Employment Contracts
Do you make the best use of employment contracts?
Whilst you don't necessarily always need to have written contracts of employment, it can save you considerable time and money if you make use of well written contracts. Once your verbal offer of employment has been accepted, you have a legally binding contract. It's just a bit vague until you write it down.
We recommend you firm up your verbal offers with a written contract which clearly sets out the terms and conditions of the employment. It saves a lot of confusion for you and your employee. If you are not sure what to write in your employment contracts please give us a call and we can guide you through the process.
What you must do:
You must provide your new employee with a written statement of their particulars of employment within two months.
The statement must include:
Names of the employer and employee
date the employment began
where the job is located
hours of work
holiday and sick pay entitlement
a job title and description
details of pay and frequency
notice period
any pension provisions
(contact us for a full list of inclusions required)
It's common for this information to be included in a contract of employment. Worth noting is that, if your employee declines to sign their contract of employment, a separate statement with the above information must be issued to comply with the law.
Why should you have your employment contracts prepared by an Employment Law specialist?
Each year we deal with legal challenges to contracts of employment, particularly where they contain restrictive covenants. The wording of your contracts is very important and could leave your company open to financial loss if they haven’t been professionally prepared by an Employment Law specialist.
For example, in a recent High Court case, a company who provides food products to Chinese restaurants claimed they had lost around £200,000 worth of business when one of their employees left them to work for a competitor. The court said that the wording of the restrictive covenant in the former employee’s contract of employment was poorly drafted, ambiguous and unreasonably restrictive. The court ruled that it was unlikely the restrictions would be enforceable in their current state.
You can read our full article on this case using the link below.
Our contracts are prepared with your specific needs in mind. We don't recommend relying on generic contracts from the internet. Call us to discuss how we can help you either prepare new employment contracts, review your existing employment contracts or support you in a dispute about an employment contract.
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Get in touch
Phone: 0121 452 5130
Email: enquiries@spencershaw.co.uk
Address: Spencer Shaw Solicitors Limited
Vancouver House, 111 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16 8LB
Opening hours:
Monday - Thursday 9:00AM - 5:30PM
Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM
Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays - Closed