Careers centre
Employment contracts
Get ready to sign on the dotted line
Work contracts often seem to have been expressly designed to confuse readers and lure them into making promises they can’t keep. Knowledge is power, however, so research thoroughly what rights and responsibilities you can expect your contract to entail before signing your soul away.
Signed
Your contract might be:
- Permanent/indefinite – continues until you give notice, or your employer has a valid reason to fire you/make you redundant.
- Fixed-term – lasts for a defined period of time. Fixed-term employees have the right to the same treatment as permanent employees, especially in terms of salary.
Sealed
The small print must include:
- Contact details.
- Pay.
- Any probationary periods (and if these can be extended).
- Working hours (including details of overtime, Sunday and night-time work).
- Holidays (including policy for public holidays).
- The ending date of your contract.
- Giving notice.
- Pensions.
- Relevant collective organisations (such as trade unions).
- If you’ll have to work in another place (or country).
- ...as well as signposts to more information about handling grievances, disciplinary/dismissal procedures and sick pay.
Delivered
- A verbal (spoken) contract is still binding. If you go back on your word, your employer might make you work your notice period or could even sue.
- Equally, once you’ve been offered a job, an employer is liable to being accused of discrimination if it doesn’t materialise.
- Your employer must give you a written statement of the conditions you can expect within 2 months of starting work.
- It is implied that your contract doesn’t include anything that’s against the law or trade union agreement.
If your contract is broken, you might have to take your employer to an employment tribunal. You should do this within three months of any problems.
Top tip: If in doubt, it is perfectly acceptable to ask to take your contract home to have a closer look at before signing.
Work contracts often seem to have been expressly designed to confuse readers and lure them into making promises they can’t keep. Knowledge is power, however, so research thoroughly what rights and responsibilities you can expect your contract to entail before signing your soul away.
Signed
Your contract might be:
- Permanent/indefinite – continues until you give notice, or your employer has a valid reason to fire you/make you redundant.
- Fixed-term – lasts for a defined period of time. Fixed-term employees have the right to the same treatment as permanent employees, especially in terms of salary.
Sealed
The small print must include:
- Contact details.
- Pay.
- Any probationary periods (and if these can be extended).
- Working hours (including details of overtime, Sunday and night-time work).
- Holidays (including policy for public holidays).
- The ending date of your contract.
- Giving notice.
- Pensions.
- Relevant collective organisations (such as trade unions).
- If you’ll have to work in another place (or country).
- ...as well as signposts to more information about handling grievances, disciplinary/dismissal procedures and sick pay.
Delivered
- A verbal (spoken) contract is still binding. If you go back on your word, your employer might make you work your notice period or could even sue.
- Equally, once you’ve been offered a job, an employer is liable to being accused of discrimination if it doesn’t materialise.
- Your employer must give you a written statement of the conditions you can expect within 2 months of starting work.
- It is implied that your contract doesn’t include anything that’s against the law or trade union agreement.
If your contract is broken, you might have to take your employer to an employment tribunal. You should do this within three months of any problems.
Top tip: If in doubt, it is perfectly acceptable to ask to take your contract home to have a closer look at before signing.