Contracts & Pre Contract Advice

An employee has a legal entitlement to a written statement that sets out their Terms and Conditions of Employment. If you do not provide your employees with a written contract, terms will be implied from letters of engagement and from standard implied terms. These may not be ones that you would have included if you had prepared a formal Contract of Employment. We can prepare a bespoke Employment Contract to ensure that your needs are protected.

Terms In A Contract

The Contract should set out the full terms and conditions of employment such as payment, the amount of holidays, hours of work and any restrictions on your employee's future employment if they leave you. Covering so much important detail it is vital that you have a Contract for your staff drafted by a specialist Employment Law Solicitor.

Implied Contract Terms

If you do not have a Contract of Employment drafted for your employees, any subsequent dispute with them is likely to be covered by some implied employment terms. These implied terms can include:

  • The duty of mutual trust and confidence (not to disclose details about your employee in relation to their personal circumstances)
  • Sick pay (payable for a reasonable period of time)
  • Christmas closing times (based on past history)
  • Annual bonus payments

From an employer's perspective, it is far safer to agree the terms that you want to apply to your employees as opposed to have them implied by a Tribunal during a dispute. A professionally drafted Contract of Employment provides you with some certainty.

Breach Of Contract Terms and Implied Terms

If you breach any of your employee's terms, whether these are in the Contract or implied and this breach leads to a loss for your employee, they may be able to make a claim for compensation or constructive dismissal. Find out from our case study how our expert knowledge has helped those who've experienced constructive dismissal: 

  1. Medium Complex Case

Client B instructed us after he had issued proceeding as litigant in person within the Employment Tribunal for constructive dismissal.  Unfortunately, Client B’s Claim Form (ET1) had been incorrectly drafted and consisted of irrelevant details.  We therefore arranged for Client B to be represented by our barrister upon the Case Management Conference where an application was made seeking permission for Client B to reply upon the amended ET1 form. The application was granted upon which the matter then proceeded as a defended action until a settlement was reached. 

The bill was higher than the straightforward matter because:

  • Client B’s ET1 form required amending and therefore substantial work was required in order to draft a revised form ET1 as well as liaising with the Respondent’s solicitors in attempting to agree directions for the Case Management Conference. 
  • In light of the above, it was appropriate for us to place ourselves upon the record as acting for Client B and therefore we dealt with all correspondence with both the Employment Tribunal and the Respondent’s solicitors on behalf of Client B.
  • In addition to our bill, there was a disbursement of £2000 plus VAT for the cost of the barrister in representing Client B at the Case Management Conference Hearing as well as having an input in relation to the amended ET1 form.

If your employee threatens to or takes action against you you need early specialist advice to attempt to resolve the dispute as quickly and amicably as possible to keep costs to a minimum.

Let Us Help To Protect Your Business?

Please call us on 01634 811 118, complete our online enquiry form, or email our Employment Law specialist Chris Eastland.

Find more legal advice on Employment Law for business.