Particulars Employment |
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| Employment contracts and particulars of employment |
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| Background to employment contracts |
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| In law “contract” means the same as “agreement”. Apart from dealings in land and property, a verbal contract just as binding as a written contract. The problem is that it is usually very difficult to prove the terms of a verbal contract if the other person fails to keep his word. |
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| For a contract to be binding, each side has to give something of value for it. This may be money, goods, a promise or anything worth money to the other of them. The value can be infinitely small. It follows that a promise to make a gift is not a contract. |
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| An employment contract, as you would expect, regulates the relationship between employer and employee. Parliament regulated the first employment contract long ago, but the modern law started with the Redundancy Payments Act 1965, followed by the Employment protection Act 1975. The 1975 act set up the whole employment tribunal system as apart from the formal court system. Most of the law regulating an employment contract is now contained in a whole raft of legislation passed in the last ten years. |
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| Particulars or contract? |
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| The Employment Act 2002 states that an employer must provide "particulars of employment" to an employee within four weeks of him / her starting work. This is to protect the employee only! It is not the same as a contract of employment. As an employer, you discharge your obligations by providing the particulars but you get nothing back in return. The reason why most employers use a "contract" is to obtain the agreement of the employee to comply with all the items contained in it that regulates the employment or protect the employer. Both employer and employee are bound by the terms offered and accepted. |
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| Often the employment contract is verbally agreed and not written down. Even if there is no written employment contract, an oral contract of employment exists as soon as an employee starts work. The precise terms however, may be subject to a great deal of misunderstanding. However, the provision of particulars specified above, while providing little protection to an employer, do provide the basis of the employment contract. So, if there is no other written contract, those terms would be deemed to be evidence of a contract. |
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| The remainder of this page deals with the law relating to particulars which an employer must provide. Click here for information and explanation of contract terms. |
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| Click to Buy : Employment Contract Template |
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| You can find links to employment documents here: Contractof Employment |
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