Employment Agreements and Letters of Hire and Letters of Hire

By Sean Griffin, Jan Gartner

two people signing documents on a table

Congregational traditions, governance structures, needs, and resources vary greatly among congregations. The template published here is intended to assist leaders in drafting employment agreements and letters of hire that meet the needs of congregations and their employees. These documents do not constitute legal advice. Congregational leaders and potential employees are advised to consult their own legal counsel to tailor the agreement to both to their congregation’s specific needs and to the employment laws of their state and locality.

UUA Congregational Life, Church Staff Finances, and Transitions staff are available to provide additional resources and answer questions.

Unified Ministerial Agreement Template

For many years, the UUA published separate templates for different ministry contexts—full-time, interim, and others. As of October 2025, there is now a single unified template that includes guidance for a range of ministry settings. Even if you are not currently hiring or revising a minister’s agreement, we encourage you to review this new document.

To create your own document, navigate to the “File” menu and select “Download,” which can then be shared with your own Google drive or converted to a Word document.

Access the template: Fall 2025 Unified Ministerial Agreement (Google Doc)

Key Updates Since Mid-2024

The purpose of this project was to consolidate existing versions, not to change the guidance. However, three provisions have been substantively updated since mid-2024. We strongly recommend that all congregations and ministers amend their agreements in these areas:

  1. The explanatory box under Comprehensive Health Insurance, 3.2.3.1, was changed in the fall of 2024 to reflect new legal understandings.
  2. Extended Medical Leave, 4.7, was revised for clarity in the spring of 2025.
  3. The new guidance under Work Week, 4.0, is for ministers to be given 2 days per week free of congregational responsibilities. Assuring ministers of this weekly time apart from their congregational obligations supports healthy boundaries and optimal mental health and work/life balance.

Sometimes congregants are curious about the minister’s agreement with the congregation. Most congregations adhere to our template quite closely. Rather than sharing the specifics of an individual’s agreement, we suggest inviting interested members to our template and to take any questions to the board.

Non-Ministerial Hires

The Guide to Setting Terms of Employment (Google Doc) (beta version) helps congregations and staff establish shared understandings.

This is not a legal contract template, but it outlines important areas to discuss when hiring new staff.

Letters of Hire

A short letter of hire is often sufficient when bringing on a new employee. The Guide to Setting Terms of Employment includes a dedicated section on Letters of Hire with guidance and sample language.

Please share feedback on the guide by emailing comp@uua.org.

Negotiated Resignations

If your congregation needs to negotiate your minister’s resignation, contact your regional staff for an agreement template and other guidance.

Letters of Employment (Job Verification)

A Letter of Employment verifies an employee’s job title and salary—usually for a lender or landlord.
It can be written by the employee, their manager, or an HR representative.

External resource: How to Write a Letter of Employment (Career Cloud)

Archived Ministerial Agreements

Spring 2025 Agreements (for Reference Only)

This is the last time that separate agreements for different ministry types were posted.

Older Agreements (for Reference Only)

Earlier versions remain available for reference. Minor clarity and formatting updates were made in August 2021.