Contracts of Employment

Employment contracts are made up of various elements. All new employees must be given some basic details, referred to as a Statement of Particulars, within two months of commencing work.

• Employers can provide the Statement of Particulars in parts, however, some details have to be provided in a single document called the 'Principal Statement'.
• The Statement does not cover all of the employment terms.
• Some information does not have to be given to the employee, instead, this can be provided by way of a notice providing it can be easily accessed by the employee.
• Where there is no provision among the subjects covered, the Statement must make that clear. For example, if there is no contracting out certificate for a pension scheme, the Statement should say so.
• An employer cannot be penalised by direct penalty if it fails to provide a Statement of Particulars, however, an employee can still make a claim to a tribunal to have the contents of the Statement determined and issued.
• Where other employment-related claims are also made, an award can also be made against the employer for not issuing the Statement.

A Statement of Particulars must include certain information in one document, referred to as the 'Principal Statement', as a minimum this will include:

• Name of the employee & employer.
• Job title or a brief description of the job.
• Dates the employment & continuous employment began.
• Rates of pay & frequency of payment.
• Hours of work.
• Entitlement to holidays, including public holidays.
• Place of work or specify if this is varied, together with the employer’s address.

Providing the letter of offer or another single document includes all of the above, there is no requirement for a separate Principal Statement.

Other details to be provided

The Statement of Particulars should also include a note, either detailing the following or directing the employee to where these are easily accessible. These can either be provided with the details that form the Principal Statement or issued separately.

The further details to be provided to employees are:

• A person to whom the employee can apply:
  • If they are not happy with any disciplinary decision relating to them
  • To seek redress of any employment-related grievance.

These details should include the manner in which this application should be made.

• Any collective agreements relating to the employment.
• If the employee is required to work outside the UK for more than a month, the periods of this, the currency they will be paid in, and any additional pay or other benefits to be provided.
• Whether a contracting-out certificate under the Pensions Scheme Act 1993 is in force.

Additionally, either the following details or details of where these can be readily accessed by the employee (typically they will be included in a staff handbook):

• Sick leave & sick pay provisions.
• The minimum notice period that should be given to end the contract.
• Any terms relating to pensions.
• The disciplinary and grievance procedures that will apply.
• Where not intended to be permanent, the period for which it is expected to cover or the date when it is to end.

Where there are no provisions for any element mentioned above, this should be specified, so if there are no collective agreements in place or no contractual sick leave, the statement should clearly state this. 

External links

The Employment Rights Act 1996
This link is to the original 1996 document and some text has been amended by other legislation since this became law, covers Statements of Particular.

Direct.gov.uk provides guidance aimed at employees but can be useful to employers too.

There is also an interactive tool to prepare a Statement of Particulars.