Q: What should I include in a contract of employment?
Nov 24 2009
Answered by: Peter Done Ask a question
The law provides that all employees must be given a personalised statement of the main terms of employment, explaining to the employee what terms and conditions apply to their employment. This will include, for example, how many holidays they are entitled to, or what length of notice they are required to give when they leave.
The Employment Rights Act 1996 stipulates exactly what subject areas must be covered in the statement, but the majority of the terms and conditions themselves will be dictated by your organisation and the type of job done by the employee. There may be groups of employees undertaking the same job whose terms and conditions are identical, for example, hours of work and rate of pay, but an individual’s Statement must contain personal details, such as name and starting date of employment. This means that each Statement will be different from the next and therefore there are no definitive standard statements.
Legal advice from professionals for matters such as these is recommended because employment legislation changes frequently and this sometimes has an impact on the type of information that must appear in a statement. Employment law professionals will have the resources to stay current with ever changing legal requirements. Unless you are assured that you, or your human resources department, can keep up to date with these legislative changes, it may be the best option for you to get professional help with creating a statement, otherwise your documents will not continue to meet legal requirements.
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