Employment contract dispute

A contract of employment exists as soon as an employee starts work, and by doing so indicates that he or she accepts the terms and conditions offered by the employer. The contract doesn’t have to be written: oral contracts of employment can also be legally binding, though an employer is usually required by law to give all employees who have been in employment for at least one month, written details of the main particulars of their employment.

This written statement of employment particulars need not necessarily cover every single aspect of the contract of employment, but it must detail this minimum information:

• the names of the employer and the employee;
• the date when the employment (and the period of continuous employment) began
• the level of remuneration and the intervals at which it is to be paid
• the hours of work
• the employee’s holiday entitlement
• entitlement to sick leave, including any entitlement to sick pay
• pensions and pension schemes
• the entitlement of employer and employee to notice of termination
• the job title or a brief job description
• if the employment contract is temporary only, it must state the period for which the employment is expected to continue or, if it is for a fixed term, the date when it is to end.
• either the place of work or, if the employee is required or allowed to work in more than one location, an indication of this and of the employer’s address
• details of the existence of any relevant collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment – including, where the employer is not a party, the persons by whom they were made.

Additional information must be included if the employee is expected to work outside the UK for more than one month. The statement must also provide certain details of the employer’s disciplinary and grievance procedures, and state whether or not a pensions contracting-out certificate is in force. All the required particulars of employment must be given to the employee within two months of the date when the employment begins. If required, the information does not have to be given all in one document at the same time. Instead, it can be given in separate documents or instalments if this is more convenient, provided that certain particulars are collected together in one single instalment, referred to in employment legislation as the ‘principal statement’.

What happens in the event of an employment dispute, and how can a solicitor’s services help?

Although the actual requirements of a contract of employment already discussed are relatively simple and straightforward, disputes do arise regularly. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an employee or an employer these disputes can be very difficult for all the parties concerned, including those employees that are required to provide witness evidence in these matters.

Whether you are an employer or an employee, Jones Gough LLP solicitors can provide a free initial interview, where we will ask you to provide all the relevant information regarding the dispute. At the interview, our solicitors will ask a number of questions to help them collect all this relevant information. Ideally we will try to obtain copies of any documents you have, the most important of which, will obviously be the contract of employment.

After your interview, our solicitors will review the documents and your evidence and then
return them to you, along with our advice about whether you should proceed with any legal action. We can also arrange for mediation on employment disputes. This process will give each side the opportunity to put forward their point of view to an independent mediator who will then consider all the facts and make a decision about what should happen in your particular case. Each party will then have to comply with the decision of the mediator.

If you would like further advice or assistance, or would like to have an informal chat then please contact one of Jones Gough’s expert solicitors on 0845 373 2585.