When does the employment contract begin?
The employment contract begins when the employee starts work, even if there is nothing in writing. There is a legal obligation for the employer to provide a written contract within the first two months of the start date of employment.
What must be included in an employment contract?
Several important clauses are included in the employment contract. They detail what each party receives from the agreement, what duties they must perform and how the agreement should be completed successfully. In short, a clause sets out the terms and conditions. The terms which must be included in many employment contracts are as follows:
Basic job information
Key information regarding the role, such as job title and description, department, working hours and days, start date.
Pay & benefits
Covers salary, how often and when payment is made, how the employee will be paid, raises, incentives and any additional benefits such as non-contractual benefits.
Place of work
Detailing the location of where the employee will work.
Holiday
Holiday leave and pay and the way it is calculated, some employees allow you to roll over unused holiday days rather than just lose them, check this in your contract and ask if it can be accommodated just in case they need you to work through booked holidays.
Sick Leave
What time and how the employee must inform the employer if they are sick and unable to attend work, pay when on sick leave and whether proof of a doctor’s note is required.
Other paid leave
Maternity/paternity leave, any other leave.
Pension
All employers have to provide a pension scheme and must outline the particulars or relevant pension scheme and contributory rates.
Employment type
Employees employment status – whether they are an employee, a worker, a contractor or self-employed.
Employment period
Whether they are employed on a permanent or a fixed-term basis.
Probation
The length of the probation period and its conditions.
Deductions
Details when the employer can make deductions from the employee’s salary.
Confidentiality
A clause defining the obligation to not disclose company information or trade secrets.
Termination
Sets out the terms by which the employer or employee may terminate their employment including the length of notice required and how it should be submitted. If there’s a variation (an agreement to change the terms of the contract) or a fundamental breach, the employee can argue that they have been constructively dismissed, giving rise to a reasonable claim for damages under wrongful dismissal and a potential statutory claim for unfair dismissal.
Employee restrictions
The employer may state in the contract that the employee cannot carry out certain actions upon the termination of their contract. An example would be, a certain period after the employee has left, they cannot contact the business’s clients or work for the business’s competitor. This is to prevent unfair competition. There are also implied terms that form part of your contract such as not being rude to customers and so on, employees should use common sense to determine the best course of action.
You can create your employment contract using this template www.lawdepot.co.uk
Terms may also be written in the employee handbook or other documents, which the employer may provide the employee with, otherwise can be provided by the company’s HR department.
Depending on the nature of work carried out in the business, there may be more clauses to include within the employee’s employment contract.
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