Contracts of Employment and Employee Handbooks
All employees must be given a written contract of employment within 2 months of their start date, and that contract must satisfy the minimum requirements under UK law.
Contrary to the opinion of most employers, contracts of employment are generally speaking more beneficial to the employer than the employee, provided they have been carefully drafted. The contract provides a vehicle for protecting many of the employer’s rights, whereas many of the employee’s rights come directly from UK law.
Well drafted and up to date contracts can prove invaluable to employers in a number of situations. The same applies in respect of executive and directors service agreements.
We also promote the use of employee handbooks, no matter how few, or many, employees you might have. Employee handbooks are a useful way of consolidating and keeping tabs on all of your policies and procedures, including the obligatory disciplinary and grievance procedures. It is far simpler to change the contents of your employee handbook, than the terms of every employee’s contract of employment.