Dos and Don’ts of Employment Contracts

Employers are required to provide their employees with a written statement of particulars of employment, otherwise known as the S1 Statement (S1 Employment Rights Act 1996). The right to receive a S1 statement applies to all members of staff.

The S1 Statement is persuasive evidence as to terms of employment between employer and employee, and can be met by the provision of an employment contract. This way, having a contract of employment will always take precedence.

DO – Always provide an employee with a contract of employment.

DO – Provide a contract of employment for your new staff on or before their employment begins. This came into effect for those commencing employment on or after 6 April 2020.

Before that, a contract should have been supplied within the first two months from when employment started. 

DO – Adapt your employment contracts to show that the employee is permanent, full-time, fixed-term, part-time, or casual.

DO –Insist on signatures, usually from the employee and one on behalf of the employer, without the need for a witness.

While there is no strict requirement for employment contracts to be signed, a signed contract is in your best interest as an employer.

It can be inferred that an employee has accepted terms of employment by “just turning up to work and doing the job”, even if the contract has not been signed and returned.

However, it’s best to err on the side of caution and insist your employment contracts are signed. It will prevent disputes and provide clarification on the terms of employment.

DO – Provide an employee with either an updated employment contract or a written statement, at the earliest opportunity but no later than one month, if there is a change to an employee’s terms of employment, for example, a change in working hours, salary, location, job title, description, etc.

DON’T – Hesitate to contact Lawgistics and subscribe to HR Manager to facilitate all your contractual needs.