Employment Contract Law

Our employment contract law guides and articles provide up to date legal information on employment law.

In the United Kingdom, employment laws exist to regulate the relationship between employers and employees. This page highlights some of the key employment contract law requirements that must be considered when drafting an Employment Contract for an employee.

Employment contract law states that certain matters must be included in an employment contract. For example, it explains what constitutes an employment contract, which clauses should be included and when one should be used. A contract of employment can be written or verbal; however, it is better to have a written contract rather than just a verbal agreement. In court, it may be more difficult to prove the existence and contents of a verbal employment contract. For example, an employee would have to prove that the employer made a particular representation about the employment in order to have a claim for breach of contract, which can be difficult to do without written evidence.

Even if there is only a verbal contract, it is a requirement of employment contract law for the employer to give the employee a written statement of the main terms and conditions of the basis of their employment within a certain period.

Rights and Obligations in Employment Contract Law

Employment contract law gives certain rights and imposes certain obligations upon an employee and employer. For example, an employee has the right to a clean, healthy, and safe place to work. They are obliged to carry out the job duties detailed in their employee contract. Intellectual property is another good example. An employer has the right to protect any intellectual property owned by their company, so they can include confidentiality and protection provisions in the employee contract.

The Employment Contract Template

A typical Employment Contract Template will have the employer, employee name, address, and personal information. It will then have job title, job type, job description, salary, benefits, confidentiality, intellectual property, and termination clauses. Job type will explain if the position is part time, full time, fixed term, temporary, etc. It shows how many hours the employee can expect to work, though there is room for the employer to change the hours. It may be that the employer decides to work you less if you are part time or the full part time hours allowed by law.

Our business law guides and articles provide further information on employment law for employers, for example our guide on Handling Confidential Information and Intellectual Property and Employees.