Employment Contracts

Employment contracts are one of the single most important aspects of a business. It doesn’t matter whether you are an existing business or just starting out, or whether you are a partnership, company or sole trader. Contracts of Employment (or at the very least a conditions of employment document) are a legal requirement of all business in the UK if they are hiring employees. If you are in need of brand new employment contracts (for whatever job level), or simply need old contracts to be updated, then Hewetts can help you with creating, drafting or revising.

There are still a very large number of businesses that have inadequately-worded employment contracts. There are also businesses where the employment contract is not even written down, but simply orally agreed. As an employer it would be far better to have a detailed, written, signed record of the terms and restrictions of your relationship.

Ultimately, the relationship between employer and employee is a hugely important one in the lives of both parties. As an employer you will wish to remain on good terms with your employee, and at the same time minimise the chances of being caught out by a potential court or tribunal action against you. This is far easier to achieve with a written and recorded agreement. It will help aid in the avoidance of doubt and will help both parties to ensure that they are acting within the law and within the correct boundaries of the relationship.

As an employer it is highly likely you will have agreed the job description and pay with your employee, but have you considered the following:

• Are the employee’s duties properly defined within the job description? Do they need to be? Have you made provision for the employee to be available for other duties if they arise?
• Should the employee be keeping any information confidential? Does your business rely on trade secrets or client lists?
• When was the commencement date of employment? If the employee has been promoted, do they have continuous employment for the purposes of statutory payments?
• Have you defined the employee’s place of work? Are there any provisions that they can be moved elsewhere?
• Should there be restraints on the employee when they leave your employment? Are they allowed to immediately go and work for a competitor? Can they begin propositioning your clients or staff away from you?
• What are the dates that employer should be paid their remuneration? Are they able to claim back expenses?
• If an employee is sick what is the procedure they must follow? Do they need a doctor’s note? From which day? For how long? When must they inform you that they cannot attend work? How long will they receive pay before being reduced to statutory sick pay?
• What are the employee’s hours of work? How long is their lunch break? Are they on flexible work hours?
• How many holiday days can the employee take? What is the procedure for taking them? Is there a limit on how many days can be taken at once? Are holiday days carried over into the next year?
• Under what circumstances can each party terminate the contract? How much notice must be given? Will there be payment in lieu of notice?
• What is the disciplinary procedure for an employee? At what point does their behaviour become so bad that you can terminate their contract immediately?

These are a few of the extra considerations that might not occur to an employer when taking on an employee, but which can and should be defined in a written contract.

We can tailor the contract template to your specific business and business model. We can provide contracts from low-level employees to managers and directors, and any levels in between.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  Can anything be agreed within an employment contract?

No, statute law within the UK provides employees with a number of bare-minimum rights which cannot be excluded by contract. These include things like the minimum number of holiday days allowed per year, the maximum number of hours per week that can be worked, rights regarding maternity and sick leave, and so on. At Hewetts we are aware of these restrictions and can help draft employment contracts around them.

2.  What about incorporating restrictions on things such as smoking, alcohol consumption, time off for stress, attendance difficulties etc?

We would recommend that these areas be more fully described inside business policy and procedure documents. These documents can also make provision for disciplinary procedures and grievance procedures within the business. Please see our Policies and Procedures page for more information on how we can help you.