Contracts of Employment

If you are currently using a contract of employment in your business that was drafted for staff working in another country, its highly unlikely that it’s suitable for your UK employees.

This week, I prepared a contract for a client whose MD is a US citizen. She did not understand why I had included provisions relating to notice periods, garden leave, statutory sick pay and auto-enrolment because she was used to hiring and firing employees at will in the US. “Back home, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid.” She said. I am sure lots of UK employers would like to introduce that provision into their contracts but that’s just not the way we do things in the UK.

Employees have a variety of statutory and contractual rights that should be reflected in their terms and conditions of employment. Employers can add rights to their contract too – but if they are unreasonable or unenforceable under UK law, you probably can’t rely on them.

Make sure your contract of employment is worth the paper it’s written on.