Contracts of Employment Advice & Support
At Citation, our HR & employment law team are on hand to offer bespoke contracts of employment advice. We can help you to draft legally sound contracts, manage any changes and ensure that you remain legally compliant.
A contract of employment is a written agreement between an employer and an employee that forms the basis of the employment relationship. Contracts of employment are a legal requirement in the UK. To put it simply, if you don’t have compliant employment contracts in place, your business is at risk.
So, where do you start? What needs to be included? And what types of contracts of employment are there? If you’re in search of employment contract legal advice, that’s where we come in.
We provide employment contract legal advice to help answer all of these questions. We can work with you to create legally compliant employment contracts. No matter what you need assistance with, our HR and Employment Law team have the skills and knowledge to provide efficient contracts of employment advice for your business.
How are contracts of employments established?
All employees should be issued with an employment contract outlining the main terms and conditions of their employment. This should take place within two months of their start date. This is set out in section one of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
A contract of employment is established between two parties, the employer and the employee, when:
- The employee agrees to work for the employer
- The employer agrees to pay the employee for the work
However, this agreement is not legally binding until the following elements are present:
- An offer is made
- The offer is accepted
- There is the intention to create legal relations
- Consideration (A valuable item that is promised in exchange for a contract. In employment contracts, this would be a salary.)
- Certainty as to terms
- Key areas to include
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- Job title
- Date continuous employment began
- Place(s) of work
- Number of hours of work
- Pay and pay intervals
- Holiday entitlement and holiday pay
- Disciplinary rules
- Restrictive covenants (a clause that stops employees from working with competitors in future)
- Notice periods
- Types of contract of employment
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There are a number of different types of employment contracts, like:
- Full-time contracts
- Part-time contracts
- Fixed-term contracts
- Zero-hour contracts
- Agency worker agreements
There are additional regulations for employing young people, apprentices, mobile workers and agricultural workers. Our team will provide bespoke employments of contract advice to ensure that you remain legally compliant no matter who you hire.
Our employment contract services
We know contracts of employment like the back of our hands, so we’re best placed to provide guidance on this tricky area of employment law.
We can help you:
- Decide on the right types of employment contract
- Drafting legally sound contracts
- Manage contract changes
- Create bespoke contracts for your business
Why choose Citation?
Our team is made up of highly qualified, UK employment law solicitors and professionals who have completed employment law courses. This helps us offer the most accurate contracts of employment advice for hundreds of businesses across the UK.
High-quality service trusted by established brands
We work with SMEs across the UK and have worked with clients such as Hamleys, Ballymore, Sovereign and more.
24/7 access to our advice line
Our phone lines are manned by our HR and employment law team, many of whom are qualified solicitors and barristers.
Take advantage of Atlas, our intuitive HR software
Atlas is an all-encompassing HR and health and safety management platform. With the click of a button, you can import information like an employee’s name, job title, start date and salary into existing templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch every time.
Get in touch with a member of our team today to get the support you need.
Contracts of Employment FAQs
- How does a contract of employment protect you?
-
p>Contracts of employment provide a number of benefits and protective measures. These include:
Clarity – They make sure you and your employee are singing from the same hymn sheet. This stops any confusion for both parties and can avoid problems down the line.
Reference point – If an employee breaches their contract, a written reference point provides you with tangible evidence.
Relationships – Contracts help create positive working relationships. How? By setting out clear expectations for everyone to follow.
Deterrent – Including additional clauses like confidentiality, conflict of interest and non-compete clauses can act as a deterrent.
- How to change a contract of employment
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It’s not uncommon for adjustments to be made to an employee’s contract of employment. This could be because of legislation updates or internal business changes.
If you need to make an amendment to an employee’s contract of employment, this should be agreed upon and confirmed – in writing – as soon as possible. At most, within one month of the change.
Failure to properly notify an employee of a contractual change is considered a breach of contract and can result in a claim being made against you.
If you're unsure of any of the above, our HR and Employment Law team are on hand to offer contracts of employment advice to make the process easier.
It’s not uncommon for adjustments to be made to an employee’s contract of employment. This could be because of legislation updates or internal business changes.
If you need to make an amendment to an employee’s contract of employment, this should be agreed upon and confirmed – in writing – as soon as possible. At most, within one month of the change.
Failure to properly notify an employee of a contractual change is considered a breach of contract and can result in a claim being made against you.
If you're unsure of any of the above, our HR and Employment Law team are on hand to offer contracts of employment advice to make the process easier.
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