I sometimes hear employees say that they don't have an employment contract, however this is not correct because there is always a contract between an employee and employer even if it is unwritten.
This is because your agreement to work for your employer and your employer’s agreement to pay you for your work forms a contract.
Your employer is obliged by law to give you a written statement within 2 months of you starting work. The statement must contain certain terms and conditions. This is changing in April 2020 when all workers must be given this written statement on or before their first day of engagement.
An employment contract (sometimes called a written statement of terms and conditions) sets out your and your employer rights and obligations. These rights and obligations are called ‘contractual terms’. An examples are that you have a right to be paid for the work you do.
The rights that you have under your contract of employment maybe in addition to the rights you have under law - for example the right to paid holidays. An employer can not enforce a contract that gives less favourable terms than the legal minimum, even if the employee signs to agree to this. From April 2020 the following terms must also be included in new issued contracts:
The days of the week the employee is expected to work
Whether days or hours are variable and if so, the basis on which they will be determined
All benefits provided by the employer
Probationary period details including conditions for passing and duration
Details of training entitlement, mandatory training etc. (including mandatory training which is not funded by the employer)
If your business needs to update its employment policies, particularly in light of the changes coming in April 2020 please do give me a call.
