Quick answer
From day one of employment, workers in England and Wales must receive a written statement of employment particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It sets out pay, hours, job title, start date, holiday, notice and place of work. A single principal document must be given on or before the first day; some terms may follow within set periods.
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Last reviewed: June 2026 · For use in England & Wales · eLitigant is a Community Interest Company (No. 16566612), not a law firm. Always check the current official form on GOV.UK before you file, and sign the statement of truth yourself.
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An employment contract is not a gift from the employer. It is a legal requirement. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, a written statement of employment particulars must be given to every worker on or before the first day of employment. Get this wrong and the Employment Tribunal will notice. Get it right and you protect the business, the employee, and every future relationship that flows from the work.
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When Do You Need an Employment Contract?
Every time someone starts work as an employee or a worker. Section 1 ERA 1996, as amended by the Good Work Plan reforms April 2020, requires a written statement of particulars on or before day one. Six-week grace period is gone.
Typical moments: hiring first employee; moving contractor to PAYE; promoting zero-hours worker; fixed-term maternity cover; TUPE transfer fresh particulars; restructuring roles needing fresh consideration; senior hire with covenants and bonus terms.
What It Involves
Two things at once: a statutory written statement under ERA 1996 s.1, and a commercial agreement setting out the private deal. Statutory bit non-negotiable. Commercial bit — bonuses, covenants, IP, garden leave — where businesses protect themselves or discover later they did not.
Modern contracts run 8–20 pages. Shorter usually misses something. Longer often includes clauses that will not survive reasonableness. The art is knowing which words the court enforces.
Step by Step
1. Parties
Full legal name of employer (with company number if limited), registered office, employee’s full name and home address. Trading name not enough.
2. Dates: Start and Continuous Employment
Two dates. Start date begins this contract. Continuous employment date may be earlier if prior contract, TUPE, or associated company. Affects notice, redundancy pay, unfair dismissal qualification.
3. Job Title and Description
Minimum: job title. Safer: title plus short description plus reasonable flexibility clause.
4. Place of Work
Primary location. Hybrid/remote stated explicitly. Mobility clauses read narrowly — unreasonably wide is unenforceable.
5. Pay and Benefits
Rate, period, pay date, method. NMW/NLW floor. Pension auto-enrolment statement mandatory. List benefits.
6. Hours
Core hours, variability, overtime (paid/unpaid/TOIL). Working Time opt-out if over 48 hours/week, separately signed.
7. Holiday
Statutory minimum 5.6 weeks (28 days full-time, pro-rata). State bank holidays inclusion. Holiday year. Carry-over rule.
8. Sickness and Sick Pay
Notification, certification (self-certify 7 days then fit note), SSP baseline, any enhanced company scheme. Statutory sick pay was reformed by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (day-one entitlement, lower earnings limit removed). Confirm the commencement date that applies to your contract before you rely on it.
9. Notice Periods
Each party’s notice. Statutory minimum under ERA 1996 s.86: employee one week after one month; employer one week per complete year up to twelve.
10. Probation
Length (3–6 months typical), extension possibility, shorter notice during probation, confirmation conditions. Mandatory particular since 2020.
11. Training, Other Paid Leave
Mandatory training, paid study leave, enhanced parental/compassionate leave.
12. Collective Agreements, Work Abroad, Termination
Collective agreements affecting terms. Work abroad over one month: currency, duration, benefits, repatriation. Termination procedure and post-termination obligations.
13. Confidentiality, IP, Restrictive Covenants
Three separate clauses. Confidentiality during and after. IP assignment (Patents Act 1977 s.39 default is narrow). Restrictive covenants no wider than reasonably necessary to protect legitimate business interest. Wide covenants void, not read down.
14. Garden Leave, Bonus, Company Property
Garden leave keeps employee out of market during notice. Discretionary bonus must be genuinely discretionary (custom/practice can convert to contractual). Return of property: laptops, phones, keys, credentials.
Worker vs Employee vs Self-Employed
ERA 1996 s.230: Employee — contract of service, full rights. Worker — personal service, not in business on own account, holiday/NMW/working time but no unfair dismissal. Self-employed — commercial contract only.
Label does not decide. Ready Mixed Concrete test (mutuality, control, integration) and Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5. IR35 tax overlay for PSCs.
Zero-Hours and Fixed-Term
Zero-hours remain lawful but exclusivity banned (ERA 1996 s.27A). The right to request a predictable working pattern no longer exists: the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 was repealed on 6 January 2026 by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ss. 7, 159(3); S.I. 2026/3, reg. 2(4)). Zero-hours and low-hours working is now governed by Part 1 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“Zero hours workers, etc”), which is being commenced in phases — check the commencement position for the specific right you are relying on before you draft to it.
Fixed-term: Fixed-term Employees Regulations 2002. Not less favourable than comparable permanent without objective justification. After 4 years successive: deemed permanent unless objectively justified.
Implied Terms and Variation
Fresh consideration needed for material variation of existing contracts. Implied duties: mutual trust and confidence (Malik v BCCI [1997] UKHL 23), fidelity, care, obedience to lawful and reasonable orders.
TUPE
Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 2006. Contracts transfer on existing terms. Pay, hours, holiday, seniority, continuous service carry over. Pensions limited protection (reg.10). Post-transfer downward harmonisation usually void unless ETO reason entailing workforce changes.
Key Deadlines
- Written particulars: on/before day one
- Pension auto-enrolment statement: with particulars
- Right to work check: before start
- Working time opt-out: signed, retained two years
- Unfair dismissal qualification: two years (reducing to day-one under the Employment Rights Act 2025, phased — check the commencement position)
- ET1 claim: three months less one day (extended only by ACAS EC)
Common Mistakes
- Issuing contract after day one.
- Restrictive covenants too wide — struck out entirely.
- Missing probation particulars (mandatory since 2020).
- Confusing worker and employee.
- Copying US at-will template.
- No fresh consideration on variation.
- “Discretionary” bonuses paid annually on same formula — court finds contractual.
- No IP assignment clause.
The Rules That Apply
- Employment Rights Act 1996 (s.1, s.86, s.94, s.230)
- Employment Rights Act 2025 (phased commencement)
- Equality Act 2010
- Working Time Regulations 1998
- National Minimum Wage Act 1998
- Pensions Act 2008 (auto-enrolment)
- TUPE Regulations 2006
- Fixed-term and Part-time Workers Regulations
- Employment Rights Act 2025 (Part 1, zero hours workers) — repealed and replaced the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 on 6 January 2026
- Patents Act 1977 s.39
How Chris Can Help
Chris drafts to ERA 1996 s.1 standard with every mandatory particular in the right place and every optional clause pitched to what the court enforces. Complex senior hires with covenants, bonus schemes, international elements: Draft my papers → adds concierge drafting across the whole contract.
Chris does not give legal advice. Chris drafts to your instructions. Judgement on commercial terms stays with you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to give a written contract on day one?
Yes. ERA 1996 s.1 since April 2020. No two-month grace period.
Is a verbal contract valid in UK?
Yes — verbal contracts bind. But statutory duty for written particulars still applies and disputes become extraordinarily difficult without writing.
Can I change an employee’s contract without agreement?
Only with clear variation clause covering the change, or fresh consideration and consent. Unilateral variation = breach, may be constructive dismissal.
Are non-compete clauses enforceable?
Sometimes. Must protect legitimate interest (trade secrets, client connections, workforce), no wider than reasonably necessary in scope, geography, duration. Wide clauses void, not read down.
Difference between worker and employee?
Employee: contract of service, mutuality, full rights including unfair dismissal. Worker (ERA 1996 s.230(3)(b)): personal service without full bundle — holiday, NMW, working time but no unfair dismissal.
How long should a UK employment contract be?
No legal min/max. Junior compliant: 6–10 pages. Senior with bonus/covenants/IP: 15–25. Under 6 pages usually missing something.
Can Chris draft for senior hires?
Yes. Chris drafts senior and executive contracts to the same standard — complex bonus schemes, covenants and international elements included.