An apology letter for a mistake at work is a letter that is usually written by an employee and is addressed to the employer. In this letter, the employee acknowledges and apologizes for making a job-related mistake. This type of letter can also be written by an employee to another company’s employer. It will happen if the mistake has impacted the other company, and the employee needs to apologize to it.
An apology letter is an official and written apology, that is kept in the records and may be used as a reference in the case of repetitive mistakes by the employee or his department. If an employee makes a mistake, he might orally apologize to his employer, but along with that, he will have to send in a written apology as well.
However, if the mistake has not impacted the company to a great extent, an oral apology might suffice, and the employer may not demand a written letter. At the same time, the company policies usually always demand an employee to acknowledge and apologize in a written form.
When this type of letter is being written, the employee needs to ensure that his tone depicted through his words throughout the letter should be apologetic. He should draft it carefully so that his letter shows his ownership of the mistake. Blame-game or putting the responsibility for one’s mistake onto someone else’s shoulder should be avoided.
The content of this letter is dependent on many factors, such as:
- The company policies.
- The severity and effects of the mistake.
- The repetitiveness of the mistakes on part of the employee: if he is a foul-up or has made the mistake for the first time.
- The explanation and justification of the mistake, etc.
As the above factors may vary, the letter’s content and length may vary as well from one situation to another, and from one company to another. Generally, when such a letter is being drafted, the following details are included:
- Date of the letter.
- Name and contact information of the addressee.
- Name and contact information of the addresser.
- Specify the mistake and provide its details.
- Clarify the situation in which the mistake was made and provide explanations and justifications.
- Acknowledge the mistake and apologize for it.
- State corrective measures, if any.
- Ensure non-repetition of the mistake.
- Mention any attached documents as evidence or reference.
- Show hope of understanding and acceptance.
- Salutation, signature, and official stamp.
If it is easy to rectify the mistake, or the mistake can be ignored, the employer might accept the apology. However, if the mistake has affected the company in various ways, it might be hard for the employer to accept the apology, and the consequent correspondences or actions might follow.
Dear Ms. Maria,
I am writing this letter to acknowledge and apologize for my mistake of sending the wrong price quotation to ABC Limited on 5th January 20XX.
At that time, there were many projects going on, and many price quotations, which were continuously being revised, were being sent to different companies. I was extremely occupied with all the work pressure. In the realm of that, I sent the wrong non-revised quotation to ABC Limited.
I know it is not a justification, and I should have been more careful. This has never happened to me before during my work career. I am highly embarrassed and regretful. I should have double-checked before sending the quotation.
I have approached the management of ABC Limited and communicated about my mistake. I have also sent the latest updated quotation to them. They were very understanding and cooperative and have accepted the new quotation.
I hope that you will accept my apology. I ensure you that such a mistake will never be repeated.