Employment Contract Solicitors

Employment legislation provides that employers must give their employees a written statement of the main terms of their employment.

A statement of terms and conditions is not a contract, but it does confirm the main written terms of the employment contract and provides written evidence of the most important terms.

Employers often wish to provide more detailed terms of employment and it is sensible for both employees and employers to have these set out in writing. Aside from the terms that are written into the contract the law provides that there are some terms which are implied into all employment contracts whether they are expressly stated in writing or not. The most common implied term is that there must be a relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and the employee. Where the employer breaches this fundamental term it can give rise to claims for constructive unfair dismissal.

As a minimum the written statement of terms or employment contract must include details of pay, job description, hours of work, place of work and whether the employee can be made to move, holiday, pension and sickness provisions, the length of notice that needs to be given by either side to terminate employment where disciplinary and grievance procedures can be obtained and obligations of confidentiality.

Some contracts also include additional terms known as post termination restrictions or restrictive covenants. These are designed to protect an employer’s business relationships and legitimate business interests after the employee has left employment. These types of clauses can be enforceable but need to be reasonable in terms of time and area and only go so far as necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate business interest.

At Biscoes we can assist employees on negotiating the terms of their employment contracts and explaining relevant terms. In addition we can also assist in the negotiation of drafting of service agreements for directors and senior level employees as well as consultancy agreements for self employed contractors in the event you would like to arrange to discuss the terms of an employment contract you have been provided or if you would like assistance negotiating the terms of a service agreement or consultancy agreement please contact a member of the Biscoes employment team to arrange a review.