Employment Contract Solicitors for Employers
Employment contract law is a tricky area for many employers. It’s important to get it right, for your security and compliance and the sake of your employees.
Employment contracts are usually written documents which both the employee and employer sign at the beginning of a period of employment. A properly written, signed contract is a legal document that binds you and your employee to the conditions it contains, as long as those conditions are allowed by law.
How our employment contract solicitors can help
No matter what size your business is, if you have employees or workers, employment contracts can provide both you as an employer and your workforce peace of mind and clarity.
Our specialist employment contract lawyers advise employers and business owners on creating and amending contracts that are tailored to your business’ needs. We can help ensure these documents include any relevant clauses and obligations, such as restrictive covenants, hours, notice requirements and flexible working arrangements.
To speak to a member of our Employment Law team, call us on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online form.
Types of employment contracts
There are various types of employment contracts, depending on who you employ or contract, the type of work they do and their working patterns.
The main types of employment contracts include:
- Full-time and part-time contracts
- Fixed-term contracts (including maternity cover)
- Casual and zero-hours contracts
- Agency worker contracts
- Temporary staff contracts
- Freelance, consultant and contractors
Full-time and part-time contracts
The most common type of employment contract is a full-time contract. These generally include the employee’s salary, hours (normally 35 to 40 hours per week), holiday entitlements, benefit details and details of sick arrangements, including Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
Part-time contracts are similar but should include the minimum number of hours the employee is expected to work per week (usually less than 35 hours) and reflect any pro-rate entitlements.
Fixed-term and temporary contracts
A fixed-term or temporary employment contract is an agreement that ends after a set time or upon completion of a project. This type of contract will normally be similar to a full or part-time contract but will only apply during that set period. Such a contract must be clear so there is certainty for both parties.
Casual and zero-hours contracts
Casual employment contracts are suitable for those who work on an as-needed basis and do not have guaranteed or set hours. For example, those on zero-hours contracts.
Casual workers are entitled to statutory annual leave and National Minimum Wage, however, there is nothing to stop a zero-hours worker from seeking work elsewhere, even if there is a clause in their employment contract that states otherwise. There is, however, protection you can put in your contract to ensure your confidential information and business secrets are not shared.
Agency worker contracts
This type of contract is for those who work through an agency or staffing company. Agency workers have the same employment rights as workers and employees, including the right to a National Minimum Wage and holiday rights.
Freelance, consultant and contractors
If you hire a contractor, freelancer or consultant to carry out work, they are technically self-employed (or part of another company). This means they look after their tax and National Insurance contributions and may not be entitled to the same rights as other workers, such as minimum wage, annual leave and benefits. As an employer, you are, however, legally responsible for their health and safety.
Drafting such a contract or agreement is important to ensure that you reflect their self-employed status and they are not misinterpreted as a worker and/or employee with employment law rights.
Any type of employment contract can be complex, and it is not always clear what type of contract you need. It is therefore important to seek legal advice from a specialist employment contract solicitor to ensure everyone’s rights, including yours as an employer, are protected.
Employment contract FAQs
Many employers (and employees) assume that if there’s nothing in writing, there’s no contract. This is not the case, however; a verbal contract of employment is still a contract under employment law. Many employers are often surprised by how many rights are given to employees by such informal arrangements.
For this reason, it’s recommended that, as an employer, you always have a written contract with each of your employees – it gives both of you more security and certainty.
If you fail to issue an accurate and complete Section 1 statement to your staff, employees and workers may make a complaint to an employment tribunal. If there was a successful claim at the employment tribunal and a finding of a non-compliant Section 1 statement was made, the employer could be financially penalised and the worker/employee could receive an additional award of between two to four weeks’ pay.
For legal advice about employment contracts, including if you’re unsure what to include in your employee’s contract, it’s worth speaking to an employment law solicitor. Once signed, an employment contract is legally binding upon you as well as your employee.
You can use an employment contract to be clear about your expectations and what the contractual and non-contractual benefits are. In addition, you can add clauses, such as restrictive covenants. These can prevent employees from poaching clients and key employees in your business, even after they leave your employment.
Blog | Restrictive covenants: are they enforceable?
Poorly drafted clauses may not be legally binding. It is therefore important that they are clear, considered and well drafted to ensure they are enforceable upon any employee you wish to restrict after they leave your employment.
Even though it’s possible to alter an existing employee’s contract or agree on a new one with them, this requires you to follow the correct procedure which can be complicated depending on the terms of the original agreement.
Legally, employers are required to provide their staff with a written statement setting out the basic particulars of employment per section 1 to section 3 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Yes. As mentioned, there are various types of employment contracts and the one you use will depend on the worker’s employment type or status. For example, a full-time employee’s contract will be completely different to that of a casual or freelance worker.
An employment contract not only sets out what the worker can expect during their employment but can also include information about policies and procedures relevant to the business and/or the role.
If an employee’s working arrangements change in any way, such as a change in working hours or location, this must be reflected within their employment contract. You should also update your employee’s contract if they get a promotion or pay rise and consider whether this affects their notice period.
Even if an employee’s working arrangements do not change, it is a good idea to review contracts on an annual basis to ensure they reflect any changes to policies and procedures.
Furthermore, with regular Government changes, it is vital you comply with the law.
Usually, the employer and employee both need to agree to any contract changes; the change cannot be unilateral, i.e. just made by one party. An employee can, however, insist on a change if they have a legal right to it.
If you want to make a change to the contract, you should seek the employee’s agreement by way of consulting, explaining and informing.
If you are clear in the drafting of your contract from the outset, it will reduce any dispute that may arise as the contract was agreed upon before the employment relationship began.
If an employee, however, disputes the wording of a contract or a clause within the contract of employment, the first step should be to have an informal discussion. If an informal discussion does not result in an agreement, employers and their staff should try to solve disputes about contract changes through mediation.
If the problem cannot be solved, employers or employees may have the right to take legal action.
Get in touch with our employment contract lawyers in Bristol
If you’ve got questions about contract law or want advice on writing an employment contract, our employment lawyers can help. We advise employers across the UK from our offices surrounding Bristol and South Gloucestershire, in Bedminster, Bishopston, Bristol city centre, Kingswood and Thornbury.
To speak to our specialist employment contract solicitors, call us on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.