Contract of employment template

This statement dated [date] meets the requirements of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It is the Statement of Initial Employment Particulars relating to the Contract of Employment of the person named below and supersedes any previous such statements or contracts.

Name of Employee: [name]

Name of Employer: [employer name]

Address of Employer: [employer address]

Start date: [start date]

Continuous employment

The date on which your continuous employment began is [start date].

Job title: [job title]

The Company may from time to time require you to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the Company on a short term basis e.g. holiday or sickness cover.

Probationary period

New employees join the Company on a [number of months] month probationary period.

During and/or at the end of your probationary period you may be asked to attend employment reviews to discuss your overall work performance and conduct. This may include consideration of your absence record, competency, timekeeping, attitude, and interactions with colleagues and customers. If the Company is satisfied with your overall work performance and conduct, your continuing employment will be confirmed.

If the Company is not satisfied with your overall work performance and conduct, your employment will be terminated with the required notice.

The Company reserves the right in borderline cases to extend the probationary period, in the hope that during any further periods, your work performance and conduct will reach a level that is satisfactory to the Company. After such further period, a subsequent employment review will be held and a decision made. Your continuing employment will then either be confirmed, terminated with the required notice or the probationary period could be extended.

[Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

Your employment is conditional upon a satisfactory DBS check and you are expected to cooperate with us in obtaining this. Failure to do so will result in the termination of your employment.]

Place of work

Your normal place of work is at the above address.

You may be required to work at other locations to meet the needs of the business.

You will not be required to work outside the UK. 

Pay arrangements

Your salary is £[salary] per annum.

Payment is made monthly directly into your bank/building society on the [date] of each month.

If a mistake is made in the payment of any monies due, the Company expects to be notified immediately. The error will normally be corrected at the next available opportunity.

Contractual payments and benefits

You are entitled to the following payments and benefits:

[Death in service benefit

The Company provides a death in service benefit of three times your normal annual pay should you die whilst in our employment. Full details are available separately.]

Hours of work

Your normal hours of work are [start time] to [end time], [first day of week] to [last day of week] with an unpaid break of [number] minutes. These normal hours of work may be varied to meet the needs of the Company.

You may be required to work hours in addition to those above. This may include the need to work unsocial hours and weekends.

Training

The Company will provide you with all the necessary training required by your core duties and will meet the costs involved.

Holiday entitlement

The holiday year runs from [start date] to [end date]. Full-time employees are entitled to [number] hours' holiday a year calculated at the rate of 1/52nd of the annual entitlement for each completed week of service in the current holiday year.

During your first year of service, however, your entitlement to take holidays will accrue on the first day of each month of that year at the rate of 1/12th of the annual entitlement. Where the current accrual includes a fraction of a day other than a half-day, the fraction will be treated as a half-day if it is less than a half-day and as a whole day if it is more than a half-day.

[You are required to reserve up to [days] days of holiday to take during the Christmas/New Year period.]

In addition to your holiday entitlement you may take and be paid for the bank/public holidays each year.

The bank/public holidays are: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first Monday in May, the last Monday in May, the last Monday in August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, or such other days as may be substituted.

Part-time employees are entitled to pro-rata holidays.

If you are dismissed for gross misconduct or leave without giving and working your full notice, you will only be entitled to the statutory minimum holidays for the current holiday year.

A more detailed explanation is contained in the Employee Handbook.

Holiday pay

Payment for holidays will be at your normal basic rate under your terms and conditions of employment for your normal hours of work.

On termination of employment holidays will be calculated in proportion to the full entitlement. If you have taken less than this entitlement the surplus holiday pay will be added to your final pay. If you have taken more than this entitlement the excess holiday pay will be deducted from your pay.

Sickness absence

The Company is required to pay Statutory Sick Pay for certain periods of sickness absence. Payment may be made to eligible employees for periods of absence of four days or more. There is a maximum period of 28 weeks payment in one period of incapacity for work.

On successful completion of your probationary period, there is also a Company sick pay scheme, which is paid in tandem with SSP. The continuation or variation of this scheme is purely at the discretion of the Company.

A more detailed explanation is contained in the Employee Handbook.

Other paid leave

Subject to eligibility, as set out in the Employee Handbook, the Company provides the following statutory leave:

• maternity leave
• paternity leave
• parental bereavement leave
• parental leave
• shared parental leave
• adoption leave

Further details can be found in the Company’s Employee Handbook.

Disciplinary procedure and rules

Should your conduct or performance fall below the standards required then disciplinary action may be taken. This procedure is designed to help and encourage employees to achieve and maintain the Company's standards of conduct and performance and should be looked upon as a corrective process.

A more detailed explanation of the procedure and rules is contained in the Employee Handbook.

Disciplinary appeal procedure

You have the right to appeal at any stage in the disciplinary procedure if you are dissatisfied either with a disciplinary decision made against you or the level of penalty imposed. You should do this in writing to the HR Manager within five days of receiving your confirmation of discipline letter.

A more detailed explanation of the procedure is contained in the Employee Handbook.

Grievance procedure

If you have any grievance relating to your employment, you should raise it with your Line Manager in the first instance. If you want the grievance to be dealt with formally, you must raise it in writing.

A more detailed explanation of the formal procedure is contained in the Employee Handbook.

Pension scheme

Under the current pensions legislation you will be enrolled into an ‘auto-enrolment’ pension scheme if you are eligible. If you are not automatically enrolled into the scheme you may still be entitled to join. Further details will be provided separately.

Collective agreements

There are no collective agreements directly affecting your terms and conditions of employment.

Notice periods

Notice period to be given by the employee to the employer

[Less than one month’s service – nil.]

One month’s service to the satisfactory completion of your probationary period – one week’s written notice to the employer.

From the satisfactory completion of your probationary period – one month’s written notice to the employer.

Notice to be given by the employer to the employee

The Company has the right to serve notice of termination of your employment at any time in accordance with the notice provisions below.

[Less than one month’s service – nil.]

One month’s service to the satisfactory completion of your probationary period – one week.

From the satisfactory completion of your probationary period but less than five years – one month.

Five years’ service or more – one week for each complete year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

General

If you leave without giving and working your full notice, any additional cost in covering your duties during the notice period not worked will be deducted from any termination pay due to you.

The Company may require you to take some or all of any outstanding holiday entitlement that you may have during your notice period.

Pay in lieu

It is agreed that the Company may terminate your employment with immediate effect on notification that a payment in lieu of notice is to be made to you. You shall not be entitled to any benefit other than pay in respect of any period for which payment in lieu is to be made.

[Garden leave

The Company reserves the right to require you to remain away from your place of employment for all or part of your notice period, with or without work, whether you or the Company gives notice. You must accept that whilst still employed by the Company on notice either at home or on Company premises you must not work for any other company, firm, person or business.]

[Lay off/short time working

The Company reserves the right to lay off employees or to introduce short-time working should this be required by a downturn in work or other needs of the business.

A more detailed explanation of the procedure is shown in the Employee Handbook.]

Confidentiality

In this Agreement, “confidential information” means:

• information relating to the businesses, finances, dealings, transactions and affairs of the Company including price and cost information, discount structures, sales statistics, business plans and programmes, business opportunities, expansion plans, staff salaries and terms and conditions, marketing surveys, research and development projects, formulae, inventions, designs, discoveries, know-how, methods, processes, techniques, trade secrets, technical data, business forms and operating procedures, policies and practices;
• names, addresses and contact details or other personal data (as defined under Article 4(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation) relating to prospective, current or past employees, customers or clients or potential customers or clients or suppliers or potential suppliers of the Company;
• analyses made, or views taken, by the Company in respect of the businesses, finances, dealings, transactions and affairs of the Company, any customer or client, or potential customer or client, any supplier or potential supplier of the Company, or any other third party;
• information in respect of which the Company is bound by an obligation of confidentiality to a third party; and
• any information which is identified to you by the Company as being confidential or secret in nature or which ought reasonably to be regarded as confidential.

You will not (except in the proper performance of your duties) either during your employment or at any time after its termination for whatever reason without the prior written consent of the Company or as required by law, a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction or any competent regulatory statutory body, directly or indirectly:

• disclose any confidential information to any person,
• use any confidential information for your own benefit or for the benefit of any other person, company or other undertaking,
• knowingly permit or enable any person (including yourself) to acquire or to make use of any such confidential information for any purpose in a manner which may cause loss or damage to the Company.

You will use your best efforts to prevent:

• the publication or disclosure of confidential information,
• any misuse of such information.

With respect to any confidential data (including personal data) disclosed to or accessed by you, you must ensure that you notify the Company of any unauthorised or unlawful processing or any accidental loss, destruction, damage, alteration or disclosure of personal or confidential data as soon as you become aware and keep the Company informed of any related developments.

You must obtain permission from the CEO before agreeing to give any lecture, press interview, or to publish any article, which would give details of the Company’s business.

The restrictions contained in this clause will not apply to any confidential information or other information which (otherwise than through your default) becomes available to, or within the knowledge of, the public generally or which becomes out of date or to information disclosed for the purpose of making a protected disclosure within the meaning of Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996 or to a relevant pay disclosure made in compliance with section 77 of the Equality Act 2010.

Conflict of interest

During your employment you will be expected to devote the whole of your working time and attention to Company business and to use your best endeavours to promote the general interests of the Company.

If required to do so you must provide details of any relationships with any Company customers or suppliers and comply with any reasonable instructions given to you by the Company on such relationships.

Other terms and conditions of employment

Any agreed amendments that materially alter the terms and conditions contained in your contract will be notified to you in writing and shall take precedence over the terms in this statement.

I have read, understood and am willing to abide by the terms and conditions laid down in the Employee Handbook and accept that they form an integral part of this Contract of Employment.

Issued by (for Employer)

Signed:

Date: [date]

 

Received by [employee name] (Employee)

Signed:

Date: