Contracts of employment obligations

I haven't yet managed to issue out contracts of employment – what are my obligations?

The law requires you to provide all employees with a written statement of particulars of employment no later than two months after the beginning of their employment (the statement of particulars of employment is very commonly nicknamed 'Contract of Employment' – this is an entirely different matter to be discussed separately).

The written statement must cover the following items as a basic / minimum:

· The names of the employer and employee

· The date when employment began (and any period of continuous employment)

· Job title or job description

· Place of work

· Scale or rate of remuneration (or the method of calculating remuneration) and the intervals at which it is paid

· Hours of work

· Holiday entitlement, including entitlement to holiday pay and public holidays

· Terms and conditions relating to sickness or injury and any provision for sick pay

· Details of pensions and pension schemes

· The entitlement of employer and employee to notice of termination

· Where employment is not permanent, the period for which it is expected to continue or, if it is for a fixed term, the date when it is to end

· Details of the existence of any relevant collective agreements

· Where the employee is required to work outside the UK for more than one month:

o the period for which he is to work outside the UK,

o the currency in which he will be paid,

o any additional remuneration payable to him and any benefits to be provided by reason of working outside the UK, and

o any terms and conditions relating to his return to the UK

· The disciplinary rules and the disciplinary and dismissal procedure applicable to the employee

· The person to whom the employee can apply if dissatisfied with any disciplinary or dismissal decision

· The person to whom the employee can apply to raise a grievance and the manner in which such application should be made

· Whether a pensions contracting-out certificate is in force in respect of the employee's employment

Where there are no particulars to be given for one of the matters to be covered in the statement, this must be stated.

The statement may be given in instalments during the two months period and can be made up of more than one document, but certain particulars must be included in a single document. These are the names of the parties, the date when employment and continuous employment began, the particulars of pay, hours of work, holidays, the job title or description and the place of work.

If employment ends within the two months period, you must still provide a written statement if the employee's employment lasted for one month or more.

It should be noted that such statements of employment particulars should be very carefully drafted and checked for compliance as a poorly drafted statement can lead to all sorts of other issues and fail to give you the protection you think you have.

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