Employment Rights Act 1996

The Employment Rights Act 1996 requires that certain terms and conditions must be set out in a single document - this can be a written "contract of employment" or a written "statement of the main terms and conditions of employment".

The written terms and conditions will contain both statutory and contractual rights, that is, both those protected by law and those negotiated directly between the employer and the employee or representative.

A written statement must be provided to employees within two months of starting work.

Obligatory inclusions

All such contracts or statements must contain the following:

The names of the employer and the employee
The date on which employment began and when continuous employment began (For example any previous employment which counts towards continuous service)
The rate of pay, intervals of payment and any other benefits
The hours of work
The holiday entitlement
The place of work and the address of the employer
The job title and a brief description of the role
The period for which employment (if temporary) is expected to continue
Any collective agreements affecting terms and conditions (For example employment issues pre-agreed between employer and trade unions affecting all workers)
Terms relating to sickness, notification of sickness, pay relating to this period and rules relating to statutory sick pay (alternatively, the employee may be referred to another document where these terms are set out, provided that the document is readily accessible)
Pension arrangements or the lack of them, including whether a contracting out certificate is in force (where the organisation has opted out of the government scheme) or not
Length of notice that the employee is entitled to receive or required to give to terminate employment or, where this is not set out, the statement must refer the employee to the collective agreements or the law governing notice
Disciplinary rules and procedure and appeals procedure and grievance procedure (alternatively, the employee may be referred to another document where these are set out, provided that the document is readily accessible)
Additional details of terms and conditions for employees working outside United Kingdom for longer than one month

Further inclusions

The above are the legal minimum terms and conditions that must be included but most contracts contain other terms:

The method of payment
Maternity entitlements
Terms for altering or varying the contract

Any documents referred to in the statement should be readily accessible during working hours, perhaps kept in the Director's office, or compiled and issued to all staff members in the form of a handbook.

Legal exceptions

Some individuals are not covered by these provisions:

Those working for less than a month (if the employment ends during the first two months, an employee of over a month's service is still entitled to this statement after two months)
Self-employed workers, independent contractors and some trainees
Most people working outside the United Kingdom.

Useful external links:

Reviewed and updated by the HR Services Partnership - April 2010.

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