Employment contract

About this document

This 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 agreement includes paragraphs that set out that the employee will be required to live at the premises in order to perform the job. Such a service occupancy also requires a residential licence to occupy the premises, a service occupancy licence agreement, that is not included with this contract.

As far as this document is concerned, it does not matter whether the employee will occupy a detached house or a single room with facilities shared with other staff.

The size or business of the employer organisation is not important, nor is the employee's job position. This contract is equally suitable for care home or hotel staff where the employer is a company as it is for a live-in nanny, where the employer is an individual.

Specifics for different jobs, 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 agreement 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.

Recent 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 contract

• for any new employee, permanently employed (full or part-time) or temporary

• to replace your existing contracts which may be out of date

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

Features and contents

• Standard contract of employment complying 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

• Written for positions that require the employee to live at the business property

• Structured so as to minimise the administrative burden of legal compliance

The document includes the following paragraphs:

• Start and continuity
• Trial period (also called a probation period)
• Job title and description
• Place of work: including service occupancy requirements
• 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 agreement covers

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

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 contract 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 document.

Other employment policies and procedures not within the principal statement (such as data protection) could be included in the employment 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. This is the approach Net Lawman recommends.