1.All employees have an employment contract with their employer. A contract is an agreement that sets out an employee’s:
-employment conditions
-rights
-responsibilities
-duties
These are called the ‘terms’ of the contract. Employees and employers must stick to a contract until it ends (eg by an employer or employee giving notice or an employee being dismissed) or until the terms are changed (usually by agreement between the employee and employer). As soon as someone accepts a job offer they have a contract with their employer. An employment contract doesn’t have to be written down. The legal parts of a contract are known as ‘terms’. An employer should make clear which parts of a contract are legally binding.
Contract terms could be:
-in a written contract, or similar document like a written statement of employment
-verbally agreed
-in an employee handbook or on a company notice board
-in an offer letter from the employer
-required by law (eg an employer must pay employees at least the National Minimum Wage)
in collective agreements - negotiated agreements between employers and trade unions or staff associations
-implied terms - automatically part of a contract even if they’re not written down
Examples of an implied term include:
-employees not stealing from their employer
-your employer providing a safe and secure working environment
-a legal requirement like the right to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holidays
-something necessary to do the job like a driver having a valid licence
-something that’s been done regularly in a company over a long time like paying a Christmas bonus
If there’s nothing clearly agreed between you and your employer about a particular issue, it may be covered by an implied term.
An employer may have an agreement with employees’ representatives (from trade unions or staff associations) that allows negotiations of terms and conditions like pay or working hours. This is called a collective agreement.
The terms of the...