Employment contract: standard for any employee

About this document

This employment contract covers all legal requirements for information to be given to an employee. It is a carefully considered framework for fair and full protection of the employer and compliance with organisational requirements. Use of plain English makes editing easy and allows it to be understood by all parties.

The size or business of the employer organisation is not important, nor is the position of the employee (this contract can be used for management too, but Net Lawman does provide contracts written specifically for senior staff.)

Details such as duties and training provision, can be added easily if required, either within the existing text, or by reference to a job description. In this "information age", all Net Lawman employment contracts are very strong on protection of the employer's secrets and confidential information.

Note: in law part time or casual employees or trainees have exactly the same rights as full timers. This contract is flexible to cover your precise requirements. Provided there are no changes to the law, you can reuse this document for all types of employees.

Law affecting this contract

This agreement is regularly reviewed as changes in employment law are frequent. It takes into account that:

• the rights of all employees are now the same regardless of whether they work full-time or part-time

• it is unlawful to specify a default retirement age

Additionally, disciplinary procedures now follow procedures recommended by ACAS.

When to use this employment contract

• for any new employee

• to replace your existing contracts which may be out of date

• for any level of employee, though most appropriate to junior and mid-level staff

• the employee may be permanently employed (full or part-time) or temporary

• for organisations of any type: companies, charities, trusts, partnerships, governmental organisations and others

Features and contents

• Up-to-date and complies with current law
• Follows current best practice recommendations by ACAS and other bodies
• All standard terms for a principal statement
• Strong on protection of employer's confidential information
• Specifics for different jobs, such as duties and training requirements, can be added easily - either within the text, or by reference to a job description
• Structured so as to minimise the administrative burden of legal compliance

The contract of employment includes the following paragraphs:

• Start and continuity
• Trial period (also called a probation period)
• Job title and description
• Place of work
• Work outside the UK
• Hours of work
• Salary
• Expenses
• Leave for holidays and other reasons
• Sickness and sick pay
• Pension
• Other business and employment
• No competition
• Confidentiality
• Intellectual property
• Collective agreements
• Staff handbook and company policies
• Bribery and other corrupt behaviour
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures: in line with ACAS recommendations
• Termination
• Procedure after termination
• Summary termination
• Reconstruction or amalgamation
• Data protection
• Severance and invalidity

Practicalities this contract covers

A contract, written or verbal is made as soon as the employee accepts a job offer. So as to minimise future misunderstandings, we recommend providing a written employment contract with the offer letter, so that the employee can return an acceptance letter with a signed copy of the agreement.

By law, all employees must be given a “written statement of employment particulars” no later than the day of starting work. This is a document that sets out the terms of employment that the employer must disclose, known as a “principal statement”. This document includes all the necessary information to act as a principal statement so that you don’t need to provide this information separately in a letter or another one.

Other employment policies and procedures not within the principal statement (such as data protection) could be included in the contract. However, especially when you have many employees, changing each employee’s contract of employment (and ensuring consistency between employees) every time a new law changes can be time consuming and difficult. It is usual, therefore, to place all procedures and policies common to all staff in an employee handbook and refer to the handbook in the employment contract. This is the approach Net Lawman recommends.