Safe Employment Contracts (PDF)

1. Forming and issuing a contract

1.1. What is a contract of employment?

1.2. How is the contract formed?

1.3. Can what we promise in an offer letter form part of the contract?

1.4. If there’s no legal requirement, why bother with a contract?

1.5. Does the employee have to sign the contract?

1.6. Can we make a conditional offer of employment?

1.7. Can we change our mind after making a job offer?

2. The written statement

2.1. Are we legally obliged to issue written contracts?

2.2. What must we include?

2.3. What is the penalty if we don’t provide a written statement?

2.4. What if we change one of the employment particulars?

2.5. What do we include under hours of work?

2.6. What do we say about holidays?

2.7. What’s the latest on overtime and holiday pay?

2.8. Does the same position apply in respect of commission and holiday pay?

2.9. What about sick pay and leave?

2.10. Do we have to be careful with attendance-related bonuses?

2.11. Does annual leave continue to accrue during sickness absence?

2.12. What should we say about notice?

2.13. Should we include a mobility clause?

2.14. What level of detail do we need to give about other benefits?

2.15. Is it better to include a job title or a job description?

2.16. What should we say about disciplinary rules?

2.17. Isn’t there a risk that a worker may be deemed to be an employee if we issue them with a written statement of employment particulars?

3. Employee or self-employed?

3.1. Why does employment status matter?

3.2. What are the determining factors of status?

3.3. What is a worker and what statutory employment rights apply to workers?

3.4. What is employee shareholder status?

4. Contractual terms

4.1. What sort of terms are there?

4.2. What are the main implied terms?

4.3. What about the duties our employees owe us?

5. Changing the terms - with consent

5.1. Can’t we simply change the terms to suit our business needs?

5.2. What if there’s a flexibility clause in the contract?

5.3. If we don’t have a clause, how do we get the employee’s consent?

5.4. What if the employee refuses to accept the change?

6. Changing the terms - without consent

6.1. Our employee won’t agree to a change and we have no flexibility clause. What can we do?

6.2. Breaching the contract? Is this safe?

6.3. If we dismiss and re-employ, is this the safer option?

6.4. What’s the effect of dismissal and re-employment?

7. Deductions from wages

7.1. When can we make deductions from an employee’s pay?

7.2. So if it’s in the contract, we’re safe?

7.3. If we don’t have a clause, can we deduct pay if the employee or worker agrees?

7.4. If we overpay an employee or worker, do we still need their consent to claim it back?

7.5. Is there special protection for retail workers?

7.6. What are the Regulations regarding unlawful deductions?

8. Breach of contract - the employee’s remedies

8.1. How does our employee make a claim against us?

8.2. How much are they likely to receive?

8.3. Do we have the right to counter-claim in employment tribunal?

9. Breach of contract - the employer’s remedies

9.1. If our employee fails to show up for work, do we have to pay them?

9.2. Can we claim compensation for the employee’s breach?

9.3. How long do we have to make such claims?

9.4. Are there any other remedies available?

10. Non-contractual terms

10.1. Which terms might be non-contractual?

10.2. Does it have contractual status?

10.3. Is it easy to amend non-contractual policies?

10.4. Why are policies important?

10.5. How often should we communicate our policies and procedures?

11. Employment contracts and TUPE

11.1. What is TUPE?

11.2. How does TUPE affect employees’ contractual rights?

11.3. Can we change an employee’s terms after transfer?

11.4. What’s a dismissal by a substantial change in working conditions?

11.5. What should we consider when buying a business?

12. Unenforceable contract terms

12.1. When is a complete contract unenforceable?

12.2. Which individual terms may be unenforceable?

13. Statutory provisions

13.1. Which statutory provisions are relevant to the contract?

13.2. How do the provisions on equal pay and discrimination affect us?

13.3. What’s the story on health and safety?

13.4. What about data protection?