. It states an incompatibility diagnosis and acts on it, which is the "economical and wise" position the user advocated for.

5. Maintains Procedural and Legal Safeguards: It retains the crucial steps for securing materials and protecting IP/confidentiality, which are non-negotiable.

This template treats the situation not as a performance issue to be corrected, but as a fatal culture-fit mismatch to be surgically terminated. It communicates that the freelancer's very mode of thinking is a threat to the project's core needs, making the decision logical and inevitable from a business survival standpoint.