A job offer letter is the written offer you send a candidate who passed selection. It states the position, pay, start date, employment status, and the deadline to answer. It comes before the employment contract and makes sure both sides hold the same numbers before the candidate resigns from a current job. This guide covers the required contents, the legal points to protect, fixed-term and permanent templates, role variations, and a process for sending many offers at once.
The offer sits at the end of the funnel. Earlier steps are in the interview scorecard template and employee background checks. Candidates you decline are covered in how to reject a candidate.
Offer letter versus employment contract
| Offer letter | Employment contract | |
|---|---|---|
| When issued | After final selection | After the offer is accepted, at the latest on day one |
| Contents | Position, pay, start date, key conditions | Rights and duties, hours, term, other mandatory items |
| Purpose | Align expectations and give the candidate a basis to decide | The legal basis of the employment relationship |
| Negotiable | Yes, before signing | Limited once signed |
Hukumonline notes that an offer signed by both parties can become an agreement under Article 1338 of the Indonesian Civil Code. But a letter that only lists pay and position usually does not meet the list of required contents for a written employment agreement in Article 54(1) of Law 13/2003, such as the employer address and complete worker details. So write the letter as if it binds you, and still issue a contract.
On language, Hukumonline cites Article 31 of Law 24/2009 (as amended by the Job Creation Law), which requires agreements involving Indonesian parties to use Bahasa Indonesia. Keep the Indonesian version as the reference and add English if needed.
What the letter must contain
| Part | Contents | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Full name as on the ID, company, letter number and date | Typo in the candidate name |
| Role and location | Title, direct manager, work location | No location although there are several branches |
| Employment status | Fixed-term (PKWT) or permanent (PKWTT), and the term for PKWT | "Contract staff" with no duration |
| Probation | Length, permanent contracts only | Probation written into a PKWT |
| Pay | Base salary, fixed allowances, variable pay and its conditions, pay date | One take-home figure with no breakdown |
| Benefits | Health and employment social security, leave | No date when coverage starts |
| Start date | Day, date, time, place | No list of documents to bring |
| Offer conditions | Degree check, references, medical check if any | Conditions appear after the candidate resigns |
| Deadline | Last date and time to answer | No deadline, so the seat stays blocked |
| Signatures | Company and candidate | Only the company signs |
Probation rules in Indonesia
- A permanent contract (PKWTT) may require probation of up to three months (Article 60(1), Law 13/2003). If it is not written in the contract or appointment letter, probation is treated as not existing.
- A fixed-term contract (PKWT) cannot require probation. Article 12(2) of Government Regulation 35/2021 makes the clause void.
So for a call center agent on a six-month contract, do not write "three-month probation". Use a mid-term performance review or the renewal decision instead.
Template
Copy and replace the bracketed fields. Permanent (PKWTT) version:
[Letter number] · [Date]
To: [Full name as on ID]
Congratulations. We offer you the position of [title] at [company], based in [location], reporting to [manager]. The employment status is permanent (PKWTT) with a probation period of [number, maximum 3] months.
Base salary is [amount] per month, fixed allowance [amount], and [variable pay and the conditions to earn it]. Salary is paid on the [day] of each month. You will be enrolled in health and employment social security from [date].
Your start date is [day, date], [time], at [address]. Please bring [list of documents].
This offer is conditional on [degree check / references / medical check]. Please confirm by signing this letter no later than [day, date, time]. After that time the offer lapses and the position may be offered to another candidate. The full employment contract will be given to you before or on your first day.
[Signer name and title] · Accepted: [candidate name, date, signature]
For a PKWT version, replace the status line with "fixed-term (PKWT) for [number] months, from [date] to [date]", delete the probation sentence, and state that no probation applies.
Variations by role
| Role | Add to the letter | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Call center agent | Shift pattern, training batch date, whether training is paid, quality targets | Explain pay during training and after it |
| Retail cashier or floor staff | Shift pattern, rest days, uniform | Allowance and overtime details |
| Courier or warehouse | Area, parcel target or piece rate, equipment provided | State how incentives are calculated, not only the top figure |
| Sales | Targets, commission scheme, when commission is paid | Attach a worked commission example |
| Factory staff | Shift and overtime pattern, safety gear | Employment status and term |
Sending many offers at once
In bulk hiring the hard part is getting the right number of people to show up on day one.
- Send more offers than seats only if you can absorb the surplus. Base the ratio on the acceptance rate of your last batch, not a guess.
- Use one template and one deadline per batch so tracking stays simple.
- Keep a backup list: the next candidates by score. Offer to them when someone declines.
- Log every offer in one table:
| Name | Role | Sent | Deadline | Status | Reason for declining | Backup contacted |
|---|
- After the batch, calculate the share of offers accepted and the share who actually showed up on day one. Those two numbers set the offer count for the next batch. Cost it in your cost per hire.
When a candidate declines, goes silent, or negotiates
- Declines: ask the reason briefly, record it, and move to the backup. A repeated reason such as pay or distance points to a problem with the role.
- Silence: one reminder the day before the deadline. After the deadline, treat the offer as expired.
- Negotiates: discuss only the components you can actually move, and issue a revised letter with a new date. Do not agree by chat alone.
- Withdrawal: only for a reason listed in the offer conditions. Hukumonline notes that for a PKWT, the party who ends the relationship early owes damages equal to the wages until the term ends (Article 62, Law 13/2003). For a signed offer, get legal advice first.
Malaysia
The Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 took effect on 1 January 2023 and, according to law firm summaries, extended the Employment Act 1955 to all employees regardless of wage. It also added section 101C, a presumption of employment where there is no written contract. Check the exact provision on written contracts in the official text of Act 265, and have local counsel confirm probation wording for your roles.
Checklist before sending
- Name, role, and salary match the internal approval.
- A PKWT carries no probation clause.
- Variable pay and its conditions are written out.
- Start date, location, and documents to bring are clear.
- Offer conditions and the response deadline are stated.
- Both parties have a signature block.
- The letter goes out by email or an official system, not a personal chat.
Where Inhire fits
Inhire (getinhire.com) is an AI screening and AI interview platform for high-volume hiring. The candidates behind an offer need to be comparable. The Inhire AI interviewer runs the first-round voice interview for every applicant, with a transcript, audio, and a score that includes the quotes behind it. That ranking makes it easier to decide who gets an offer and who goes on the backup list. Inhire does not issue offer letters or contracts, and your team makes every offer decision.
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