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Ask Employment Law |
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Remember:
There is no
substitute for legal advice on the actual situation you find yourself in. The
information posted on this site is for general information only, is based on |
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Question: |
Do Employers have to be provide contracts of employment, and if
so what has to go in
them?
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Answer: |
The
short answer is that yes, the Employer must give each new employee a written statement
of ‘particulars of employment’ no later than two months from the beginning of
employment. This could be in an offer letter or series of letters, and does
not necessarily have to be in a formal employment contract. According
to section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 the following should go in
those written particulars: The names of the
employer and employee The date when the
employment began, and The date on which the
employee’s period of ‘continuous employment’ began (taking into account any
employment with a previous employer which counts towards that period). The pay or the
method of calculating remuneration, The intervals at which
remuneration is paid (that is, weekly, monthly or other specified intervals),
Hours of work
(including any terms and conditions relating to normal working hours), Entitlement to
holidays, including public holidays, and holiday pay. Entitlement to sick pay Entitlement to pension
if applicable. (Remember all employers with five or more staff should be
offering staff a stake holder pension scheme), the length of notice
which the employee is obliged to give and entitled to receive to terminate
his contract of employment, the title of the job
which the employee is employed to do or a brief description of the work for
which he is employed, If the employment is
not intended to be permanent, the period for which it is expected to continue
or, if it is for a fixed term, the date when it is to end, either the place of
work or, where the employee is required or permitted to work at various
places, an indication of that and of the address of the employer, any collective
agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employment where the employee is
required to work outside the United Kingdom for a period of more than one
month— (i) the period for which he is to work outside the
United Kingdom, (ii) the currency in which remuneration is to be
paid while he is working outside the United Kingdom, (iii) any
additional remuneration payable to him, and any benefits to be provided to or
in respect of him, by reason of his being required to work outside the United
Kingdom, and (iv) any terms and conditions relating to his return
to the United Kingdom. In
addition, the employer must specify or refer the employee to the employers
disciplinary and grievance procedure. There
are of course a number of other clauses that the employer would probably also
want to cover in the employment contract including: Probationary period Flexibility of working Whether a driving
licence is required Whether the employee is
required to opt out of the maximum working week under the Working Time
Regulations Whether the employee
has to work additional hours, and if so if overtime is paid Whether the employee is
entitled to pay reviews. Whether the employee is
entitled to bonuses or commission The procedure for
taking holiday What the rate of sick
pay is (statutory sick pay or contractual) and if so how long it is paid for. Retirement age Dress code Confidentiality Whether other work is
allowed Ownership of
intellectual property Whether the employer
can put the employee on ‘garden leave’ or make a payment in lieu of notice Payment of expenses Whether smoking at work
is permitted. Whether there are any
restrictions on the employee after s/he leaves (for example to stop the
employee from poaching clients after s/he leaves) As
with so many things, an employment contract is probably only going to be
looked at closely when the employment relationship starts to go wrong.
However a good employment contract should ideally be a user-friendly document
which helps both parties understand the rights and duties of each and promote
a more harmonious working relationship. See
also our page on changes to
employment contracts. See also our page dealing with employment
contracts at http://www.reculversolicitors.co.uk/employment_contract.htm
to download a free employment contract template compliant with Last
reviewed: July 2010 |
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Employment
Solicitor Reculver
Solicitors Tel
0207 324 6271 Regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ©
Reculver Solicitors. 2005- |
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